For the first three years of Jordan’s varsity program, the team’s offense was their driving force.

The Warriors had always been a team with a high-flying offense that led the way, a team that would put however many points it took to win a game, while the defense would step up when needed but would take a back seat to the offense’s accomplishments.

But things are different this year. The Jordan defense has made huge strides with returners and has shut down every opponent they have faced early in the year. And  no performance had been more impressive what the Warriors (3-0, 1-0) defense put together on Friday in the team’s District 19-6A season opener, with the defense forcing four turnovers, scoring a defensive touchdown and leading the way to a 24-14 win over Tompkins (1-2, 0-1).

“Those guys did such a great job,” said Jordan head coach Mike Rabe. “Really, they have played well all year They make so many explosive plays, they’re good in coverage and they were huge for us tonight. That’s the reason we were able to do what we did in this game.”

The Jordan defense held a strong Tompkins offense at bay all game, only allowing 270 total yards in the game along with many timely turnovers that got the game over the line in the Warriors favor.

The defenses strong performance allowed Jordan’s offense to grow into the game and they finally struck midway through the second quarter to break the deadlock in the game. Dominic Cangolosi, who split snaps with Beau Bryant on the night at quarterback, threw a screen pass to Landon Williams that Williams turned into a 43-yard touchdown. Tompkins responded with a 5-yard touchdown by Robert Bernard, but Jordan, with just over a minute remaining went on a big drive and scored again when Tanner West ran in a 30-yard score just before halftime to give Jordan a 14-7 lead.

“We’re taking a lot of steps in the right direction on offense,” said senior wide receiver Andrew Marsh. “There was a lot of new stuff thrown in this week with some missing players and things. It’s been good to see guys grow but at the same time, we have to get better as well. All of us as a team have to keep getting better and keep getting more consistent.”

There could have been a huge momentum shift to start the third quarter. Jordan fumbled the opening kickoff and Tompkins had an opportunity to go 35 yards to tie the game, but the Falcons fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and the ball was picked up by Jimmy-Phrisco Alo-Suliafu, who took the recovery 65 yards for what would be the deciding touchdown of the game.

“We pride ourselves on stopping whatever momentum a team might have,” Alo-Suliafu said. “We had a whole lot of motivation today and the whole team came to play. I’m just happy we were able to get the win.”

Tompkins got it back to a one-score game late in the third quarter when Ethan Meadows ran in a 34-yard touchdown, but Jordan didn’t allow anything the rest of the way, shutting down the Tompkins offense the entire fourth quarter before the Jordan offense clinched the game by driving down the field and scoring on a 32-yard field goal from Sebastian Baptista with under four minutes remaining in the game.

Zion Jones led the way rushing the ball for Jordan in the game with 69 yards on the ground, while Bryant threw for 109 yards and Cangolosi had 67 yards through the air. Marsh had 76 yards receiving on four catches while Landon Williams had three catches for 64 yards. The only blemish for the Warriors in the game were three fumbles and 108 yards in penalties, the penalties in particular are something that both the coaches and players have vowed to fix going forward.

The Warriors are a team with district title aspirations. They aren’t shy in talking about it and they believe they have what it takes to compete with anyone in Katy ISD this season. They’ll continue that journey as they take on Mayde Creek next, another team that started off district with a win.

“We want all the big things and we are working towards that, but what we preach every day is ‘stay in the present,” Jones said. “You have to be where your feet are, live in that moment and not get ahead of yourselves. If we do that and don’t lose our focus, we believe we can compete with anyone in this district and even further. For us it’s on to the next and nothing more than that.”

Jordan 24, Tompkins 14

Second quarter

J: Dominic Cangolosi 43 pass to Landon Williams (Sebastian Baptista kick) 5:57

T: Robert Bernard 5 run (Camilo Ronderous kick) 1:33

J: Tanner West 30 run (Baptista kick) 0:25

Third quarter

J: Jimmy-Phrisco Alo-Suliafu 65 fumble recovery (Baptista kick) 11:32

T: Ethan Meadows 34 run (Randerous kick) 8:40

Fourth quarter

J: Baptista 32 field goal, 3:53

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Jordan: Zion Jones, 11-69; Tanner West, 10-48-1; Beau Bryant, 8-31; Dominic Cangolosi, 2-14; Tompkins: Ethan Meadows, 16-85-1; Justin Thierheimer, 5-50; Robert Bernard, 12-37-1;

Passing – Jordan: Beau Bryant, 6-11-109-0-0; Dominic Cangolosi, 3-6-67-1-0; Tompkins: Justin Thierheimer, 10-22-98-0-0;

Receiving – Jordan: Andrew Marsh, 4-76; Landon Williams, 3-64-1; Benny Okwura, 1-23; Tanner West, 1-13; Tompkins: KJ Madison, 5-30; Carter Young, 3-30; Bisi Bello, 1-18; Timothy Timmerman, 1-11;