Sept. 11, 2005, 2:53AM
CONROE - It was third-and-three and Chris Ganious could feel the desperation forming a knot inside his chest. The North Shore junior running back had watched as his team tried two unsuccessful fourth-down conversions in the red zone, and he knew it might not have another chance to strike at The Woodlands' six-point lead.
So with a quick jog to the left around a defender and a surge of power, Ganious pushed his way into the end zone. His three-yard scamper with 2:19 left in the third quarter gave North Shore a lead it wouldn't relinquish on the way to a 7-6 win.
"It was as if someone wrote a script that wasn't meant to be and we made it meant to be," said North Shore coach David Aymond, whose team extended its regular-season winning streak to 43 games. "The Woodlands should be really, really proud of their performance. They came up with huge defensive stops.
"But Chris got in there for the score."
North Shore (3-0) had to overcome some mistakes Saturday. The Mustangs fumbled on their first possession and couldn't get past midfield until the second quarter, when quarterback Terrance Cain found receiver Chris Riser with a 13-yard pass to The Woodlands' 48.
North Shore drove to The Woodlands' 14 over the next eight plays, but the Highlanders tackled running back Allen Sims for a loss of one on fourth-and-one, and The Woodlands took over on their 15 with 7:36 left in the half.
The Mustangs drove into Highlanders territory on their next possession, but The Woodlands' defense held on fourth down. On fourth-and-four from The Woodlands' 10, Cain overthrew Riser.
"We made every kind of mistake we could in this game," Aymond said. "And we still came out of this game as a stronger team."
The Mustangs had 279 offensive yards and 16 first downs but it was their lowest scoring game since being held to three points against Eisenhower in the 1997 playoffs. And The Woodlands' defense sent North Shore into halftime trailing for the first time all season.
In its first two games, most of North Shore's starters had not played past the first half while the Mustangs outscored their opponents 107-14.
"We got to keep everyone in through the whole game," North Shore defensive back Chykie Brown said. "That was something I really, really wanted to have happen."
They stayed in because The Woodlands (0-2) demanded it.
The Highlanders took a 6-0 lead on Brett Parsons' 36-yard pass to junior receiver Taylor Grote with 42 seconds left in the first quarter. The score capped a five-play, 60-yard drive, but kicker Jacob Gibbons missed the point-after try.
"They had a big, strong defense," Ganious said. "We knew it was going to come down to one or two plays."
But North Shore's defense was strong, too. The Woodlands totaled just 48 yards rushing and 148 overall.
Brown had three interceptions, including a pick with 25 seconds.
"This is the kind of game I love," Brown said. "A good, close one that keeps us on our toes through the whole game. This kind of game will get us ready for district play for sure."