Katy gave everything it had. 

The Tigers erased a big deficit, they made big plays in big moments, forced turnovers, and had North Shore on the ropes for a huge portion of Friday’s game.

Katy did everything in its power to keep its season alive. But in the end, it wasn’t enough. Katy gave its all for four quarters but saw its season come to an end with a 42-28 loss to North Shore in the Class 6A-Division I Regional Semifinals. 

“We fought, we created opportunities, but we just weren’t able to take advantage of some of them when we needed to,” said Katy head coach Gary Joseph. “I’m proud of the guys in that locker room. They gave us all they had in them today and we played well. That’s just an excellent football team, we knew they were talented and they made a few more plays than we did.”

North Shore struck fast and early. The Mustangs got stopped on their first drive but after getting a short field off a punt return, North Shore took the lead on an 18-yard pass from Kaleb Bailey to Deion DeBlanc. North Shore got the ball back and doubled its lead late in the first quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bailey to D’Andre Hardeman Jr. and after another big return on a Katy punt the Mustangs made it 21-0 early in the second quarter on a 7-yard pass from Bailey to Cameron Smith. 

Katy got life back just after that. Bailey left a ball floating near the sideline on a pass and Isaiah McMillan pounced, intercepting it and returning it inside the Mustangs 10-yard line, setting the Tigers offense up with a short field. Katy’s offense took advantage of that with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Gunner Nelson to Joshua Smith. Katy got a short field again after a fumble recovery inside the North Shore 25 and the Tigers cut it to a one-score game when Nelson found Jon Stephens for a 12-yard touchdown pass. 

The Tigers looked to be in good shape heading into halftime, but North Shore got a touchdown on a 51-yard pass from Bailey to Quannell Farrahkan Jr. to give North Shore the momentum back with just 25 seconds left in the half.

“The fight comes from the seniors that stayed with the program and gave us everything,” Joseph said. “They started with 130 four years ago and it turned into 38 this year. It’s a small class but they did so much for this team. Those seniors, they follow through to the end, they know how to fight and they did such a great job for us.”

Katy opened the third quarter and took all of that momentum, driving down the field quickly after the opening kickoff and scoring on a 4-yard Aqualis Jordan run. After a blocked punt it looked like Katy would drive to tie the game, but a fumble at the North Shore seven-yard line killed the drive and it was all Mustangs from there on. 

North Shore made it a two-score game early in the fourth when Bailey connected with Chris Thomas on a 70-yard pass and then after Katy turned it over on downs, Hardoman Jr. put the game away with a 25-yard touchdown run with just over five minutes remaining. Katy added a late score from Nelson on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, but the Tigers couldn’t corral the ensuing onside kick and North Shore ran the clock out. 

Katy ends the year with an 11-2 record after returning to the regional semifinals and the overall series with North Shore is now tied at six a piece between the two schools. The Tigers have some big pieces to fill next season, but lots of those players were here today, they came back from 21 down, they know what it takes to play at this elite level and they are going to keep getting better and more prepared for next season.

“It’s the way the program is built and I just appreciate all of the players on that field for buying in and giving us all they had,” Joseph said. “It hurt after the game, I hurt with them, but this is nothing to put your head down about. They didn’t give up, they didn’t stop playing or slow down for one second out there. It’s not the types of kids they are and that’s what the younger kids need to learn and take from these players today because they gave everything until the end.”

North Shore 42, Katy 28

First quarter

NS: Kaleb Bailey 18 pass to Deion DeBlanc (Daniel Cruz kick) 7:39

NS: Bailey 10 pass to D’Andre Hardeman Jr. (Cruz kick) 1:25

Second quarter

NS: Bailey 7 pass to Cameron Smith (Cruz kick) 11:17

K: Gunner Nelson 6 pass to Joshua Smith (Giovanni Moreno kick) 8:14

K: Nelson 12 pass to Jon Stephens (Moreno kick) 6:00

NS: Bailey 51 pass Quannell Farrahkan Jr. (Moreno kick) 0:25

Third quarter

K: Aqualis Jordan 4 run (Moreno kick) 9:39

Fourth quarter

NS: Bailey 70 pass to Chris Thomas (Cruz kick) 9:39

NS: Hardoman Jr. 25 run (Cruz kick) 5:39

K: Nelson 1 run (Morno kick) 2:54

Team Statistics

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Katy: Tremayne Hill, 26-140; Aqualis Jordan, 4-13-1; Joshua Smith, 1-1; Gunner Nelson, 2-1-1; Israel Olotu-Judah, 1-0; North Shore: D’Andre Hardeman, 16-106-1; Kaleb Bailey, 13-37; Chris Thomas, 2-13

Passing – Katy: Gunner Nelson, 8-19-118-2-2; North Shore: Kaleb Bailey, 16-21-300-5-1;

Receiving – Katy: Israel Olotu-Judah, 4-86; Jon Stephens, 2-20-1; Joshua Smith, 1-6; Cade McCall, 1-6; North Shore: Chris Thomas, 3-122-1; Deion Deblanc, 4-71-1; Quannell Farrahkan, 4-71-1; D’Andre Hardeman, 3-27-1; Cameron Smith, 1-7-1;