Game story: Humble 31, Aldine 21

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By JOHN HANDY
The Athlete's Connection

Humble averaged just more than a point a minute in the first half, then settled into a second-half fight with Aldine before pulling out a 31-21 victory Saturday afternoon at Thorne Stadium in the District 19-5A opener for both teams.

Behind senior quarterback Keith Baker’s two touchdown passes in the first half, sandwiched between a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown by Rashad Garrett and an 80-yard run for a score by Darryl Smith and a field goal by kicker Walter Pinon, the Wildcats built a 31-0 lead at halftime.

But Aldine (0-3, 0-1) didn’t fold.

They scored two touchdowns in the third quarter by way of a five-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jordon Moore to receiver Clyde Green and a 41-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Isaiah Archie.

They tacked on their final touchdown in the fourth period when Dontae Williams burned the Wildcats defense for a 42 yard run for a score.

After the game, Wildcats coach Walt Beasley blamed the second-half meltdown by Humble to fatigue and rust after not having played a game in three weeks.

Yet, he was both surprised and happy with the results.

“We were a little bit rusty I thought, although I surprised by the way we played in the first half,” said Beasley, who saw his Wildcats climb to 2-1 overall. “We got a little bit tired in the second half, I thought. The second half had nothing to do with us playing substitutes in the second half. It’s been three weeks since we played and I think it showed in our execution.”

Baker is now 2-0 in his two starts after returning from injury. He completed 15-of-21 passes for 168 yards.

Baker said he was pleased with his effort against the Mustangs.

“I was pretty pleased with the way I played in the first half,” Baker said. “In the second half I made some mistakes but give them credit, they came out with a lot of enthusiasm. But we came back with a never lose attitude, pulled it back together and we got the win.”

Humble had 309 total yards to Aldine’s 266.