Jackson Salters sparks Memorial past Klein

Memorial played without Columbia pledge Chase Goodwin at quarterback on Saturday. Jackson Salters made sure it didn’t matter.

The junior completed nine of his 10 passes in a clutch second-half showing, and finished with 221 yards and one touchdown through the air, leading the Mustangs to a 35-20 bounceback win over Klein at Klein Memorial Stadium.

The win sent Memorial to 2-1 heading into the District 17-6A bye week.

“The kids played hard and they made plays,” Memorial coach Gary Koch said. “And it’s hard to win, so I’m always overjoyed when we do.”

Memorial was clinging to a 21-20 advantage at halftime. Then it blanked the Bearkats (1-2) in the second half, used a 6-minute scoring drive to bolster its lead in the third, and iced the game in the fourth with a 10-play, 51-yard drive that running back Ethan Spears capped with a 13-yard touchdown with 1:25 remaining.

RB Cooper Gindorf added two TDs and 74 yards on 10 rushes.

“We ran the ball better (Saturday),” Koch said. “We weren’t able to run it against Pearland, and we gave up on it a little too soon (in a 40-14 setback), so I really didn’t give the kids the opportunity to show that aspect of our game.”

They also showed off their defense this week.

The Mustangs snared three takeaways, and defensive back Zidane Allan returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. And Klein RB Myles Arterberry rushed for 150 yards and two first-half TDs, but had only 36 rushing yards after halftime. The Bearkats also only mustered four of their 15 first downs after the break.

“If you can score on defense, you’re going to have a good chance to win,” Koch said.

A quarterback who can throw helps, too.

Salters completed 17 of 24 passes for 221 yards. He tossed a 19-yard TD to wide receiver Kyle Siblick in the first quarter, knotting the game at 7-7 after Klein struck first with a 6-minute, 30-second scoring drive.

Memorial racked up 333 total yards and 16 first downs.

“What a lot of people tend to do against us is jam the box, and leave us one-on-one, so we can eek something out in the passing game,” Koch said. “And Jackson did a good job of stepping in for Chase and making plays.”

Klein rotated Bret Kilchrist and Bankston Lambcke at quarterback.

Lambcke had the hot hand most of the way, completing his first 11 passes for 146 yards and one score. But his last six attempts went incomplete, and one was an interception to Lee Fowler, setting up Memorial’s final clock-killing score.

“That’s a tribute to their discipline,” Koch said.

“Over these three games, they’ve gotten better, and they’re more comfortable in those difficult situations. This game is about being comfortable in uncomfortable situations, and we did a better job of handling that (Saturday).”

After next week’s bye, Memorial opens district play against Cypress Creek (1-2).

“We’ve got to continue to improve,” Koch said.

“The old saying is, ‘if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse – because somebody else is getting better.’”

Jason McDaniel is a freelance writer.

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