High School Football

Paetow outlasts Morton Ranch for first 6A district win

By Andres Chio, Special to the Katy Times
Posted 9/10/22

 “It is 6A. It is Katy ISD. Everyone is loaded. It is the toughest district in the state and it is going to be a heavyweight fight every week,” Teagle said. “I’m proud of the way our guys fought back and played.” 

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High School Football

Paetow outlasts Morton Ranch for first 6A district win

Posted

It was a lesson in perseverance for Paetow on Friday night as the Panthers came back from behind to defeat Morton Ranch 34-29 at Rhodes Stadium. 

It was Paetow’s first district game against a Katy ISD school and a familiar foe welcomed the team to District 19-6A. 

Morton Ranch came out swinging as the Mavericks looked to avenge their losses to Paetow in 2020 and 2021 non-district play. 

The two teams are no strangers to close games and Paetow head coach Lonnie Teagle said he expects all of the district games to be tough like Friday night’s matchup. 

 “It is 6A. It is Katy ISD. Everyone is loaded. It is the toughest district in the state and it is going to be a heavyweight fight every week,” Teagle said. “I’m proud of the way our guys fought back and played.” 

Morton Ranch senior Lamarcus Hurrington got his team’s defense going early as he intercepted an overthrown pass on the first play of Paetow’s second drive to give the Morton Ranch offense great field position. 

The Mavericks were able to capitalize as senior Santana Scott scored on a 10-yard touchdown run as his offensive line pushed him across the goal line to gain a 7-0 lead. 

Despite the early score, Paetow senior David Hicks brought defensive pressure on every play and was routinely double teamed. With two players covering Hicks, it opened up opportunities for his teammates. 

“If I get double-teamed, then someone else is going to make a play,” Hicks said. 

While Paetow gave up some early scores, the pass rush forced Morton Ranch to throw away the ball often. The Mavericks completed just eight of their 22 passes in the game. 

Paetow crossed midfield with a long pass from senior quarterback Koby Truehill to senior Jason Blue. Once across, Paetow lined up senior linebacker Alexander Kilgore at fullback and he broke through the Morton Ranch defense with a 34-yard touchdown run. 

Senior Carsen Luna came up big for the Mavericks on the next drive as he forced a fumble to give his team the ball at midfield. Morton Ranch took advantage and took a 10-7 lead after Rincon made a 24-yard field goal. 

A few drives later, Morton Ranch senior quarterback Josh Johnson threw a perfect fade pass to Gerald for a 7-yard touchdown pass to give Morton Ranch a 16-7 lead after a missed extra point. 

Paetow refused to go quietly into halftime as Truehill found senior Justin Stevenson wide open for a 34-yard pass to get into the redzone. Truehill threw a fade pass touchdown of his own to junior VanKeith Brown to close out the half 16-14. 

While the defense made some important stops on third down in their own half of the field, Kilgore said the team had a lot to learn and improve on. 

“That’s all we can do. [All we can do] is love one another, share the ball and go out there and work hard,” Kilgore said. 

The teams went back and forth to start the third quarter until a high snap sent the ball over the head of the Morton Ranch punter. Paetow recovered the ball in the redzone and Truehill quickly completed an 11-yard pass over the middle to Gene Kendall to give Paetow a 21-16 lead. 

The rest of the night saw Paetow and Morton Ranch continue the game of call and answer as each team had a quarterback sneak touchdown and a 67-yard kickoff return. 

Paetow’s Stevenson took his return for a touchdown while Morton Ranch’s Scott was tackled at the Paetow 20-yard line. Scott was able to score on an 8-yard touchdown run later in the fourth quarter. 

With the score at 34-29 in the Panther’s favor and just four minutes to play, the Mavericks reached midfield. The Panthers’ focused on stopping the run all game and it paid off in a huge way as Hicks forced a fumble and Paetow recovered. 

With the ball and lead in hand, Paetow ran the ball to run out the clock and seal the victory. 

Teagle emphasized the need to start the game stronger after falling behind early. 

“We got to come out and punch first. It was a wakeup call for us and hopefully next week we’ll come out and punch first,” Teagle said. 

Paetow 34, Morton Ranch 29 

Paetow 

14 

13 

 -- 

34 

Morton Ranch 

13 

 -- 

29 

First Quarter 

MR: Santana Scott 10-yard run (Angel Rincon kick) 00:27 

Second Quarter 

P: Alexander Kilgore 34-yard run (Brady Wade kick) 10:56 

MR: Rincon 24-yard field goal 4:42 

MR: Josh Johnson 15-yard pass to Mike Gerald (Rincon kick missed) 1:06 

P: Koby Truehill 7-yard pass to VanKeith Brown (Wade kick) 00:02 

Third Quarter 

P: Truehill 11-yard pass to Gene Kendall (Wade kick) 1:57 

Fourth Quarter 

P: Truehill 1-yard run (Wade kick) 8:44 

MR: Scott 8-yard run (Rincon kick) 7:57 

MR: Johnson 1-yard run (2-pt conversion fail) 4:52 

P: Justin Stevenson 67-yard kick return (2-pt conversion fail) 4:37 

Katy ISD, sports, football, Paetow, Morton Ranch