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Katy senior quarterback Caleb Koger excelled in the Tigers' 54-0 win over Paetow on Thursday, throwing for 199 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another touchdown in lifting Katy to 7-0 overall.
Katy leaves no doubt in rout of Paetow
KATY— Early in the season, Katy was not playing good football. However, the Tigers, ’tis their M.O., still found ways to win, escaping state-ranked Atascocita and then-state ranked Tompkins by a combined eight points.
Now Katy is back to being Katy again.
The Tigers won their third straight game by at least 49 points on Thursday, dismantling Paetow, 54-0, at Legacy Stadium. In a battle of two recent state champions—Katy the 2020 Class 6A-DII champ and Paetow last year’s Class 5A-DI champ—the Tigers quieted any noise about who’s the biggest and baddest in Katy ISD.
“They’re getting better, and that’s the big thing,” coach Gary Joseph said of his team improving to 7-0 overall, 5-0 in District 19-6A. “Early on, we knew it was going to be a work in progress. We’re getting better, and that’s a good thing if we want to win a district championship and advance in the playoffs.”
It was the first shutout of the season for the Katy defense, which held Paetow to 74 total yards and forced two turnovers.
“It was really stopping the QB and stopping the show routes,” said senior linebacker Chisholm Hill, who was persistently in the Panthers’ offensive backfield all night long. “We’d been having a hard time stopping that but we proved ourselves tonight. We were getting more pressure on the QB.”
\u201c.@FootballKaty senior LB @chisholm_hill talks about tonight\u2019s 54-0 win over Paetow. Hill helped lead a Tiger defense that held the Panthers to 74 total yards, forced two turnovers and produced the first shutout of the season. #txhsfb @KatyTigerMedia @KatyISDAthletic\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1665110427
Penalties and turnovers plagued Katy during the early part of the season. The Tigers were making silly, sloppy mistakes and executing poorly. It was all uncharacteristic.
All of that now appears to be bygones.
Thursday’s game was the Tigers’ third straight without a turnover. They’ve also only committed five total penalties over the last two games against Jordan and Paetow, two teams with legitimate postseason aspirations.
“We’re doing everything we typically do,” said senior quarterback Caleb Koger, who completed eight of 14 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown. “It’s great. I feel like our games are getting cleaner.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Katy led 14-0 after the first quarter behind scoring runs of 2 and 50 yards, respectively, from star senior tailback Seth Davis, who missed last week’s win over Jordan due to injury.
Davis finished with 118 yards on 16 carries.
Katy’s No. 1 receiver, senior JR Ceyanes, has been sidelined since the second game of the season with a shoulder injury. But the Tigers are getting prolific production from others on the perimeter.
Against Paetow, Koger connected on passes to six different receivers. Junior Oliver Ginn had three catches for 74 yards. Senior Micah Koenig had two catches for 84 yards. Senior Adam Jackson and junior Luke Carter each caught two passes.
Paetow forced Katy to beat it with the pass. The Tigers obliged.
\u201cAfter another Paetow 3-and-out, @CalebKoger3 finds @Mikedyy1 on a 63-yard scoring bomb on the first play from scrimmage. 24-0 @FootballKaty, 6:37, 2Q. #txhsfb @KatyISDAthletic @KatyTigerMedia\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1665100753
“It was great to see the other kids who made some big catches,” Joseph said. “Micah made a big catch. Adam Jackson. (Ginn) made some big catches. That’s what we needed. You have to have different people step up, and they did.”
Katy scored on its first seven drives before it had to punt with 1:41 left in the third quarter. The Tigers’ offense totaled 464 yards and averaged 9.8 yards per play.
“We were firing on all cylinders,” Koger said. “Linemen played well, running backs played well. Seth played a good game. (Fullback Chase) Johnsey is always good and my receivers balled out. I can’t forget about Luke. I love everybody on this offense. It’s fun.”
\u201cWhat a catch! @ajacksonjr22 with the terrific dive to take in this 24-yarder. #txhsfb @FootballKaty @KatyTigerMedia\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1665103702
Paetow threw in a new wrinkle by starting a new quarterback in sophomore Brock Nichols but it ultimately didn’t matter. The Panthers ended up alternating Nichols with senior Koby Truehill often after their second offensive series.
Nichols completed 11 of 22 passes for 59 yards and threw an interception. He was sacked four times. Truehill completed four of eight passes for 24 yards and threw an interception. He was sacked twice.
The Panthers’ running game was worse. Paetow had minus-nine yards on 20 carries.
“(Junior defensive back) Jed Olotu-Judah has really helped our secondary and defensive coverage,” Joseph said. “He’s worked himself into a starter and he’s a real positive. Our secondary is playing better and keeping people in front of them and tackling when catches are made. The pass rush is getting better, and I know our secondary kids appreciate that. It makes them better.”
WHAT IT MEANS
Katy is soaring heading into next week’s bye.
Paetow has lost two straight games, is indecisive at quarterback, has yet to establish a potent running game and its vaunted defense—anchored by the No. 1 defensive linemen in the country in senior David Hicks Jr., four-star front-seven recruits Loghan Thomas and Daymion Sanford, and a slew of other young high-profile recruits—has surrendered 29, 17, 41 and 54 points, respectively, over the last four district games.
QUOTABLE
Koger offered a reason for Katy’s concerning start—by its standards—to the season.
“Typically, we’d start district two games ago,” Koger said. “So we’ve been trying to get into season form. We’re there now.”
This year, 19-6A teams played two non-district games instead of four and started the district schedule earlier because the league expanded from seven to nine teams with the addition of Jordan and Paetow.
UP NEXT
Katy goes into its bye and will take the field again Oct. 21 versus Cinco Ranch (4-2, 3-1 19-6A). If the Cougars take care of Paetow next week, the Katy-Cinco Ranch game will have serious district title implications.
Paetow (3-3, 2-2 19-6A) plays Cinco Ranch on Oct. 14.
Katy senior running back Dallas Glass had a career night Thursday against Katy Jordan, rushing for 193 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries to lead the Tigers to a 70-21 win at Rhodes Stadium.
Glass, Katy dominate Jordan to stay undefeated
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.
\u201c.@Dallasglass9, starting in place of Seth Davis, 51-yard TD run on Katy\u2019s third play from scrimmage. 7-0 Katy, 9:00, 1Q. #txhsfb @FootballKaty @KatyISDAthletic @KatyTigerMedia\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1664496461
“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.”
\u201c.@Dallasglass9 with TD #2. This one for 47 yards. He\u2019s got 107 yards on four carries. @FootballKaty leads 28-0, 2:29, 1Q. #txhsfb @KatyISDAthletic @KatyTigerMedia\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1664497515
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.”
\u201c.@FootballKaty senior Micah Koenig (@Mikedyy1) discusses tonight\u2019s 70-21 win over Katy Jordan. Koenig had two special teams TDs: a 75-yard punt return and a 96-yard kick return. #txhsfb @KatyISDAthletic @KPRC2RandyMc @KatyTigerMedia @texashsfootball\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1664507863
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.
\u201c.@FootballKaty\u2019s Stephan Ochai (99) and Easton Schultz (91) combine for the sack of Colin Willetts for a 7-yard loss. #txhsfb @KatyTigerMedia\u201d— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1664496832
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.”