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Summer Creek had upset on its mind against the undefeated Katy football team last week, but the Tigers had other plans and held off the late game surge to win 34-31 and advance to the Class 6A Division II semifinal against another unbeaten powerhouse in Westlake.
Katy improved to 14-0 on the season and the win puts the Tigers back in the semifinals for the second straight year, according to the Houston Chronicle. It is a daunting task coming up for the Tigers, as Austin Westlake is on fire and coming off a blowout 70-7 win over Austin Vandergrift in the quarterfinals last weekend. The match is one for the ages, as Westlake is the reigning division 1 state champion, while Katy holds the title for division 2.
“We’re going to go out and compete,” Coach Gary Joseph told the Houston Chronicle. “We will get things corrected. We’re playing the No. 2 team in the nation. I told them we’re not playing for second.”
The game started with Katy appearing to be able to run away with an easy victory thanks to an incredible first half rushing attack led by Seth Davis. Davis ran the ball 12 times fore 218 yards with three touchdowns in the first half alone, and finished with 234 yards total. Caleb Koger had an eight-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Anderson for the other first half score.
While the Tigers were up 27-7 at the half, it was just as lopsided in the other direction with the Bulldogs outscoring Katy 24-7 in the second half thanks to sloppy play, including three turnovers in the third quarter alone. Katy went up 34-21 with 2:37 left in the third quarter on a 51-yard touchdown run by Dallas Glass, but Summer Creek inched its way back into the game with a 12-yard touchdown run by Cory Nichols as the third quarter ended, and then an Alfonzo Gonzalez field goal to make it 34-31 with 6:08 left.
Malik Sylla and Broderick Johnson made a nice play for a sack to force a turnover on downs to keep the game out of reach for Summer Creek.
The win was not an easy one for Katy and Joseph knows the team has some things to iron out before they take on a team of Westlake’s caliber.
“They know that they didn’t play their best, but they knew they played well enough to go to the semifinals,” Joseph said. “I told them we will worry about the correction of things later. Right now, they need to enjoy the win. If you don’t enjoy the win or winning, what are you playing for?”