By BOBBY HORN JR.
CROSBY– Durran Starks made sure his final homecoming game at crosby was a special one as he contributed six touchdowns in Crosbys 52-20 district win over Smiley.
After falling behind 7-0 in the first, Starks pulled his team within one points with a 16-yard pass to Zeph George. Smiley returned the favor three and a half minutes later.
The Cougars got the touchdown back later in the quarter when Chris Murphy caught a 14-yard pass from Starks.
A missed extra point earlier in the quarter allowed Smiley to enter the second quarter with a one-point lead. That was all Crosby would give them as the Cougars responded with six concectutive touchdowns over the next two quarters to build up a 52-14 lead.
Starks got the scoring going four and half minutes into the second with a 17-yard pass to Xavier Frank.
Showing they could run the ball as well as throw, Crosby turned to Chance Casey who scored on a 19-yard run.
With 1:21 left in the first half and the Cougars lined up on the Smiley 5-yard line Toris Doze took the handoff and scored. This gave Crosby a 32-14 halftime lead.
The Cougars werent done yet. Three minutes into the second half Starks threw a 24-yarder to George for a touchdown.
Showing his mobility Starks then picked up a rushing touchdown midway through the quarter.
The final Cougar touchdown of the night came with 1:47 left in the third when Starks completed a pass to Frank. Frank was off to the races, carrying the ball 74 yards for a touchdown.
While the Cougar offense was picking apart Smileys defense, the Crosby D was able to keep their opponents quiet for nearly three quarters of play.
Crosby forced three turnovers in the game, two coming on fumbles. While allowing 305 yards rushing, Crosbys pass defense shut down Smiley. Smiley used two quarterbacks who completed a combined three of eight passes.
The Cougars will face a tougher test this week when they travel to Barbers Hill. Barbers Hill is coming off a 49-18 win over Forest Brook.
With both teams posting a 3-1, 1-0 record the teams will try to establish themselves as a playoff contender.
They will also both keep an eye on the game in Huffman, where the districts only unbeaten team Galena Park faces Huffman.