Tigers’ Small comes up big with last-second field goal
Seth Small saved his best for the biggest moment.
After misfiring on two field-goal attempts, Katy’s senior kicker nailed a 39-yarder with no time left, lifting the Tigers to a 24-21 victory over The Woodlands in both teams’ season opener Saturday night at Legacy Stadium.
“We bounced back from adversity just like with the hurricane,” said Small, referencing his community’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey, which cost the Tigers their first two games of the season.
The victory sent the Tigers to 4-4 against the Highlanders since 2008. Katy is 81-3 against all other regular-season opponents in that span.
“They’re a talented team,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “They’re a good football program, and they’re well-coached. Early in the year, it’s tough. But it’s a process, and it was a good ballgame for both of us. I’m proud of our win, and I would have been proud of our kids either which way we went in this thing because we fought, and that’s what I wanted to see.”
Joseph was looking at a deficit in the third quarter after the Highlanders surged ahead.
First, they forced a threeand-out by Katy. Then quarterback Quinn Binney let loose, finding Kesean Carter for 15 yards and Zayne Watson — who atoned for a costly fumble — for a 61yard TD and 14-14 tie.
Josh Oglesby’s fumble set up The Woodlands’ go-ahead score. Sean Stavinoha recovered, and six plays later, Lucas Summers punched in a 1-yard score for a 21-14 lead.
Then Katy pulled even after a Woodlands turnover.
KeShon Rowe intercepted Binney, and Deondrick Glass, who was sick and didn’t check in for his first carry until the third quarter, relieved Oglesby and scored on a 7-yard run on fourthand-goal.
“I challenged him to step in a little bit and give Oglesby a break after a long run, and he believes in himself,” Joseph said. “He’s not where he needs to be, but we’re going to get him there.”
Another Highlanders turnover — their third — set up the winning kick by Small, who missed a 27yard attempt in the second quarter and a 47-yarder in the fourth before coming through — after he was iced.
“Short-term memory loss,” Small said. “The guys always have my back, always saying, ‘It’s the next one, next kick,’ and I had to flush it and forget about it.”
The state-ranked powers spent the start of the game struggling to capitalize on clock-consuming drives.
The Woodlands held the ball for 4½ minutes before stalling, and then the Tigers kept it for nearly 5 minutes — with help from three Highlanders penalties — before giving it back on a failed fake punt. But two big plays book-ended those empty possessions.
The game started in spectacular fashion, with Carter, a Texas Tech pledge, taking the first kickoff 2 yards deep in his end zone and returning it 102 yards for a score.
“That was electric,” said Highlanders coach Mark Schmid. “We’ve been waiting around for three weeks to get on the field, and to start your season off that way was pretty exciting.”
Katy answered when Oglesby, a BYU commit, reached the right sideline and pulled away for an 80yard TD and 7-7 tie.
The Tigers had two chances to take the lead on a short field. They came up empty on the first, set up by a Michael Matus sack and Rowe’s 20-yard punt return, with Small’s 27-yard field-goal try sailing wide. But they cashed in on the second after defensive back Kaden Gonzales recovered Watson’s drop at the Katy 5.
Two plays later, Oglesby notched his second TD from 3 yards out for a 14-7 Katy lead, which stood at halftime.
Oglesby finished with 164 yards on 25 carries.
“Unfortunately, we’re playing what should have been a Week 3 game on our first ballgame,” Schmid said. “They are, too, but we made way too many mistakes to beat a quality football team like Katy.” Jason McDaniel is a freelance writer.