Koger, Tigers run by Falcons
Katy football is renowned for boisterous red-clad crowds and an atmosphere more comparable to the Southeastern Conference than high school. Tigers fans once again packed the stands on homecoming night.
Even for Katy, there was something extra in every outburst Friday at Legacy Stadium, perhaps due to facing the one district foe to defeat the Tigers in the last 13 years.
Sparked by an electrifying second quarter, Katy decisively avenged last season’s loss to Tompkins, remaining undefeated with a 56-21 victory. The Tigers improved to 6-0 overall, 2-0 in District 19-6A as both teams carried perfect records in their annual matchup for the third straight year.
Katy undoubtedly had this game circled on the schedule after a 24-19 loss to Tompkins (5-1, 1-1) the previous year. But the Tigers might have needed added motivation.
“It was just the same in practice,” Katy quarterback Caleb Koger said. “We didn’t change anything. I just feel like we’ve really come together as a team. We’re now one unit.”
Koger, making one of his early starts as a sophomore against the Falcons last year, was exceptional this time. He completed 14 of 17 passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns.
“There’s a big difference from last year and this year,” Katy receiver Antonio Silva said. “He got a lot of pressure last year. He also did get pressure this game, but I think he handled it well and he took care of the ball better.”
A 26-yard touchdown pass from Koger to Isaiah Smith accounted for the only points of the first quarter. But Koger and Katy were just getting warmed up.
Koger opened the second quarter scoring on a play-action fake, rolling briefly to his right before finding Silva wide open for a 46-yard touchdown.
It was 21-0 before Tompkins could catch its breath. An interception by Arian Parish was quickly followed by Seth Davis’ 56-yard sprint through the middle of the field.
Davis finished with 205 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown to open the second half. The Tigers finished with 635 yards overall while scoring more points than the Falcons had allowed since 2018, a 66-13 loss to Katy.
“We work on defense all week,” Silva said. “We broke
down move that they did, everything in practice. I feel like in the game I didn’t even worry about it. It was already in my head. I was mentally prepared.”
Tompkins responded to Davis’ first touchdown with its own big play, as Cole Francis found Joshua McMillan deep on a slant-andgo rout for a 49-yard touchdown. McMillan, who scored three touchdowns in the Falcons’ upset of Katy last year, added a kick return for another later in the second quarter.
But it was 35-14 by then. Koger connected with J.R. Ceyanes for one touchdown. After Katy recovered a fumbled snap, Koger found Nic Anderson deep on the next play from scrimmage for a three-touchdown Tigers lead.
Remarkably, Koger was not finished. Another play-action pass resulted in his fifth touchdown pass of the half with 13 seconds remaining for a 42-14 lead. It was a 48-yard strike to Anderson, who had almost 10 yards of distance when he caught the ball.
“Our run game helped me,” Koger said. “Play-action brought everybody wide open and it made my job easy. Linemen did their job, gave me the protection I needed to make throws and the receivers caught the ball.”
Tompkins drove inside the Katy 10-yard line on its first possession of the second half, but the Tigers stopped the drive on fourth and two. Davis followed two minutes later with his second touchdown, and Johnathan Hall’s endzone interception end Tompkins’ final drive of the third quarter.
Dallas Glass scored Katy’s final touchdown, while Tompkins added a late touchdown by McMillan, his third of the night. McMillan almost had a fourth, but his kick return to open the second half was erased due to a penalty.
While four games remain, Katy might have passed its most significant test in 19-6A. The Tigers face Mayde Creek at 7 p.m., Oct. 8 at Rhodes Stadium. Tompkins continues district play against Katy Taylor at 6 p.m., Oct. 7 at Legacy Stadium.