Friday night lights kick off
First Friday of season brings matchup of area’s top two ranked teams
North Shore’s Zachary Evans (3) turns the corner on Katy’s Bryan Massey (6) during the first half Friday night at Legacy Stadium. The No. 2 Mustangs opened the season with a 35-21 win over the top-ranked Tigers.
It’s not necessarily the game they wanted.
No. 1 Katy and No. 2 North Shore used to play each other in non-district but ended the matchup after four years because of the toll it took on both teams so early in their typically long seasons.
But with few takers for either after UIL realignment, they ended up renewing their rivalry — less than nine months after meeting in the playoffs — giving Houston-area fans exactly what they craved on Friday night.
Eight-time state champ vs. two-time champ — and one of the state’s largest schools.
Katy running back Deondrick Glass vs. North Shore’s Zach Evans — both elite recruits with at least 60 Division I offers between them.
Legendary coach Gary Joseph vs. North Shore coach Jon Kay — the heir to program architect David Aymond.
“We do look forward to seeing them,” Evans said. “They’re a pretty good team.”
Four touchdowns for Evans
The result: North Shore 35-21 at Legacy Stadium — but don’t be surprised to see them meet again soon.
The Mustangs surpassed last year’s point total from the regional semis — a 31-3 Katy rout at NRG Stadium — 45 seconds into the game, then cruised to a 21-7 halftime lead behind three Evans touchdowns.
The 5-11, 203-pound junior finished with 150 yards and four TDs on 15 carries.
That was without playing in the third quarter, when he stayed on the sideline “getting back on hydration,” he said.
The Tigers (0-1), who lost for the first time at Legacy, pulled within 28-14 with 6:39 in the third, with new quarterback Bronson McClelland notching his second rushing TD on a 12-yard run. He broke a 60-yard touchdown run when the North Shore defense lost track of him in the first quarter.
Then Evans returned in the fourth to ice the game.
He checked in for a 33-yard burst, limped back to the sideline with cramps, then returned once more for three straight carries — 8 yards, 2 yards and then a 1-yard TD where he ducked under the pile.
Kay praises quarterback
Not that Kay was overly impressed.
“If we’re as good as we’re going to be all season, we’re going to have a very short year, so we’ve got to get better regardless of what the outcome was (Friday),” he said.
Kay was slightly more effusive of the leap sophomore quarterback Dematrius Davis made from the first time he faced Katy last year to Friday’s rematch. He completed 14 of 18 passes for 187 yards and one TD.
“You’re going from a freshman to a sophomore, and you’re in the system — you’re ready to go,” Kay said.
The Mustangs finished with 381 yards and 17 first downs.
Katy struggled offensively, going three-and-out five times, and still produced 317 yards and 14 first downs, thanks in large part to Glass, who had to work hard for his 141 yards on 27 carries without a TD.
“We’ve lost our first game before and gone on to win the state championship,” McClelland said. “So it’s a tough loss, none of us are happy about it, but we’ve got to get back to work and worry about next week.”