Other than the titans of Class 6A football in Greater Houston, Katy Taylor and Fort Bend Elkins can hang with just about anyone. That's what makes their evenly-matched 1st-round (bi-district) playoff game against each other on Saturday so intriguing, and you can listen to what transpires inside Hall Stadium at vypefortbend.com starting at 12:45PM.
The Mustangs (5-5) and Knights (8-2) are in the UIL's 6A Division II playoff bracket, based on overall student enrollment. In District 19-6A, Katy and Katy Tompkins also qualified for the playoffs, and they have more students than Taylor; and the same is true for 20-6A's Fort Bend Travis and Ridge Point, whose enrollment numbers exceed Elkins.
Therefore, Taylor and Elkins should be more than happy in 6A's Division II. In Taylor's five wins, they outscored their opponents by an average of nearly 27 points (45.2 to 18.4). Their five losses were to a quartet of teams state-ranked by MaxPreps (Atascocita, #26; Dickinson, #23; Katy, #1; and Tompkins, #20) and a district rival, Mayde Creek – which went 8-2, losing only to Katy and Tompkins.
The Knights had an easier schedule. Their only losses were to Travis (ranked #28) and a Ridge Point team that is 27-1 in district games vs. Fort Bend ISD foes over the last four seasons. In all other games, Elkins dominated, outscoring the opposition 46.9-12.4.
Elkins is looking for its first playoff win since the Knights beat Madison 28-20 in the 2016 bi-district round. In the last 10 seasons, they are 3-8 in playoff games including two wins in 2013 when Jonathan Giles was their quarterback.
Taylor has broken even (7-7) in playoff games over the last 13 seasons, including three straight 1st-round wins over Fort Bend opponents: Kempner (2016), Bush ('17) and Dulles ('18).
In the first half of the game, fans watched as two strong defenses faced off- ready to do whatever it took to set the tone for the rest of the game. Held to a 29-yard field goal by Zach Hernandez in their first drive of the game, the Chargers were on the board first. To start the second quarter, De'Mijae Lampkins returned a Warriors fumble 70 yards to the house for the first Dallas Christian touchdown of the game. The rest of the first half saw incredible defense on the field from both teams, preventing anymore scores and allowing the Chargers to head into halftime with a 10-0 lead over Cypress Christian.
With momentum coming out of halftime, Dallas Christian entered the third quarter ready to get the ball rolling. However, the Cypress Christian Warriors' defense was more than ready to continue putting up a fight. Midway through the third quarter, Luke Carney threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Will Nettles; the PAT was good and put the Chargers up 17-0. The final score of the game wasn't until midway through the fourth quarter as Hernandez posted a 2-yard rush for a touchdown.
Leading 24-0, an incredible interception from Nettles sealed the victory for the Chargers.
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