Katy Football Embraces Vandergrift Challenge

By Terry Carter Early this season, Katy dominated in its opening game and then struggled for victories against two quality foes. Against Atascocita, the Tigers trailed 14-7 in the second quarter. Katy battled to get the upper hand as their opponent seemed to match Katy’s quality of play and intensity. With just over a minute to go in the game, Katy standout RB Seth Davis raced 57 yards for the game-winning score in a dramatic 35-28 victory against the talented Eagles. Some took a lesson in competitiveness from that non-district battle. Others may have seen an opening for future opponents to limit Katy’s offense or even upset the 9-time state champions. The next week, Katy opened District 19-6A play against Tompkins, the Tigers’ strongest league opponent on paper. Tompkins led 3-0 in the first quarter and 13-7 intermission. But Katy’s staunch defense held the talented Falcons scoreless in the second half of a penalty-plagued contest. And again RB Davis and that overwhelming surge from the Katy offensive line yielded two touchdowns for a hard-fought, 14-13 win. Eleven weeks later, the unbeaten 14-0 Tigers face Region IV-6A champion Vandergrift (13-1) in the Division II state semifinal football contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio today at 1 p.m. The winner meets the victor of DeSoto (12-2) vs. Denton Guyer (14-0) playing Saturday. Katy still relies on rushing with a pair of 1,000-yard dynamos in the backfield: Davis (1,858 yards on 194 carries , 29 TDs, 9.6-yard average carry) and RB Dallas Glass (1,256 yards on 137 carries, 21 TDs, 9.2-yard average carry). And the 14 consecutive wins speak to their talent, the offensive line and that balanced defense, which has allowed just 198 points (14.4 per game). The Vandergrift Vipers have redeemed their season-opening loss to Dripping Springs, 23-20, by defeating their rival 27-24 last weekend despite a statistical advantage to Dripping Springs. Vandergrift is powered by QB Brayden Buchanan, who is a 2-way threat much like Cinco Ranch standout QB Gavin Rutherford. Both will scramble and run, but pass very effectively. Buchanan has thrown for 2,839 yards (202.8 per game), 27 passing TDs on 198-of-301 attempts. His five interceptions include two in the last game against a 12-2 Dripping Springs team. WR Miles Coleman is the dominant receiver with more than 1,400 yards in receptions, 12 scoring catches. RB Alex Witt leads the squad with 82 yards of rushing per game and 18 TDs this fall. Defensively the Vipers are aggressive and will stop many runners behind the line of scrimmage. This will be a quality matchup, likely decided in the second half in similar fashion to the Atascocita, Tompkins and CE King games where Katy pulled away with depth, second-half adjustments and exceptional effort. Enjoy! [gallery link="file" columns="2" size="large" ids="379201,379200"]