Working with two new starting offensive linemen and reserve quarterbacks managing the offense, No. 2 state-ranked and No. 9 nationally-ranked Katy effortlessly cruised to its 70th consecutive district win on Friday, Oct. 18, dominating Seven Lakes, 47-0, at Legacy Stadium.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
Working with two new starting offensive linemen and reserve quarterbacks managing the offense, No. 2 state-ranked and No. 9 nationally-ranked Katy effortlessly cruised to its 70th consecutive district win on Friday, Oct. 18, dominating Seven Lakes, 47-0, at Legacy Stadium.
Katy (7-0, 3-0 District 19-6A) has not lost a district game since a 27-21 overtime defeat to Cinco Ranch on Nov. 8, 2008. The Tigers have only been seriously threatened in a district game three times since: against Cinco Ranch in 2009 (21-20), against Seven Lakes in 2013 (17-12), and against Tompkins earlier this season (35-30).
“I see it as tradition that’s started way back in 1959 and continues now to 2019,” said senior cornerback Bryan Massey, who had an interception against Seven Lakes, his second of the season. “We have a drive to work hard and be like the teams that won before us, all of those eight championship teams. We have things to get better at. We’re on a good run, but we can play at a higher level.”
Katy compiled 458 total yards and held Seven Lakes to 17 total yards. The Tigers produced 23 first downs to the Spartans’ four. Katy punted once; Seven Lakes punted nine times.
The Spartans carried the ball 32 times. They got minus-5 yards out of it.
But the Tigers also had three giveaways and totaled eight penalties for 65 yards, which is why Joseph wasn’t into celebrating the 70 mark after the game.
“It’s about the next one,” Joseph said. “You don’t worry about the last one or how many in a row. We’ll worry about that stuff at the end of the year. But our focus right now is Cinco Ranch and winning that one (on Friday at Legacy Stadium). We have to keep ascending. It’s a process.”
After offensive line starters Drew Murphy and Justin King suffered severe leg injuries in the Oct. 11 win against Morton Ranch that will keep them out indefinitely, senior Carson Rogers and junior CJ Marsh stepped into their roles.
Rogers and Marsh made up the right side of the line—Rogers at guard and Marsh at tackle—and the offensive line as a whole did some good things, Joseph said.
There were a few false start penalties. There was a fumble on the center-to-quarterback exchange. But the offensive line, which was stabilized by senior left tackle Dylan Howerton, senior left guard Dakota White and senior center Brayden Gammel, also paved way for a running game that produced 319 yards on 41 carries (7.8 yards per carry) and kept quarterbacks Jacob Bernard and Bryce Nirider clean.
“We had some great push on the defensive line. Pass protection was pretty good,” Rogers said. “We did pretty well, but we can be better.”
Rogers had already played a significant amount of snaps this season as a key reserve. He is a player Joseph has praised for his improvement, something Rogers said is due to better footwork, which means better movement, better assignment work and lower pad level for more push.
“There’s more dependability, but it’s the same thing I’ve always done,” Rogers said of going from backup to starter. “It’s just playing football. There’s more responsibility and maybe a little more nerves, but once you get in, you feel the game and you love the game. Then you just go out there and play.”
Marsh, however, was pulled up from the junior varsity just three weeks before making his first varsity start against Seven Lakes. He is a tantalizing physical prospect at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds, but showed signs of his inexperience.
By his own admission, a frustrated Marsh said he played like “crap” against the Spartans. Marsh said he had bad footwork and poor leverage.
Joseph, though, said he generally likes Marsh’s disposition and “want-to,” and Rogers praised his motor.
“He has that JV mentality, so we’re trying to get him to mature a little,” Rogers said of his new line mate. “But he’ll get there. He’s doing great. He brings height, obviously. He’s a great guy in the locker room. But he is always aggressive out there. He never lets down. He’s someone who goes 100 percent all the time.”
Bernard, generally the Tigers’ No. 2 quarterback, started for the second straight game as junior starter Bronson McClelland finished his two-game suspension for disciplinary reasons.
Bernard was exceptional against Seven Lakes, completing 10 of 16 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns to no interceptions. In the two games he started, the senior completed 16 of 23 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns.
Nirider, a sophomore, only attempted one pass and turned the ball over twice in his limited playing time against Seven Lakes. But he had a solid outing in the Morton Ranch game, and the experience was invaluable for both Nirider and the program.
“It gives us a little depth, which we need,” Joseph said. “We’re not a one-man band. We can have kids step in when they need to; that’s what having depth and having a program is about. It’s not about one person. Both of them are to be complimented for the job they’ve done.”