Mayde Creek High School, Rams, Texas high school football, sports, Katy ISD

Rams excited about dynamic offense, work ethic

By STEPHEN GREENWELL, Times Correspondent
Posted 8/29/19

Mayde Creek might have had a slow finish to the 2018 season after a fast, early start, but coach Mike Rabe is excited about the returning talent on offense and the team’s work ethic heading into this week’s season opener Friday at Conroe.

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Mayde Creek High School, Rams, Texas high school football, sports, Katy ISD

Rams excited about dynamic offense, work ethic

Posted

Mayde Creek might have had a slow finish to the 2018 season after a fast, early start, but coach Mike Rabe is excited about the returning talent on offense and the team’s work ethic heading into this week’s season opener Friday at Conroe.

Last Friday’s scrimmage against Aldine Davis showed off a typically dynamic, versatile offense, something that has been a staple of the Rams the last few years. Junior newcomers in running back Julius Loughridge, a transfer from Taylor High, and quarterback Donte Jones made strong impressions, as well as senior playmaker Daniel Huery.

Jones is a first-year starter at quarterback, but he looked comfortable in the pocket and spread the ball around to teammates. Rabe said he thought the 6-foot, 170-pounder got better as the scrimmage went on.

“He really started to settle in,” Rabe said. “I thought his execution got way better, and I was really pleased to see that.”

Huery, identified by Rabe as one of the leaders on offense, said he and other skill position players are still building chemistry with Jones, who is the Rams’ fourth starting quarterback in three years.

“Building more chemistry and timing with our quarterbacks, on short routes, but especially those deep routes, that’s going to be key,” Huery said. “It’ll be about balance. We expect to put up a lot of points this year.”

Rabe said the scrimmage mostly served as a way for the team to get used to game situations they would see this year. While 15 starters return, only seven lettermen reserves are back. The scrimmage was significant to build depth and experience for the Rams’ younger players.

“We’re just looking to execute and to see if we can take what we’ve been doing in practice, hit somebody else, and erase some of the nerves,” Rabe said. “We’ve got a couple of guys who haven’t started at the varsity level before going out there, and we’re seeing what they can do.”

Defensively, Mayde Creek did struggle to wrap-up Davis running backs. Rabe said it would be a point of emphasis going forward.

“I thought we made good contact at first, but then they breached out and we didn’t finish with our feet,” he said. “That’s definitely something I think we can improve on.”

On defense, Rabe is looking to several upperclassmen to set the tone.

“[Senior] Jesse Jones is our middle linebacker and he’s done really good,” he said. “Joseph Kinyock is returning as a safety, and I thought he played really well.”

Echoing his coach’s remarks, Kinyock, who averaged six tackles and totaled 2.0 sacks and two interceptions as a sophomore last season, said he wanted to improve his tackling this year.

“My mindset individually, I had a lot of tackles last year, but I also missed a lot, so I’m trying to hit harder and get into the hole more aggressively, versus that sophomore mindset when everything was new to me,” Kinyock said. “Now that I’m in it, everything is just improving and getting better, and I’m hoping to get some more picks this year, too.”

Kinyock said a goal of the defense is to communicate more.

“We’re trying to talk more and get away from the toxic environment,” he said. “We’re trying to change the culture around here, and so far, I think it’s been good, from last year to this year.”

Huery and Kinyock both identified the playoffs as a goal for the team. The Rams have not made the playoffs since 2008.

“We want to make playoffs, for sure,” Huery said. “We haven’t been in a long time.”

When asked if he had a goal for the end of the season, Rabe, Katy ISD’s second-longest tenured head football coach as he heads into his fifth season at the helm of the Rams, laughed.

“We’re day by day,” he said. “We’re really trying to get better every day, and this team has really bought into that. They don’t get caught up on anything else, they don’t get lost in the hype or anything like that. They just have a real workmanlike attitude and practice every day and try to get better. They’re a real fun group to coach right now.”

Mayde Creek High School, Rams, Texas high school football, sports, Katy ISD