High School Football

Tigers lose hard fought contest with Vandegrift to end season

By Tyler Tyre, Sports Editor
Posted 12/10/22

“I’m proud of these guys, this senior class went 42-3 over the past three years and that’s really good. But I’m just disappointed in the way we played at times tonight. Not disappointed in the kids or their effort, but just disappointed we couldn’t get it done."

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High School Football

Tigers lose hard fought contest with Vandegrift to end season

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Katy has come up in the clutch all season.

The Tigers have made a living on finding ways to win late. From a last minute go-ahead drive against Atascocita early in the season, to holding off Tompkins defensively in district and using a late offensive onslaught to beat C.E. King, the Tigers found a way to beat their opponents.

Saturday’s state semifinal seemed to be heading in the same fashion. A back and forth affair that turned into a Katy second half lead.

But the Tigers mistakes came back to bite them, from struggles against the pass game to penalties, and it was too much to overcome. Katy fell 38-35 to the Vandegrift on a game winning field as time expired, as the Tigers season came to an end in the state semifinals for the second straight season.

“I’m proud of these guys, this senior class went 42-3 over the past three years and that’s really good,” said Katy head coach Gary Joseph. “But I’m just disappointed in the way we played at times tonight. Not disappointed in the kids or their effort, but just disappointed we couldn’t get it done. No one wants to lose and go back and think about what they could have done. It’s tough for the kids, but I’m proud of what they’ve done and the effort they gave.”

Vandegrift jumped out to an early lead in the game as the Vipers drove down the field on their first drive and scored on a double pass that ended with Miles Coleman throwing a 14-yard pass to Charlie Oliver. Katy had a good drive to answer back, but it stalled at the edge of the redzone and the Tigers missed a field goal.

Both teams traded stops until the second quarter, when changed from a defensive battle to an offensive slugfest. Katy tied things early in the quarter on an 11-yard run from Chase Johnsey before Vandegrift retook the lead on a 75-yard pass from Brayden Buchanan to Coleman on a huge third down pass play.

Katy once again answered back as Caleb Koger had his own huge play with a 74-yard pass to Micah Koenig, but Vandegrift retook the lead with only nine seconds remaining in the half on a 7-yard pass from Buchanan to Jace Skoglund.

“Vandegrift is a really good football team,” Joseph said. “It was really comparable to who we played the past two weeks. They had a good quarterback, but we shut down the run game and held them to 14 yards. But we’re going to have to reevaluate our pass defense with the way teams were throwing on us the past two weeks. We had opportunities tonight, we just didn’t take full advantage.”

Katy seemed to get back on track to start the second half, as the Tigers scored on their opening possession of the half when Seth Davis scored on a 49-yard touchdown run, and Katy took the lead early in the fourth quarter when Caleb Koger threw a screen pass to Koenig, who took it 92 yards for a score, making things 28-21 Tigers.

Davis became the all-time leading rusher in Katy Tiger history on the run, passing Rodney Anderson’s mark of 6,533 rushing yards. Davis ended the night with 257 yards rushing to bring his career total to 6,691 yards.

“It’s a great accomplishment, I would have rather had the win but it’s still a good feeling,” Davis said. “I couldn’t have done it without my lineman or my coaches or teammates though, the credit all goes to them.”

Vandegrift immediately came back with a response, tying things on a 1-yard touchdown run before taking the lead when Katy fell for another double pass play where Coleman found Alex Witt from 17-yards out.

Davis and Katy wouldn’t go down without a fight, and the junior tied things with just under two minutes remaining when he took a handoff 64-yards for a touchdown. But the Vipers were able to drive down the field and wind the clock down before kicking the game winning field goal.

“Theyr’e a tough team,” Davis said. “They came in ready to play tonight, ready to stop the run and they played really well. They played a good game and it just sucks a couple things didn’t go our way.”

The Tigers will have big holes to fill next year, with the graduation of Davis, a three-year starter at quarterback in Caleb Koger and key members of the offensive and defensive line.

But those seniors have left their legacy the past three years, and their success will help the future generations of Tigers to come.

“They’ve done a lot for us and they’ve continued to build the program,” Joseph said. “It stings for them right now, they want to be in the state final just like everyone else. But they’ve given a lot to us these past three years, they’ve been successful and that’s going to make our juniors and sophomores even better.”

Vandegrift 38, Katy 35

Vandegrift

7

14

0

17

--

38

Katy

0

14

7

14

--

35

First quarter

V: Miles Coleman 14 pass to Charlie Oliver (Hayden Arnold kick) 8:12

Second quarter

K: Chase Johnsey 11 run (Hayden Ondrush kick) 10:50

V: Brayden Buchanan 75 pass to Coleman (Arnold kick) 7:52

K: Caleb Koger 74 pass to Micah Koenig (Ondrush kick) 4:21

V: Buchanan 7 pass to Jace Skoglund (Arnold kick) 0:09

Third quarter

K: Seth Davis 49 run (Ondrush kick) 9:11

Fourth quarter

K: Koger 92 pass to Koenig (Ondrush kick) 7:30

V: Buchanan 1 run (Arnold kick) 6:28

V: Coleman 17 pass to Alex Witt (Arnold kick) 3:08

K: Davis 64 run (Ondrush kick) 1:59

V: Arnold 37 field goal, 0:00

Team stats

Vandegrift

Katy

  First downs

17

15

  Yards rushing

20-11

37-281

  Yards passing

468

185

  Passes

23-34-4-0

5-10-185-2-0

  Punts

3-48

3-39

  Fumbles-lost

0-0

0-0

  Penalty-yards

11-87

6-57

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Katy: Seth Davis, 30-257-2; Chase Johnsey, 4-20-1; Dallas Glass, 2-4; Caleb Koger, 1-0; Vandegrift: Alex Witt, 12-19; Brayden Buchanan, 8-(-8)-1

Passing – Katy: Caelb Koger, 5-10—185-2-0; Vandegrift: Brayden Buchanan, 21-31-437-2-0; Miles Coleman, 2-2-31-2-0; Alex Witt, 0-1-0-0-0

Receiving – Katy: Micah Koenig, 3-173-2; Luke Carter, 1-2; Chase Johnsey, 1-2; Vandegrift: Miles Coleman, 6-169-1;  Beck Ormond, 3-97; Ray Jean Middleton, 2-70; Grant Lindsey, 2-54; Jace Skoglund, 4-35-1; Alex Witt, 5-29-1; Charlie Oliver, 1-14-1;

Katy ISD, Katy, state semifinal, Vandegrift, UIL, football, sports