“It’s everything, I’m just feeling so much better after one season of starting. Everything is easier and that’s thanks to my line and everyone on the offense. They all are doing their jobs and it’s making mine really easy.””

Caleb Koger

Last year as a sophomore Caleb Koger helped lead Katy High to a Class 6A, Div. II state title.

But this year, with a full offseason under his belt as the starter, Koger is even more confident.

“It’s everything, I’m just feeling so much better after one season of starting,” Koger said. “Everything is easier and that’s thanks to my line and everyone on the offense. They all are doing their jobs and it’s making mine really easy.”

That comfort has carried over to Koger’s teammates, including with senior receiver Ronnie Schneider.

“I’m just way more comfortable with everything,” Schneider said. “I’m more comfortable with the plays, with the scheme, everything. The repetition we’ve had and with SAT (strength and conditioning) camp, it’s just helped a lot.”

Katy’s comfort level was on full display Friday at Legacy Stadium as the Tigers rolled to a 40-7 win over Clear Springs in both team’s season opener.

“Our run game was what got us started,” Koger said. “The line was blocking really well and it opened up a lot of good holes for us. We we’re able to take advantage. Seth (Davis) was awesome, Chase (Johnsey) was awesome, my receivers were consistent and we all just came together and played well.”
It didn’t take long for The Tigers to get on the board. A botched kickoff return put Clear Springs on its own 4-yard line to start the game and a Chargers delay of game pushed them back to the 2-yard line, Katy came up with a safety on a tackle in the endzone by Cayde Robertson and Chisholm Hill just ten seconds into the game.

It took nine minutes for the offense to get a score, but the Tigers finally did when Koger found Schneider with a 42-yard pass on a bootleg play.

Katy added another touchdown midway through the second quarter on a 13-yard run from Isaiah Smith and Axel Robertson kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired in the first half as the Tigers went into the locker room with a 19-0 lead.

“My receivers are just the best I could ask for,” Koger said. “They make my job easier in all aspects. If I mess up on a ball I know they can make a play on it. They’re super talented and well coached.”

Davis added his first touchdown of the season three minutes into the third quarter on a five-yard run.

The Katy starters took a seat at that point and were well on the way to a victory.

“Right now, it’s extremely big to get those second stringers into games. Those second stringers are the guys who create depth, we’ve never won any type of championship with 22 kids,” said Katy head coach Gary Joseph. “There’s always injuries, we had injuries last year heading towards the state championship game, we had COVID problems last year heading towards state. We’re going to have to develop that depth and so getting those kids reps in these games is important.”

Clear Springs finally got on the board midway through the fourth quarter before Nathan Wilson capped things off with a 17-yard run with two minutes left in the game.

Koger finished the game with 163 yards passing, completing 12-16 pass attempts. Seth Davis rushed for 149 yards, while Chase Johnsey had a nice game, rushing for 97 yards on 13 carries.

“I understand Seth, and where he’s at, but he Seth can’t be as fresh in week 16 and week 17 if we give him all the carries now, we’ve got to have someone to compliment him” Joseph said. “Last year it was his brother, but we have to have someone who can do that this year. It was great to see Chase Johnsey finally start running the football like he’s capable of doing. You could see some thins when he was running where you can see he’s capable of being a good back and being a 1B. He’s going to grow into a role.”

Nic Anderson played sparingly as he continues to work his way back from an injury, but the backups stepped up in his absence as Schneider had 3 catches for 66 yards and JR Ceyanes had four catches.

“I think the receivers are going to be better than last year, I know they’re going to be better Joseph said. “They were pretty consistent tonight, there were some times when Ronnie had the ball on the tips of his fingers tonight and he’s going to catch some of those too. He’s pretty dynamic and a good returner too. I’m very proud of where he’s come from and how far he’s come.”

Schneider also thinks this group of receivers can be special, and said they are working everyday to make that happen.

“it’s great, we are the ‘wreck squad’ and we take pride in it in both blocking and receiving,” Schneider said. “The running backs feed off us, we feed off them. It’s just a great balance.”

Katy 40, Clear Springs 7

First quarter

Katy: Safety, tackle made by Cayde Robertson and Chisholm Hill, 11:50

Katy: Caleb Koger 42 pass to Ronnie Schneider (Axel Robertson Kick), 3:03

Second quarter

Katy: Clay Isaiah Smith 13 run (Robertson Kick), 6:25

Katy: Robertson 33-yard-field goal, 3:18

Third quarter

Katy: Seth Davis 5 run (Robertson kick), 9:14

Katy: Elijah Bowman 14 pass to Antonio Silva (Robertson kick), 5:51

Fourth quarter

Clear Springs: Cody Kuhlmann 6 pass to Ashton Schumann (Xander Fraga kick), 5:06

Katy: Nathan Wilson 17 run, (Robertson kick) 1:59

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing -- Katy: Seth Davis, 14-149-1; Chase Johnsey, 13-97; Nathan Wilson, 5-37-1; Connor Copeland, 1-15; Isaiah Smith, 2-20-1; Dominic Reisner, 2-8;  Clear Springs: Xai-Shaun Edwards, 24-129-1; Ky Woods, 6-11; Ashton Schumann, 1-4; Joshua Bivens 1- (-1); Rickey Sistrunk, 2- (-2)

Passing -- Katy: Caleb Koger, 12-16-163-1-0; Elijah Bowman, 1-3-14-1-0; Connor Copeland, 1-1-12-0-0 ; Clear Springs: Cody Kuhlmann, 8-20-69-1-0;

Receiving – Katy: Ronnie Schneider, 3-66-1; JR Ceyanes, 4-29; Nic Anderson, 2-33; Antonio Silva 2-21-1; Luke Carter, 1-18; Isaiah Smith, 1-10; Adam Jackson, 1-12; Clear Springs: Ky Woods, 5-48; Elias DeJesus, 1-9; Liam Foster, 1-6; Ashton Schumann, 1-6;