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D.J. Smalls needed to make a big play. His personal-foul penalty with 7:55 left in the game had set The Woodlands back by 15 yards after quarterback Brett Parsons had found receiver Colton McKey with a 13-yard pass. And with the Highlanders trailing by two, Smalls knew his mistake could be costly.

But three plays later, Smalls made up for letting his temper get the best of him. With a 13-yard touchdown run with 7:02 left in the fourth quarter, Smalls saved the game, and The Woodlands walked out of Turner Stadium with a 19-13 victory over Humble and its first win of the year.

"I knew I could have cost us for sure," Smalls said. "And I just wanted to do what I could to get my team on top."

The score was Smalls' second of the night. His 13-yard touchdown with 7:02 left in the second quarter was The Woodlands' first of the game. It also gave the Highlanders their biggest scoring output of the season. The Woodlands had scored just six points in each of its first two games of the season.

"We gave Humble some chances to come back on us," The Woodlands coach Mark Schmid said. "That penalty was an example. But in the end, we were able to get in there and get the score."

Smalls' TD caps rally

Smalls' final touchdown capped a seven-play, 72-yard drive and ended a 22-minute drought as the Highlanders scored 17 unanswered points.

"I feel good about how I'm playing at this point," Smalls said. "I know the team plans to use me more. And I love games like these that are close against really good teams."

After the Wildcats (1-2) went down 2-0 on a safety with 10:17 left in the first, Humble scored 13 unanswered points. Its first touchdown came courtesy of senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson's 22-yard touchdown pass to Kijuan Dabney with 4:09 left in the first.

Then, senior defensive back Rory McKinnon blocked The Woodlands' punt on its next possession and ran the ball back 24 yards for a score to put the Wildcats up 13-2.

But The Woodlands (1-2) wasn't about to let Humble have all of the momentum in the first half. The Highlanders blocked the Wildcats' point-after try, and junior safety Taylor Skaufel returned it to pull within 13-4.

"We were able to get key plays in, but couldn't get a whole lot going at first," Schmid said.

Backs spark offense

Thanks to his two trusty backs, Schmid's offense made a turnaround in the second half. Senior Chris Burns, who finished with 88 yards on 17 carries, and Smalls earned the Highlanders' 10 first downs in the second half.

"We have so much history with The Woodlands," Humble coach Walt Beasley said before the game. "I'd say that getting a final non-district game against a team like this is great for us. It allows us to work out a lot of kinks before district."

And from the looks of Humble's offense, things seem to be clicking for the Wildcats. Johnson had 102 yards passing and rushed for 46 on 19 carries.

But in the end, it was The Woodlands that came up big late and walked away with the win. With District 14-5A play starting next week, the Highlanders admit it couldn't have come at a better time.

"You know it's non-district, but when you're 0-2, there's a confidence level that starts to come into play," Schmid said. "So this definitely helps our confidence. I've been at The Woodlands for 18 years, and we've played Humble 18 times. This is a big game, and it's good to get the first win (on Friday)."

What The Woodlands' 19-13 triumph over Humble lacked in style, it was more than compensated by a determined effort that could prove to be just impetus the Highlanders need to enter District 14-5A action. They rose above six fumbles (three lost) and seven penalties to escape Turner Stadium Friday night with a 1-2 record.

Senior running back D.J. Smalls scored on a couple of 13-yard runs, the latter coming with 7:02 to play that put TWHS ahead for good. He also snared a two-point pass from quarterback Brett Parsons for a five-point cushion.

From that point, the Highlander defense took over. Having spent the evening chasing down the Wildcats' speedy backfield that included the ever-dangerous quarterback Jerrod Johnson, the TWHS unit clamped down even more.
Humble managed just one first down during its final two possessions and never got past its own 25 yard-line.
Humble, which lost to Katy 34-20 last week, fell to 1-2 on the season.

After surrendering 103 yards and 12 first downs in the initial 24 minutes, the Highlander defense clamped down in the second half. And it established its dominance early in the third quarter following a fumble punt return at TWHS 30.

But on third-and-two at the TWHS 21, the Wildcats' Eric Tunley bobbled a handoff and junior end Thomas Eakin pounced on the loose pigskin.

Humble was still leading 13-11 when it marched to the Highlanders 29 early in the fourth quarter. Johnson, who ran for 73 yards and threw for 77 more, tried to bull his way through the right side of the TWHS defense. But linebacker Kyle Bouthilet and end Blake Hinton were there to plug the hole and stop Johnson for no gain.

The Highlanders immediately embarked on a eight-play march. With star receiver Kyle Drabek out for the second straight game, Parsons found other targets in order to reach the end zone.

He hooked up with Kyle Dennis for a 21-yard gain on third-and-13. On the next play, from the TWHS 47, Parsons hit tight end Colton McKey for 13 yards.

It looked as if the drive might stall when the Highlanders were flagged for a 15-yard personal foul penalty. But Chris Burns (88 yards on 18 carries) came through with his biggest play of the night - a 34-yard run up the middle down to the Humble 21.

Two plays later, Smalls scooted off left tackle for the touchdown.

The Highlanders got the ball back with 4:51 remaining. And while the drive eventually died at the Humble 37, the offense managed to consume nearly 31/2 minutes off the clock.

The first half was truly bizarre as the Highlanders grabbed a quick lead, thanks to a safety, and then pulled to with two thanks to a rare return of a blocked extra-point.

Twice Johnson, who also served as the Wildcats' punter, had the ball snapped over his head. The first time came at the end of Humble's first possession less than two minutes into the game. The ball rolled out the back of the end zone for a 2-0 TWHS lead.

But the Wildcats came right back with an 11-play, 68-yard drive that Johnson capped with a 22-yard pass to Kijuan Dabney. The Highlanders attempted a blitz up the middle, but Johnson exploited it perfectly with the dump-off pass to his receiver.

TWHS had its problems on special teams as well. Senior Russ McCary has his punt attempt from the Highlander 24 blocked and recovered in the end zone by Rory McKinnon with 2:27 left in the first quarter.

The Highlanders got their revenge by blocking the point-after attempt by Brady Faggard with an inside rush. The ball bounced right into the arms of Taylor Skaufel, who out-finished Johnson some 80 yards to the end zone.

Momentum continued to swing toward the Highlanders in the second quarter. Taylor Charbonnet's diving interception of a Johnson pass at the Humble 25 set up the TWHS offense at the Wildcats' 25. Burns got the call three straight times before Smalls raced around left end for his first touchdown with 7:02 before halftime.

The Highlanders could have headed for the lockerroom with the lead. Humble's second high snap gave the Highlanders the ball at the 16, but Smalls fumbled it away on the very next play.

The Highlanders were at the Humble 24 with eight seconds left when quarterback Austin Hutson lost the snap to the Wildcats.

The Woodlands unstoppable

Highlanders make up 11-point deficit for victory over Humble

Smalls' TD caps rally

Backs spark offense