Now the games count.

All eight of Katy ISD’s football teams begin district play this week, with Paetow competing in District 10-5A, Division II, and the other seven in 19-6A.

Katy High, of course, remains king in 19-6A, seeking its 11th consecutive undefeated district championship.

The Tigers are primed to do so again, ranked No. 10 nationally and No. 2 in the state, but this district race could be more tantalizing than most. Tompkins has been impressive in its encore from last season’s breakout run. Mayde Creek is 4-0 for the first time since 1997, its legitimacy further confirmed last week after posting its first shutout win since Aug. 30, 2012. Seven Lakes and Morton Ranch have defenses and individual offensive playmakers that could make things interesting in any given game. Never count out Taylor.

The depth of individual talent in District 19-6A this season is considerable. And undefeated Paetow has an opportunity to create havoc in a hellacious district led by perennial powers Huntsville, A&M Consolidated and Lamar Consolidated. Coach B.J. Gotte has his Panthers a threat to make the postseason in just their second year of varsity play.

Here’s a look at what looms in Week 5 as teams initiate their march to the playoffs.

Taylor (2-2) at Morton Ranch (3-1)

Friday, Sept. 27, at Legacy Stadium, 6:30 p.m.

Taylor lost to Dickinson last week, 49-6. Morton Ranch beat Sam Houston, 41-6. … Inconsistency plagued Taylor during non-district play, on both sides of the ball, but its two losses came to Atascocita and Dickinson, two teams expected to be playing deep into November and possibly into December. … Taylor senior starting QB Dalton Burden went out in the first quarter last week due to injury. Coach Chad Simmons said he wanted to wait until after this week of practice before addressing his quarterback situation. Either way, the plan has always been for Burden to share snaps with backup J. Jensen III. … The Mustangs have 10 takeaways this season, but also have 10 giveaways. … Junior RB Casey Shorter has 319 yards and three touchdowns on 62 carries this season for Taylor, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. … Morton Ranch’s defense has been steady. The Mavericks are allowing 13.3 points on 195.8 yards per game. … The difference-maker of late, however, has been the insertion of junior Jaymarcus Wilson at quarterback. Wilson made his debut at the position two weeks ago with two passing TDs and a rushing TD in a rout of Westside, and he made his first start at QB last week against Sam Houston, when he threw for a TD and rushed for two more. … The Mavs have also been buoyed with junior Ryan Adams now in the backfield at running back. Adams, a middle linebacker, had 103 yards and a TD two weeks ago in his first game at RB and tallied 116 rushing yards last week against Sam Houston … Wilson and Adams have added much needed athletic punch to the Mavericks’ offense. … Morton Ranch senior WR Josh Gaton is a big-play threat every time the ball is thrown his way. He has 11 catches for 229 yards and five TDs.

Tompkins (4-0) at Seven Lakes (3-1)

Friday, Sept. 27, at Rhodes Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

Tompkins dominated Clear Creek last week, 70-21. Seven Lakes rallied from a 21-9 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Houston Heights, 29-27. … Tompkins outscored its non-district opponents, 241-59. … Coach Todd McVey used stars QB Jalen Milroe (38-for-49 passing, 777 yards, 8 TDs; 157 rushing yards, 4 TDs) and RB R.J. Smith (49 carries, 443 yards, 10 TDs; 77 receiving yards, 2 TDs) judiciously during non-district, never playing them more than necessary. That opened opportunities to develop depth and establish playmakers like junior Marquis Shoulders (386 rushing yards, 6 TDs), senior Gabe Atkin (139 receiving yards, TD), senior Garrett Mack (35 rushing yards, TD; 80 receiving yards, TD) and senior Anthony Munoz (125 receiving yards, 3 TDs), who have all thrived and contributed to a dominant Falcons offense that averages 60.3 points on 467.3 yards per game. … Seven Lakes’ passing game was not on par last week, with only 8-of-16 passing for 100 yards, but the run game and defense spurred the furious comeback. Junior RB Nick David-West had 86 rushing yards on 13 carries and junior RB Milton Jones had 81 yards and two TDs on 13 carries. … For the season, Jones has 310 yards and five TDs on 53 carries. … Sophomore QB Scott Stanford got his first varsity touchdown pass on a five-yarder to Parker Jones. … Seven Lakes has five giveaways this season to six takeaways. Tompkins has one giveaway to eight takeaways.

Cinco Ranch (0-4) at Mayde Creek (4-0)

Saturday, Sept. 28, at Legacy Stadium, 6 p.m.

Cinco Ranch fell to Cedar Park last week, 51-3. Mayde Creek routed Alvin, 34-0. … It’s been a rough season for Cinco Ranch. The Cougars have been outscored 175-20. … Senior K Roger Sanguinetti has accounted for eight of the Cougars’ 20 total points. … Cinco Ranch is averaging five points on 163 yards per game and giving up 43.8 points on 464.8 yards per game. … The Cougars have 10 giveaways to three takeaways. … Mayde Creek has been a tremendous story this season. The Rams are having their best season since the late 90s. … After missing the previous two games for undisclosed reasons, junior Donte Jones, the projected No. 1 QB for Mayde Creek entering the season, returned to the field against Alvin. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 150 yards and a TD and rushed for 41 yards and a TD on five carries. … Coach Mike Rabe is essentially going week-to-week as to who his starting QB is. Jones, Jacoby Wilson and John Zalocha have all started. Zalocha is a pure passer, Wilson is a dynamic runner, and Jones is a strong dual-threat talent. … Senior RB/WR Daniel Huery has 205 yards and four TDs rushing, and 269 yards and a TD receiving. He also has 61 yards on four returns. … Junior RB Julius Loughridge leads all 19-6A running backs with 567 yards and six TDs on 83 carries, good for 8.3 yards per carry. … Defense has been the key for Mayde Creek this year. The Rams have always had strong offenses. This season, however, they’re stopping people. … Mayde Creek has 23 tackles for loss through four games. The Rams also have 6.0 sacks, six fumbles caused and six fumble recoveries. … Four Rams are averaging at least 6.3 tackles per game: senior Jesse Jones, senior Agustin Moctezuma, senior Victor Holdman and junior Joseph Kinyock. Jones also has two sacks and three fumbles caused.

Paetow (3-0) vs. Cleveland (0-3)

Saturday, Sept. 28, at Rhodes Stadium, 7 p.m.

Paetow and Cleveland each had open weeks in Week 4. … District 10-5A, Division II, is loaded. Paetow is one of three undefeated teams in the league, joining A&M Consolidated and Lamar Consolidated, and Huntsville, Lake Creek and Rudder are each 2-1. … Paetow has the best defense of the district, allowing 4.7 points on 115.7 yards per game. … Paetow has five fumbles caused and five fumbles recovered. The Panthers have five takeaways to one giveaway. … The Panthers also have four of the district’s top playmakers at their respective positions: RBs Damon Bankston (33 carries, 327 yards, 4 TDs) and Jonathan Jolly (42, 320, 3), QB Channing Dumas Jr. (21 of 30 passing, 413 yards, 8 TDs, 0 INTs) and WR Johnathan Baker (8 catches, 184 yards, 5 TDs). … Cleveland has the worst offense of the teams in the district, averaging nine points on 150.7 yards per game. The defense isn’t better, allowing 54 points on 490 yards per game, ranking second-worst in the district. … Cleveland QB Cary Wood has only completed 8 of 30 passes for 96 yards and one TD to four INTs. … Tyreich Terry is Cleveland’s top rusher with 180 yards and one TD, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.