North Shore, Katy roll to playoff victories to set up yet another clash of titans.
Mustangs surge to early lead over Dickinson, hold on to play Tigers for third time in a year Tigers score on first offensive play, breeze to 11th win in a row to set up NRG showdown
Bring on Katy. North Shore, ranked No. 2 in the state, will face the eight-time state champion for the third time in less than a year after dispatching Dickinson 65-21 on Friday at Galena Park ISD Stadium.
The Mustangs (12-0) beat Katy 35-21 on Aug. 31 in their season opener. The Tigers (11-1) cruised to a 31-3 win Dec. 9 at NRG Stadium in last year’s Class 6A Division I Region III final.
“They’re a phenomenal program,” North Shore coach Jon Kay said. “It’s the gold standard of Texas football in my mind, so any time you get an opportunity to line up against a program like that, you’ve got to embrace the challenge, and embrace the opportunity. So we’re looking forward to it.”
North Shore and Katy, a 58-14 winner over Jersey Village, will reunite at 7 p.m. Friday at NRG Stadium in the 6A Division I Region III semifinals.
This also is the third consecutive playoff meeting between the area powers. North Shore prevailed 20-17 in the 2016 regional semis before falling to Atascocita in the regional championship game.
Dickinson (10-2) couldn’t hand an opponent its first loss in back-to-back weeks. After routing previously perfect Pearland 49-21 in the bidistrict playoffs, the Gators found their role reversed Friday, falling into a 28-0 hole on the first play of the second quarter against North Shore.
“We had a great week of preparation,” Kay said “Sometimes, in that Thanksgiving week, it can get a little squirrely. You don’t have transportation, you don’t have school meals, you don’t have the routine, but our parents did an outstanding job of getting our kids here, and we were focused and disciplined. The game started the way it did as a result of that.”
The Mustangs were highly efficient, too. Four of their first five scoring drives took only three plays, despite three of them covering long distances (75, 92, 91 yards).
Quarterback Dematrius Davis and tailback Zach Evans provided the first two scores on big plays — 59- and 39-yard runs, respectively — and then RB John Gentry came in to rush for three of the next four. His 19-yard TD gave North Shore a 42-14 lead with 2:30 left in the first half.
But the Gators wouldn’t go away. They scored 21 points in the second quarter — at the same time Katy was handling Jersey Village at Legacy, taking a 42-7 halftime lead — including a Hail Mary with 2.7 seconds left in the first half.
Jalen Wydermyer tipped the ball and Cameron Galliher collected it for a 34-yard TD. Galliher also generated Dickinson’s first score on a 1yard catch, cutting North Shore’s lead to 28-7 in the second quarter.
“A lot of that goes to Dickinson,” Kay said. “That’s a great football team. They’ve got some big receivers who are very talented, a quarterback who can spin it, and they made some plays, so I’ll tip my hat to them. Obviously, it’s frustrating, but when you play great teams, they’re going to have playmakers who can do some things.”
The Gators had a chance to pull within two scores in the third. After ending the first half with momentum, they started the second half with possession and QB Mike Welch hit Darryl Harris for 27 yards to the North Shore 43. But the Mustangs’ defense stopped Welch for no gain the next two plays, and then senior defensive lineman Jordan Revels rose.
The 5-11, 245-pound Revels intercepted Welch and rumbled 55 yards for a 49-21 lead.
Upton Stout picked Welch on Dickinson’s next series, and then Chance Pillar’s 30-yard TD reception with 4:06 left in the third ensured North Shore’s starters watched the fourth from the sideline.
“North Shore is really talented and well-coached,” Dickinson coach John Snelson said. “You’ve got to limit your mistakes, as far as penalties, turnovers and missed assignments, and we had too many. But some of that was a credit to them. They created a bunch of it.”
Evans finished with 218 yards and one TD on 14 rushes. Davis ran for 104 yards and two TDs and threw for 140 yards and one score in another dominant display for the Mustangs, who arguably have the most complete team in their vaunted program’s history. The only question is can they equal the school’s greatest with state title No. 3.
“Talent-wise, it speaks for itself,” Kay said. “It’s a matter of do they have the discipline and the determination to put it together week after week and keep stacking great practices and great reps together.”
KATY — The Katy Tigers again are playing at a high level as they make their annual playoff run. The Tigers scored from 68 yards out on the first offensive play of the game and never were threatened in dismantling District 17-6A champion Jersey Village 58-14 on Friday afternoon at Legacy Stadium.
Katy, which has won 11 in a row, gets a rematch with North Shore next Friday at NRG Stadium. The Mustangs handed the 11-1 Tigers their only loss in the season opener.
“We already talked about it in the locker room,” said Katy quarterback Bronson McClelland, who threw for three touchdowns to help end the Falcons’ 10-game winning streak. “That’s the one since the first game of the season, right here.
“That’s the one we’ve known that we were going to have. The matchup, it’s always there. Third round. Katy against North Shore. That first loss at the beginning of the season still annoys me, but next week, it’s on.”
The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and totaled 613 yards in the Class 6A Division I Region III arearound game. They accumulated 291 yards just in the first quarter.
Deondrick Glass, who missed the previous two games with a shoulder injury, rushed for 174 yards and scored on runs of 63, 9 and 1 yard. He had 152 rushing yards after one quarter, carried the ball once in the second quarter for 22 yards and did not play in the second half.
“He did good,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “He’s working his way back into things. He played hurt, and I admire the kid for that.”
The Tigers, who came into the game averaging 50.2 points per game, led 42-7 at halftime.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, McClelland connected with an uncovered Jordan Patrick, who caught the ball at the Katy 36-yard line and coasted into the end zone.
“We knew going into the game what we wanted to do,” McClelland said. “If they were biting on play fakes that we were going to run right pass them like the first play of the game.”
The Falcons (10-2) lost for the first time since their opener.
“We had a great season and ran into a good football team,” Jersey Village coach David Snokhous said. “We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game today, but they had a lot to do with it. They’re by far the best football team we’ve played all year. It ended up being a good year, and you have to live off that.
“The kids are disappointed, they thought they could win. We just ran into a buzzsaw. You can’t play catch-up against this bunch.”
Falcons quarterback Raymond Richardson passed for 161 yards, completing 18 of 35 passes. He threw a 42-yard touchdown to Caleb Weaver and had a 10-yard scoring pass to Christian Peguero.
On the Tigers’ first offensive play of the second half, Sherman Smith scored on a 31-yard run off tackle. Smith, who rushed for 118 yards, tacked on a 60-yard scoring run late in the third quarter.
Playing only one series in the second half, McClelland finished with 209 yards passing, completing 7-of-9.
Jonathan Cervantes was the star for Jersey Village. The senior kicker had firstquarter punts of 78 and 60 yards — both touchbacks.
The Falcons, who came in averaging 39.6 points, were limited to 215 yards. Katy’s defense came up with two turnovers on Jersey Village’s first three possessions. Dalton Johnson recovered a fumble, and defensive back Bryan Massey, lineman Joseph Johnson and linebacker Zoland Simon stepped up big as well.
“(That unit) has gotten better all year long,” Joseph said. “They tackled well. That’s what we need. We’ll find out next week. This week, they did well.”
Defensing unbeaten North Shore is a challenge for any team. Even the Tigers, who lost to the Mustangs 35-21 in a game in which Katy missed 29 tackles.
“It’s like playing the Green Bay Packers,” Joseph said. “I don’t know if the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line is any bigger than theirs. We’re going to go out there and do our best.
“I’m hoping our kids will rise to the occasion, they’ve always have. They need to one more time to have a chance in this game.”