LOCAL NOTES
As the season openers near, here are the top Houston teams to watch in 2017
Athletic activities around the Greater Houston area.
The Chronicle divided Houston-area teams into favorites, next in line and dark horses in a series of district previews on Chron.com this month. With season openers next week, here’s a city-wide take on teams to keep an eye from each category.
Manvel
The Mavericks know how to win games. They’re riding a streak of seven straight seasons of double-digit victories, giving them 86 since 2010. Only one area team has more wins during that span — eight-time state champion Katy (96). The Mavs still are seeking their first title, and they’ve had trouble securing a second shot since falling to seven-time champ Aledo in the 2011 4A Division II final, but they’re loaded for another try. Manvel opens as the top-ranked 5A team in Texas, and that was before adding standout running back Garrison Johnson, a Nebraska pledge who transferred from Frenship, to a lineup that already featured Jalen Preston (Texas A&M), Kason Martin (North Texas), Trent Gordon (Penn State), Deneric Prince (Texas A&M) and Kam Scott (Missouri) – to name a few of its future college players.
Katy
The Tigers still reign in 6A, where they’re always favorites — whether that’s a legitimate label in a particular season, or not. Everyone wants to beat the Tigers, and they have the championship résumé to back up their reputation. An injury to star back Deondrick Glass — not their placement in the 6A Division I bracket — derailed their quest for back-to-back titles last season, but if Glass fully receovers from offseason knee surgery, they’ll force themselves back into the postThanksgiving mix again.
North Shore
The Mustangs, with 76 victories since 2010, aren’t far behind Katy and Manvel, placing them in an elite group of teams like Pearland (78), Lamar (77) and The Woodlands (74). They’re also one of three Houston area teams that claimed state titles in 2015 before the area was so rudely excluded last year. With one of the largest enrollments in the state (4,619) to pull from, and a savvy staff, led by defensiveminded coach Jon Kay, they have an excellent chance of putting H-Town back on the map.
The Woodlands
The Highlanders fell victim to Lake Travis in their first state championship game in 13 years last season, and they’re no strangers to playing the over-dog, winning 10-plus games six times in the past eight years, culminating with last season’s 15-1 campaign. They’re No. 9 in the 6A AP preseason poll, but they have a lot of holes to fill, including quarterback, and standout corner Ethan Bonner, who recently flipped to Stanford, already is out with a seasonending knee injury.
More favorites: Crosby, East Bernard, Lamar and Ridge Point.
Fort Bend Marshall
The Buffaloes, like 6A counterparts Cinco Ranch and Atascocita, are next in line in their district, 23-5A — which also is home to Manvel — but like the Cougars and Eagles, they’re also a real threat in their division. They return 18 starters, including QB Jabari James, from a prolific squad that advanced to the 5A Div. II regional finals a year ago.
Cinco Ranch
The Cougars enter 2017 with a chip on their shoulders after a run to the 6A Division II semis that many observers will say was aided, at least in part, by injuries to key players at Friendswood and Cypress Ridge — a theory the Cougars, led by hard-nosed Rice commits Blake and Brant Kuithe, are out to disprove.
Atascocita
Of all the teams “next in line” in the Chronicle’s district previews, no team has a better argument against the label than the Eagles. Yes, they’re in twotime state champ North Shore’s grouping, but they ousted Katy and North Shore to reach their second straight regional final last year — in a different region.
More contenders:
Angleton, Cy Ranch and Hallettsville.
La Marque
The Cougars are here because they’re third among area 3A teams, behind East Bernard and Hallettsville — and their declining enrollment and offfield issues — but they’re still a tradition-rich team capable of winning big.
Tomball Memorial
The Wildcats improved offensively in 2015 and 2016, coinciding with their first trips to the 7-on-7 state tournament, and now they add Sam Parker, a defensive-minded coach who transformed Spring.
Summer Creek
Who can forget the Bulldogs were 5-0 and seemingly a lock to claim their first 6A playoff berth before collapsing last year? Not the players or their coaches, who are determined to finish stronger.
More dark horses: El Campo, Dayton and Heights.