We're inside of 40 days before the start of the 2019 high school football season. Last year led to some pretty exhilarating moments and wonderful, underdog storylines.
And just like the professional and college ranks, success - and failure - breeds the constant revolving door for Texas high school head coaches.
So we're going to look at who's new at which school per classification.
In the 3A classification, 10 more schools had to replace coaches whether due to resignations or retirements. The 2018 combined records for these schools was 41-67 - an average of 4.1 wins to 6.7 losses - and a state championship.
He’s too young to drive a car, but Sawyer Anderson led Parish Episcopal on scoring drives all day, hammering Midland Christian 56-17 in the TAPPS DI State Title game at Waco ISD Stadium.
While did a lot of handing off to senior RB Andrew Paul, who had four touchdowns and over 200 yards on the ground, Anderson was flawless and threw from several different arm slots all day. He has to as he looks like a small, scrappy little brother with floppy hair.
Sawyer Anderson is just a freshman but he knows about winning.
Anderson is the grandson of Donny Anderson, who was a running back and punter for the legendary Vince Lombardi. Grandpa was a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers and won two Super Bowls. Heck, he has his jersey retired at his alma mater Texas Tech.
Anderson’s father played Major League Baseball.
Anderson has been throwing strikes all season, racking up over 2,900 yards and 32 touchdowns on the season. He had two against Midland Christian.
“This was our goal from day one and we fulfilled it,” he said. “We all played together, and we got victory. Our supporting crew is awesome. The first day I got here, everyone was so welcoming. I’ve learned so much from them.”
Part of the supporting cast is his brother Walker, a junior.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play together,” he said. “He plays defense and I play offense. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Head coach Daniel Novakov took a chance on starting the freshman Anderson, sort of.
“I’ve had him since he was in third grade and I kind of knew what he could do,” Novakov said with a smile. I was asked, ‘Are you sure you are going to start the kid?’ I just knew how special of a talent he is, and you see what he can do out on the field. He surpassed all of Preston’s (Stone) records in a single season. He’s a special, special talent.”
Preston Stone was a highly-recruited QB, currently at SMU.
“I’m just getting started and hopefully we can do it next year and keep this ball rolling,” he said.
Scary thought for the rest of TAPPS.
Katy junior running back Seth Davis led the Tigers offensively in their 34-31 regional final win over Summer Creek on Saturday at Rice Stadium. Davis had 234 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
HOUSTON—Like its regional semifinal against C.E. King last week, Katy was challenged in its Class 6A-Division II regional final against Summer Creek on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers’ authority was threatened.
But like they have each time adversity has introduced itself this season, the Tigers overcame and conquered, eluding the resilient Bulldogs, 34-31, at Rice Stadium to move on to a highly anticipated state semifinal against Austin Westlake next week.
Katy (14-0) and Westlake (14-0) play Saturday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. at McLane Stadium in Waco. But the Tigers had to sweat their way there, never fully exhaling until junior defensive lineman Broderick Johnson and senior defensive end Malick Sylla combined to sack quarterback Jahrik Jones on 4th-and-15 from the Summer Creek 44-yard line with 43 seconds left.
“I’m proud of the way we responded as a team,” senior linebacker Ty Kana said. “Never once that game did we have our heads down. That last drive, we were all more mad than anything. That last drive, it was anger from us, and it was chaos the last few plays.
“We know how to respond to adversity. That’s what we practice all the time, and it starts in the offseason. When things get hard, go to work. Successful things happen when you work.”
Like the game against King, Katy built a considerable first-half lead before watching it quickly dwindle in the second half.
After Summer Creek\u2019s third punt of the game, @_SethDavis21 goes 68 yards untouched for his third TD. Davis has 189 yards on 10 carries. @FootballKaty up 27-7, 4:41, 2Q. #txhsfb @KatyISDAthletic @khs_live @KatySportsMedpic.twitter.com/07LM9d7ozk— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1638647411
Katy led Summer Creek 27-7 at halftime. But defense sparked a furious Summer Creek rally. Summer Creek had takeaways on back-to-back-to-back Katy possessions in Tigers territory early in the third quarter and scored 14 points off two of those.
“Our game-plan coming in was just to play even-keel,” Summer Creek coach Kenny Harrison said. “Not to get too high or get too low. Our guys bought into that. So, when we got down 27-7, I told our guys, hey, let’s just play hard for 48 minutes and let’s try and get to the fourth quarter with an opportunity to win the game. They did that.”
Katy junior running backs Dallas Glass and Seth Davis, who had an exceptional first half with 218 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries but played well beyond his standard in the second half, had fumbles recovered by the Bulldogs. Then Summer Creek junior defensive back Darein Hargrove picked off Caleb Koger deep in Katy territory and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 27-21 with 7:35 left in the third quarter.
“The frustrating thing is we made them look a lot better than they probably are,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “Credit to Coach Harrison and turning that program around. They got us on our heels a bit. We got away from not beating ourselves. But I’m proud of our kids, hanging in there. We had to fight and scratch, and that’s sometimes what you have to do when you have three turnovers and all three of them are in your territory.”
After Hargrove’s pick-6, Glass scored on a 51-yard run to briefly stymie the Bulldogs’ momentum. But that was the only touchdown Katy had in the second half.
.@FootballKaty finally able to get something going. @Dallasglass9 51-yard TD run. Tigers desperately needed that. Katy ups lead to 34-21, 2:37, 3Q. #txhsfb @khs_live @KatySportsMedpic.twitter.com/dMpnW810b6— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1638651500
After totaling 351 yards in the first half, the Tigers had 110 in the second. Summer Creek, meanwhile, gained 230 yards in the second half, 132 on the ground. The 31 points are the most Katy has surrendered all season.
“There are a lot of things we are going to have to emphasize,” Joseph said. “Our run defense has to be better. That’s the thing that frustrates me. In the first half, we were decent. In the second half, we’re a better run defensive football team than that. Their staff did a better job scheming us, but we’ve got to be more physical and we’ve got to make plays. This is the time of year where you’ve got to make plays.”
After Glass’s touchdown, Summer Creek scored twice more on a Cory Nichols 12-yard keeper and an Alfonso Gonzalez 36-yard field goal to make it 34-31 Katy with 6:08 left.
.@SC_BulldogFB has a groove going. Cory Nichols 12-yard TD run on the keeper. 34-28 Katy, 0:07, 3Q. #txhsfbpic.twitter.com/QzSpLsq3mC— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1638651908
Katy punted on its next series before coming up with a winning defensive stop for the second straight game when Johnson and Sylla teamed up to sack Jones. Johnson was on the initial takedown. Sylla finished it.
Johnson bull-rushed the tackle before using a push-pull to get off him and bring down Jones.
“With how much film we watched on Summer Creek, I automatically knew it was a pass off the tackle’s stance,” Johnson said. “I just used what my coaches taught me with my pass rush moves to get to the QB.”
.@FootballKaty and @malick_S17 stop @SC_BulldogFB on 4th-and-15 from the SC 44. 43 seconds left. Katy ball. 34-31 Tigers lead. #txhsfb @khs_live @KatyISDAthleticpic.twitter.com/LicppQU6VV— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1638653448
The Tigers’ bid for back-to-back state championships remains alive. Waiting is Westlake, which beat Vandegrift 70-7 in its Region IV final on Saturday.
Katy and Westlake are both undefeated, and Joseph and Westlake coach Todd Dodge are regarded as two of the best coaches in Texas high school football. Katy is ranked No. 2 in the state. Westlake is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation.
“They know they didn’t play their best, but they know they played well enough to play in the semifinals,” Joseph said of his players. “We’ll worry about correcting things later. Right now, they need to enjoy the win. When you don’t enjoy winning, then what are you playing for? We’ll get things corrected. We have to. We’re playing the No. 2 team in the nation. It’s like going from the frying pan into the fire.”
As expected, it’s a circumstance the Tigers invite.
“I’m looking forward to competition,” Kana said. “It’ll be No. 1 versus No. 2 in Texas. I’m looking forward to it.”
WESTSIDE! @FootballKaty @KatyISDAthleticpic.twitter.com/xO8AAc0Okl— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1638654080
HOUSTON – Football has always been in the blood of Jordan Williams.
His father Jermaine Williams played in the NFL for five seasons (Buccaneers, Raiders, Jaguars, Chiefs) and brother Josh currently plays running back at LSU.
Jordan played football since he was four years old and into his sophomore year of high school. But then he made the decision to just focus on basketball, which he started playing in the seventh grade.
He invested into basketball. It was his focus. His passion.
“I felt like if I kept playing football, I wouldn’t be as good as I could be down the road,” Williams said. “I worked out every day. I worked on my game and hard work pays off.”
That move has now paid off. On Saturday, which is Jordan’s mother, Kimberly, birthday he gave her a present she will never forget – his commitment to play college basketball at Texas A&M.
“I feel like it’s really special, it’s one heck of a birthday present I tell you that much,” Williams said.
Williams finished with offers from Sam Houston, Virginia Tech, UMass, St. John’s, Mississippi State, Tulane, and Rice.
In the end it came down to Virginia Tech and Texas A&M.
“I really believe in what Coach Buzz [Williams] is preaching there at Texas A&M,” Williams said. “I really like the culture and the dynamics of the team. I feel like it’s a family down there. It’s close to home and it really feels like home to me.”
The relationship with Williams was also a big selling point for the Second Baptist School senior.
“It’s his whole aura,” he said. “He’s a worker, I’m a worker. He’s an earner, I’m an earner. Get things out of the mud. I just looked at his situation and once I went down there on my official visit and got to see him coach, I really loved his coaching style. I really loved him as a person. That had a big part of me doing this.”
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