Katy Jordan players, from left to right, Tosin Odulate, Andrew Marsh, Zechariah Sample and Zion Jones pose for a photo.
KATY—As far as first impressions go, fit with eyebrows raised and eyes wide open, Katy Jordan’s first varsity game Saturday evening could not have been more emphatic.
Whether it was the offense, which scored eight touchdowns, or the defense, which gathered seven takeaways, the Warriors played like anything but a third-year program being baptized in Class 6A waters in its 64-14 rout of Aldine Davis at Rhodes Stadium.
At this time last year, Jordan, Katy ISD’s ninth high school, was playing an outlaw varsity schedule and ultimately won three of nine games. Saturday, Jordan had 49 points at halftime and forced turnovers on Davis’ last four drives of the first half to force a running clock to start the third quarter.
“We wanted to play a complete four-quarter game,” said coach Mike Rabe, who left Katy ISD neighbor Mayde Creek to take over at Jordan when the school opened in 2020. “They were focused all week, and we just wanted to come out, get a good start and see how it goes.”
Um, it went pretty well.
Junior Zechariah Sample, playing receiver and defensive back, got the Warriors off to a blitz of a start with three touchdowns in the first quarter—two runs of 3 and 90 yards, respectively, and a pick-6 of one yard after Davis quarterback Josh Williams panicked and tossed a pass from deep in Davis’ own end zone after a bad snap.
Sample scored his last touchdown on a five-yard end-around with 3:21 left in the first half. In all, he had 112 yards and three touchdowns on four carries to go along with two interceptions.
“Work hard, play hard,” Sample said. “Show Texas what I can do. We’re coming in as the underdogs. A lot of people thought we were going to lose. We wanted to run it up tonight, but, you know, we can’t. We have to show everybody we can get our way to the top.”
Rabe said Sample’s talent is “unique.” The 5-foot-11, 160-pounder holds an offer from Deion Sanders and Jackson State.
“He does good on both sides of the ball,” Rabe said. “He does good on special teams. He’s fun to have in the fieldhouse; he brings energy to practice every day. He’s a good one.”
If it wasn’t Sample carving up Davis’ defense—which was simply overwhelmed by Jordan’s speed and physicality—it was sophomore receiver Andrew Marsh.
Marsh dominated late in the first quarter and all the second, catching five passes for 91 yards and three touchdowns.
“They were slow, and it was easy to get past them,” Marsh said. “Our offensive line was giving us great time out there and (junior quarterback Colin Willetts) was just putting the ball where it needed to be.”
Marsh is arguably the Warriors’ most tantalizing prospect.
The 6-foot dynamo is a four-star recruit, per 247Sports, and already holds offers from LSU, Houston, Baylor and Arizona.
“I want everybody to know where I should be (ranked),” Marsh said, “and that I’m No. 1.”
As electric as Sample and Marsh were, however, the Warriors showed they have much more to offer.
Willetts was smart and accurate all evening, completing nine of 16 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. Senior receiver Nathan Salz showed off his 4.3 40 speed with a nice 59-yard catch-and-run score to open the second half.
Defensively, senior defensive lineman Tosin Odulate collected a few punishing sacks, senior defensive back Braden Franklin and sophomore defensive back Zion Jones intercepted passes and senior linebacker Davis Duhon recovered a fumble.
“They fly to the football,” Rabe said of a defense that surrendered 123 total yards. “I saw a lot of sound assignments. They stayed inside the game plan the whole time. We scored quick and we had to stay out on the field quite a bit, so you could see their conditioning really pay off. They did their job the whole game.”
Rabe believes things can only go up.
“This is a team that has a chance to grow every single week,” he said. “We still have a lot of young guys out there. But you watch them in practice, they get better every week. They take the weight room seriously. I expect to see them improve each game.”
For now, though, not too shabby.
“It feels great for all of us,” Marsh said. “We’ve put in the work all spring, all offseason. It’s what we’ve been waiting to come out here and do. I just want everybody to know we’re coming, and we’re not scared of anybody.”
