At 11:58 in the second quarter, Houston Christian tied the game. At 10:06, North Texas led again. By 8:13, the margin had doubled. A difficult evening in Denton was changing very quickly.
North Texas scored three touchdowns in the second quarter after Houston Christian reached 14-14, taking a 35-14 halftime lead before rolling to a 63-14 victory Saturday at DATCU Stadium in Denton. The blowout took shape during three touchdowns in less than 11 minutes, with Jahiem White’s short runs and Chris Jimerson Jr.’s long scoring pass doing the decisive work.
The answer arrived immediately
Houston Christian’s tying drive began in the first quarter and finished early in the second. Maddox Kopp broke free for 26 yards and a touchdown at 11:58, completing an 80-yard possession. That followed an earlier Huskies scoring march of 75 yards, one that featured Cutter Stewart’s 49-yard completion to Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox.
North Texas had opened the game with White touchdown runs of 24 and 47 yards, but its defense was hardly controlling the opening exchanges. Houston Christian converted a fourth-and-1 on its first touchdown drive and repeatedly kept the Mean Green from ending possessions comfortably. At 14-14, the game still had the shape of a contest rather than a coronation.
North Texas removed some of that uncertainty with a six-play, 75-yard response. Tayven Jackson began it by hitting Corri Milliner for 15 yards. White followed with runs of 7 and 5, then Jackson found Max Reese for 24 yards and Josiah Martin for 21, moving the ball to the Houston Christian 3. White finished the possession with a 3-yard touchdown run at 10:06.
That was a different kind of White touchdown. The first two had been long-distance jolts; this one came after the offense steadily compressed the field. White’s 11 carries yielded 133 yards, with four trips to the end zone, but the short finish mattered because it capped a drive that kept producing manageable progress instead of waiting for another breakaway.
Houston Christian supplied the next break itself. On the Huskies’ second play after the kickoff, Kopp threw an interception to Keshawn Davila at the North Texas 24. Davila returned it 15 yards to the UNT 39, giving the Mean Green possession in striking distance without handing them a gift at the goal line.
North Texas needed only three plays. Jackson first threw a 6-yard pass to White and then found Kyle Koch for 14. Jimerson took the next snap and sent a deep ball 41 yards for a touchdown to Justin Stevenson at 8:13.
Jimerson had only two completions all night, but they covered 55 yards; one became the game’s cleanest answer to a turnover. The quarterback rotation was not a novelty in that moment. It was an efficient way to add another explosive option.