By Tyler Tyre, Sports Editor
*All Games District 19-6A
Thursday
Morton Ranch (2-2, 0-2) vs. Cinco Ranch (3-1, 2-0), 6 p.m., Legacy Stadium
Last year: Cinco Ranch 55, Morton Ranch 16
- Cinco Ranch comes off a huge win where the Cougars looked like one of the top teams in the state.
It may be an overreaction, but everything was working for Cinco last week against the formerly No. 11 ranked Tompkins Falcons. The offense hummed all night, the defense put together three fantastic quarters and the special teams was solid in an all-around game from the Cougars.
Gavin Rutherford led the way once again for Cinco as the senior quarterback threw for 286 yards and three touchowns, and the Cinco run game offered balance for the team with 189 yards.
The win puts Cinco firmly in the drivers seat for a playoff spot and cements their spot as a district contender and they will look to build on that against Morton Ranch.
The Mavericks were dealt a hard hand at the start of district and come off a tough 41-20 loss to Katy last week in which the Mavericks fought hard for four quarters and had the lead in the second half but were unable to come away with a win.
Josh Johnson did everything he could to help the Mavericks along the way, completing 11 of 23 passes for 140 yards and also rushing for 116 yards and two scores, as Morton Ranch rushed for 233 yards in total. But the Morton Ranch defense was not able to keep the Mavericks in it, 162 yards through the air and 274 yards on the ground to the Katy offense.
Morton Ranch will come into this matchup motivated after competing well against two district foes but taking losses in both games, but Cinco will be just as motivated to stay unbeaten in district and continue the hot streak that the Cougars are on.
Katy (4-0, 2-0) vs. Mayde Creek (2-2, 0-2), 7 p.m., Legacy Stadium
Last year: Katy 65, Mayde Creek 7
- Katy struggled last week uncharacteristically. The Tigers had problems with penalties, turning the ball over and struggled with a strong running quarterback for Morton Ranch.
Katy trailed in the third quarter to the Mavericks, but put together a huge second half to pull away with the win.
Caleb Koger had as effeceint of a day as you can have at quarterback and was huge for the Tigers, completing 11 of 13 passes for 162 yards and four touchdowns, but also throwing an interception.
The Tigers combined that with an always strong run game. Seth Davis had 12 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown while Dallas Glass had seven carries for 53 yards and a score, as the Tigers had 274 yards on the ground in total. Luke Carter was a big red zone threat for Katy, as both of his catches went for touchdowns, while Romarian Tillman had 73 yards receiving.
But the Tigers defense struggled, especially in the first half, giving up 140 yards through the air and 233 yards on the ground as they struggled to contain a Morton Ranch offense that had multiple options in the run game.
But the good news for the Tigers is they face a team that has mightily struggled in its first two district games in Mayde Creek.
The Rams will be motivated to come out and prove themselves but have struggled to stop teams in their first two district games.
The Rams have given up 42 points in each of their first two district games and it looks to be an even tougher task this week as they will face an angry Katy team that will be out to show how strong they are.
Mayde Creek gave up 191 yards in the air and 138 yards on the ground to Paetow as the Panthers offense was able to do whatever it wanted in the win.
And the Rams struggled offensively as well, throwing three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown and losing a fumble, as they were never able to get anything going in the game.
It’s setting up to be another tough matchup for Mayde Creek, as the Tigers look to stay in the ranks of the unbeaten, and the Tigers will need to show that they have cleaned up some of their struggles from the past two weeks.
Friday
Tompkins (2-2, 0-2) vs. Seven Lakes (0-3, 0-1), 6 p.m., Legacy Stadium
Last year: Tompkins 44, Seven Lakes 0
- Tompkins suffered the most shocking result last week, as the Falcons were unable to compete with Cinco Ranch in a huge loss to the Cougars.
It was a rough game for the Falcons, made even rougher by injuries to key players and a struggle to move the ball through the air offensively while also struggling defensively to compete with the strong pass game of Cinco Ranch.
Tompkins gave up 286 yards and three touchdowns in the air while also giving up 189 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in the loss, as they could not figure out Cinco Ranch defensively. One positive came in the form of the run game for Tompkins, as the Falcons gained 240 yards on the ground, with Caleb Blocker rushing for 180 yards and Caleb Komolafe rushing for 42 yards and averaging over 10 yards per carry, but the Tompkins pass game couldn’t manage to get it going once they fell behind, as they managed just 16 yards through the air for the entire game.
Seven Lakes meanwhile, comes off a game in which they held a 21-point lead but ended up losing to Taylor, as the Spartans gave up 35 unanswered points before answering back.
The Spartans had no answer for the Taylor run game in the second half of the matchup and overall they gave up 263 yards on the ground while also giving up 208 yards through the air in the loss.
The Spartans meanwhile, were unable to have their normal success on the ground. Seven Lakes is a team that wants to pound the ball, but were only able to manage 92 yards on 28 carries on the night. But they did show success in the pass game, as Tanner Perez went 11-21 for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
The loss put Seven Lakes at 0-3 on the year and the Spartans will no doubt be angry in search of their first win, but the bad new is that they have to take on a Tompkins team that will be just as angry and committed after losing two straight and wanting to get back in the playoff hunt and show the talent that they have.
Jordan (2-1, 1-0) vs. Paetow (3-1, 2-0), 7 p.m., Rhodes Stadium
- Paetow seemed to settle in and take a step forward in the past two weeks. After narrowly beating Morton Ranch in week three, the Panthers came back with a huge win over Mayde Creek to cement themselves in the playoff race through the first two weeks of district.
The Panthers pass game came alive in the win, as Koby Truehill went 11-16 for 138 yards without an interception, while Derrick Johnson was a good presence in the run game to keep things balanced.
The Paetow defense stepped up as well, forcing four turnovers and returning an interception for a touchdown, and holding the Mayde Creek offense to under 200 yards of total offense, bringing the Panthers to 2-0 on in district play.
Jordan meanwhile, comes off a bye week, but looked terrific in its last game, which also came against Mayde Creek. Jordan was able to dominate in the air and the defense was strong in the win. The Warriors will need to continue that this week and use their pass game if they are wanting to compete with Paetow and stay perfect in district, while Paetow will need to have a strong defensive performance to keep Jordan at bay and earn the teams third district win.
District 19-6A Standings
|
Team
|
W
|
L
|
District W
|
District L
|
District PF
|
District PA
|
1*
|
Katy
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
55
|
33
|
1*
|
Cinco Ranch
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
91
|
42
|
1*
|
Paetow
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
76
|
46
|
4
|
Jordan
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
42
|
15
|
5
|
Taylor
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
63
|
77
|
6
|
Seven Lakes
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
28
|
35
|
7*
|
Tompkins
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
27
|
56
|
7*
|
Morton Ranch
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
49
|
75
|
7*
|
Mayde Creek
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
32
|
84
|