GAMES
RANKINGS
WHAT A NIGHT: Houston volleyball, football make for memorable 24 hours
What a 24 hours it was for Houston high school sports, yesterday.
State volleyball turned to playoff football turned back to State volleyball.
It all started with Fulshear volleyball, who tipped off the day in the Class 5A UIL State Final Four against a tough Lucas Lovejoy.
The Chargers were swept in the Semis, but… the silver lining is this. Bailey Warren is a junior. Lauren Witte is a junior. Avery Pruitt is a junior. Sydney Black is a junior. Yosola Adeleke is a juinior. You get the picture – Fulshear will be back here next season. Stamp it.
Phones were buzzing during the first halves of the football playoffs.
News was breaking that super-team Grand Oaks volleyball was down 2-0 in sets in the State Semis. What? The Grizzlies were loaded and had been dominant all season with only one loss.
Back they roared as Grand Oaks stormed back to win a 5-set instant classic over Prosper – 26-28, 12-25, 28-26, 25-22, 15-12.
“We hadn’t been in a 5-set match all year, why not in the State Semifinal?” coach Morgan Rogers said. “We just stayed in the moment and believed in each other. We stayed positive and invested in each other. Jaela (Auguste) just took over in the fifth set and stepped up big. Audrey Terry and Brooklyn Sheridan settled in setting, and we made adjustments on the outside. It was a full team effort.”
The Grizzlies will now face off against fellow Houston contender Cinco Ranch tonight at 5 PM to determine who will be crowned the UIL State Champion for Class 6A.
Back to football.
What a night.
In Class 6A DI, Cy-Fair would take Katy to overtime and upset the Tigers, 28-21, behind the quarterbacking of Trey Owens (UT-commit), who went off all night. The Bobcats will face North Shore Friday at NRG Stadium, who beat Clear Springs. North Shore QB Kaleb Bailey suffered a leg injury during the game but should be fine for this week's game.
Lamar would be challenged by Ridge Point all night but he HISD power program would advance, 31-28, and will face Atascocita, who ran away from Pearland, 61-35.
The Woodlands would need a two-point conversion and a last-second blocked field goal to send Klein Collins packing, 28-27. The Highlanders will face Duncanville next week.
Westfield outran Klein Cain, 55-41, in a wild one and will play the winner of Waxahachie and Rockwall.
In Class 6A DII, Stratford, Summer Creek, Hightower and CE King all advanced and will play each other in that order. In Region II, Willis kept their historical season going beating Tomball Memorial. They will play Desoto next week.
In Class 5A DI Region III, it was a weird night. Houston reps Angleton, Fulshear, Magnolia and Magnolia West wrapped up their seasons with losses. In Region II, Barbers Hill lost a heartbreaker to Highland 48-47 in overtime.
On the flipside, Lake Creek and Randle advanced in Class 5A DI Region III with wins over Crockett and Belton, respectively.
As the night wrapped up, we bounced back to volleyball.
With Grand Oaks advancing to the State Finals, it was Cinco Ranch’s turn to make it an all-Houston final. That they did as the Cougars took down San Antonio Harlan 20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21. Led by junior setter Kassidy O’Brien, the Cougars navigated their way to the finals, which will be played at 5 pm today.
What a day to remember as Houston won the night in the state of Texas.
The John Cooper School has eventful weekend
VARSITY FOOTBALL
9/29vs. Cistercian Prep* • 43-32 W
COOPER HOMECOMING!
“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”
The Dragons have certainly navigated a “rough road” this year, but it seems that they have finally started to handle the bumps as they won their third game in a row Friday night defeating the Hawks of Cistercian 43- 32. The Dragons move to 3-0 in SPC play as they continue to polish and refine looking more and more like the Dragon teams of recent times.
For the second game in a row, the Dragon offense came to life. Freshman QB Colson Collins was 19 for 28 with 265 yards and four touchdowns. Dragon receivers stood on their head led by senior WR Kaden Davis who hauled in five passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Junior WR Skylar Loggins found the endzone for the first time in his Dragon football career and senior WR Gus Feinberg added another touchdown to his storied Dragon career. Once again junior RB Dean Calhoun carried the load on the ground for the Dragons with 15 carries for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The Dragon defense was led by junior LB Bryce Weatherholt who tallied 11 tackles and defensive newcomer Santi Fernandez Villarreal who had six tackles and one interception. Senior DE Cooper Sansbury caused trouble in the Hawk backfield all night and it was a welcome sight to see senior CB Stephen Schlichter back from injury being physical as usual.
The Dragons found themselves on their heels at times but managed to keep the Hawks at bay enough to seal the win. The Dragons travel to Fort Worth next week to take on the Falcons of Fort Worth Country Day School.–Coach Daniel Lewis
Next up for Dragon Football:
October 6 at Fort Worth Country Day*, 7 p.m.
October 13 vs. Houston Christian*, 7 p.m. Senior Night
October 20 at Trinity Valley School*, 7 p.m.
....
VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY
9/30 at Chili Pepper Festival, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Coach George Dohner: The Cooper Cross Country teams traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas to run the Chile Pepper Cross Country festival.
The girls started the day finishing 37th out of 83 teams. Alexis Seymour led the girls, running 20:00 for the 5k. Tahira King at 20:04 and Emma Locht at 21:54 also ran well. They were followed closely by Milla Signorelli at 21:54 and Lexi Fitz Sullivan at 21:57.
The boys finished 29th out of 110 teams. Grey Mendenhall led the pack, finishing in 69th place out of 860 runners with a time of 16:24. Jacob Bailey broke 17:00 minutes for the first time, running 16:58. Walter Day ran 17:03 followed by Aditya Pakel at 17:33 and Nathan Montes at 17:46.
I am extremely proud of the effort given by our boys and girls teams. A special shout to our Team Moms and parents for their support this weekend.
Next up for Dragon Cross Country
October 7 at St. John’s Maverick Ramble, 8 a.m.
October 21 at SPC South Zone Championships, St. Andrew’s Episcopal, 8 a.m.
...
VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
9/26vs. Duchesne* • 3-0 W
9/29at St. Andrews Episcopal* • 3-2 W
9/30at St. Stephens Episcopal* • 3-0 L
Next up for Dragon Volleyball:
October 3 vs. Houston Christian*, 5:30 p.m.
October 5 vs. Kinkaid*, 5:30 p.m. Dig Pink
October 12 at St. John’s*, 5:30 p.m.
October 19 vs. Episcopal High School*, 6 p.m.
October 26 vs. Awty*, 6 p.m.