KATY—Katy left no doubt, as is often the case when the Tigers take the football field.
In a clash of the last two remaining undefeated District 19-6A teams Thursday, as well as Katy ISD’s oldest school and its newest, the Tigers dominated from start to finish, wiping out Katy Jordan, 70-21, at Rhodes Stadium to go to 6-0 overall, 3-0 in district.
Katy scored on its first eight drives, scored twice on special teams and humbled a Warriors team (3-2, 2-1 19-6A) that has been impressive in its inaugural year of varsity ball.
“Coach tells us all week to just do our best,” said senior running back Dallas Glass, who stepped in for the injured Seth Davis to rush for a career-high 193 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries. “That’s all they ask for. We did that. It was great preparation studying our opponent and we were able to come out on top.”
With the Mississippi State commit Davis sidelined after surpassing the 5,000-yard career rushing mark during last week’s win over Mayde Creek, Glass excelled.
His second carry went for a 51-yard touchdown run three minutes into the game. He added scoring runs of 47, 4 and 1 yard, respectively, before sitting out the second half.
“Dallas had 1,300 yards rushing last year, so it’s not like he hasn’t done this before,” coach Gary Joseph said. “It was good he could step in and be the man. He’s been banged up, too, and for him to come back and play the way he did, it’s going to help us down the road.”
Joseph said Davis, who was dressed in full uniform and hung around coaches during the game, is a “little banged up” and is hopeful he’ll be back to full health for next week’s game against Paetow.
Joseph said it is an upper and lower body issue for his star tailback.
“We were going to play him if we needed him, but thankful we were able to keep him out,” Joseph said. “Giving him an extra week is going to help him. Glass, it was time for him to step up and he did. I’m proud of Dallas and his efforts tonight.”
Glass said he was focused and locked-in during a hard week of preparation. He was hungry for his turn.
“I knew I had to step up,” said Glass, younger brother of former Katy running back great Deondrick Glass. “Coach told me throughout the week it was about preparation and come ready to play tonight. I had great blockers. I saw them blocking in, hip read. I was able to get outside and make things happen to the second level.”
The Tigers' first punt didn’t come until 3:49 was left in the third quarter. They averaged 6.9 yards per play.
Even when the offense didn’t have the ball, Katy still put up points, thanks to the electric play of senior Micah Koenig.
Koenig had a 75-yard punt return midway through the first quarter in which he burst down the home sideline. On the opening kick of the second half, he returned the ball 96 yards for another touchdown.
“On the punt return, when I caught it, it had a big bounce,” Koenig said. “When I got it, I thought I’d end up going back inside. But our defense blocked like they do in practice, I saw it and just followed them. They led the way.
“On the kick return, I got it, saw the hole and hit it. It worked out. All glory to my blockers, man. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
Joseph said the plays were huge.
“He’s very big for us,” Joseph said of Koenig. “That’s going to give our kids on the kicking team a great load of confidence because those kids did a great job blocking for him. Same thing for the punt return. It’s great that they feel they really contributed to a win.”
Katy outgained Jordan 368-230 in total yards. Of the Warriors’ 230, 126 came in the second half after Katy built a 49-7 lead.
It was arguably Katy’s cleanest game of the season. The Tigers did not turn the ball over (while forcing two takeaways) and committed only two penalties for 25 yards.
They did this without the best running back in the Greater Houston area and a couple of key starters on the offensive line due to injury.
“The intensity has gone up since we got through the first couple of weeks,” Joseph said. “We’ve quit turning the ball over. The kids were ready to play, and they had to be. They (Jordan) jumped on Paetow last week and we weren’t going to go down without a fight. Our kids did a really good job.”
It wasn’t necessarily a statement win but the Tigers’ play did say a lot.
“The mindset was to get at it,” Koenig said. “We don’t do a lot of talking. We do a lot of doing. That’s what sets us apart.”