• Wes Bloomquist •
• Originally published September 19, 2009 at 1:15 p.m., updated September 19, 2009 at 1:20 p.m.

Jared Dolezal could have decided to hang his head. He could have become a distraction to the Memorial Vipers team and made a tough situation into a bad one.

Instead, Dolezal accepted his coach's decision and made the most being demoted from starting quarterback to achieving success on the defensive side of the ball.

"Putting O.J. (Hughes) back there is the best thing for us right now," said Dolezal, as the Vipers left the Memorial Stadium field with a 49-7 win over Corpus Christi Moody on Friday. "It gave us a huge momentum boost and worked for us to get our first win. I just want whatever is best for the team."

Dolezal, a junior who struggled against San Antonio Taft and El Campo at quarterback, was moved to free safety this week in practice. He had never played defense at the varsity level, but came up big in the rout of the Trojans with a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown to give Memorial a 14-7 halftime lead.

"We thought he was going to be good at it and he was," said Memorial head coach Mickey Finley. "I wish we would have put him back there two games ago because he did such a great job.

"He's the MVP of the ball game as far as I'm concerned. A lot of people would have hung their head, but he went out and played great."

Hughes, back at starting quarterback for the first time since last season, did what he does best in the win. He ran the ball. The senior carried the ball 15 times for 110 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Despite his personal accomplishments, it was his backup at quarterback he was the most proud of.

"He really showed tons of leadership," said Hughes of Dolezal. "It shows all of us, that if we need something done, he's willing and able to do it for us. He stepped up and did it all with no complaints. That's huge for him and for us."

Dolezal did see limited action at quarterback against the Trojans and made the most of his opportunity. On the last offensive series of the game, he ran in his third rushing touchdown of the season with a 12-yard scramble to complete a four-touchdown fourth-quarter performance for the Vipers.

"He's still a great quarterback who can throw the ball really well, so we're still going to use him some there," said Finley after his team improved to 1-2 and dropped Moody to 1-3. "He may even play some receiver. Having an athlete like him is great for any team and we'd be missing out on a lot if we don't take advantage of his skills as a football player."

"This is a really big boost for us and means a lot," Dolezal said. "We had to get a win in this game and we knew that."

Notes

Another threat: With Hughes at quarterback, the running back option of the night was Roderick Warren, a junior who caught a 62-yard touchdown from Dolezal against Taft in the season opener. Warren ran for 84 yards and two 1-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Through the air: Hughes threw the ball seven times in the game and connected on two. Zach Mueller pulled down the second completion and scored from 14 yards for his second touchdown of the season.

A sore leg: Senior kicker Mark Rojas was a perfect 6-for-6 kicking PATs in the game. Backup kicker Eduardo Jimenez gave him some relief, coming in to tack on the 49th point of the game.

Getting defensive: Memorial came into the game having not created a turnover. That statistic is no more. Senior cornerback Josh McNickels intercepted two passes in the game and returned his second 66 yards for a touchdown. McNickels also returned an interception back for a touchdown last year. Damain Barfield and Jimenez each recovered a Moody fumble. Memorial won the turnover battle 5-1 against the Trojans.

Memorial's only negative: The Vipers continued to have false start penalties, which have troubled them all season. Memorial committed nine penalties for 55 yards, including a series that saw it with a 1st-and-goal from the one and then 1st-and-goal from the 11.

"It's clear to us and everyone in the stands that we have to stop jumping off sides," Finley said. "We can't keep pushing ourselves back on penalties. Our first touchdown drive we overcame our mistakes to score. That's a positive even though there were so many negatives involved. They fought through mistakes to succeed and sometimes you have to do that in a game."

On tap: Memorial travels to Corpus Christi on Thursday to face Carroll. The game is the first District 27-5A contest for both teams.

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