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The Memorial quarterback ran for 99 yards, threw for another 107 and led the Vipers to a season-opening 20-17 win over San Antonio Taft on Friday.
And he did it all while leaving his lunch on the new turf at Memorial Stadium.
“I’ve been sick but I thought I was getting better until I got out here,” said Hughes who ran the ball 20 times. “It was about 12 times that I threw up on the field and then three more on the sidelines. I would do anything for my team and being a little sick wasn’t going to stop me from leading this team to a win.”
Hughes finished the game 5-for-7 through the air, including a 67-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Gonzalez. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Vipers opened the season with a win for the second consecutive season.
The Vipers now enter a bye week before playing El Campo in two weeks at Ricebird Stadium.
Memorial finished the game with 246 yards of offense, while the Raiders compiled 232. Alex Pena led Taft on the ground with 60 yards on 21 carries.
Along with strong play from Hughes and the offense, the Vipers defense stepped up to create big plays and scores. Cornerback Josh McNickels scored the Vipers final touchdown on a 75-yard interception return on a ball that was tipped by Taft’s receiver. McNickels grabbed the ball on the deflection and sprinted the 75 yards to give the Vipers a 20-2 lead in the third quarter.
Despite the 18-point advantage, Taft chipped away and gave the Viper fans some tense moments at the end. Raider quarterback David Gonzales, who went 11-28 through the air connected with Adrian Martinez with under a minute remaining, but an onside kick was recovered by the Vipers’ Alex Alvarez to secure the win.
“I felt like we were really going to roll after the way we started,” Memorial head coach Mickey Finley said. “I was a little concerned coming in because of a new quarterback but we got off fast. This is something a young team has to learn though. We have to finish them off.”
Memorial lost the blowout win it thought it had but never lost the lead. The Vipers jumped out to an early 12-0 advantage behind Hughes who started the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown run and then connected on the 67-yard pass to Gonzalez.
Hughes’ score came on a simple run up the middle where he said he saw nothing but open room. He dropped back one step, picked his hole and broke free.
“It’s a play where we came out in a spread set and had the linebackers on the outside,” said Finley of the opening touchdown. “It’s a play that has been successful and is something we’ll take advantage of anytime we see we can run it. O.J. did a great job of taking it and breaking it for the touchdown.”
The Vipers next touchdown came on a short pass to Gonzalez. The 5-6 senior took the pass and turned it into a thrilling touchdown run down the home sideline. He even capped it with a Reggie Bush-like flip in the endzone with defenders barreling down on him.
“I just caught it and got low to make my guy miss me,” said Gonzalez who drew a penalty for the flip. “He flew by me and there was nobody along the sideline. I started hearing footsteps catching up to me and I just jumped. It’s a natural thing for me to flip like that. I felt bad about the penalty so I won’t do that anymore. I learned my lesson.”
The Vipers defense forced three turnovers in the game, with Jay Trott and Joel Garcia picking up fumbles to go along with McNickels’ interception. Finley said he was pleased with the defensive effort, but work still remains.
“We mixed in a lot of blitzes that I don’t think they were ready for,” Finley said. “We missed some tackles but we executed really well.”
Rushing – Taft, Alex Pena 21-60; David Gonzales 7-25; John Cranek 1-1; Andres Cuevas 1-9. Memorial, O.J. Hughes 20-99; Alex Barbosa 4-29; A.J. Gonzales 3-8; Jordan Joseph 1-3.
Passing – Taft, Gonzales 11-28-1 134. Memorial, Hughes 5-7-0 107.
Receiving – Taft, Trey Anderson 4-66; Dante Johnson 3-17; Marco Cantu 2-15; Adrian Martinez 3-28; Kyle Lassiter 1-3. Memorial, Gonzales 1-67; Donte McGee 2-27; Damian Barefield 1-8; Zach Byerly 1-5.