• KATY STRUGGLES AGAINST RIDGE POINT.

The Katy football team is often considering its third string by the fourth quarter of bi-district playoff games.

Against Ridge Point, the Tigers had yet to take a lead entering the final period.

Two touchdown passes from Bronson McClelland to Jordan Patrick were the difference in a 35-28 victory Friday at Legacy Stadium. The Tigers advance to the Class 6A Division I area round after an early test.

Katy trailed 21-14 at halftime, but Timothy Nugent recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. A spectacular diving catch by Steven Stiles set up Jalen Davis’ game-tying touchdown 62 seconds into the second half.

Davis had a stellar game stepping in for running backs Ron Hoff and Sherman Smith, both injured early in the game. Davis carried 30 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by an 80-yard sprint to briefly tie the game at 14 in the second quarter.

“First off, I already knew it was God’s plan,” Davis said. “I just had to do whatever I could to step up for my team and play that role, the next man up. I knew I had a job coming in here. No matter what, I was going to support my team to help them get to the next round.”

The Katy defense provided two more key takeaways, with an interception by D.Q. Dawson setting up the Tigers’ go-ahead score.

Two Ridge Point penalties helped extend a drive, on which Katy had two touchdowns called back for holding. After all that, McClelland threw a strike on the run to the back corner of the end zone to Patrick for an 18-yard touchdown.

“They were on me well,” Patrick said. “Bronson had to scramble. Usually when he scrambles, if I’m deep I go to the sideline. He was scrambling to the right, I just ran across the field and he found me.”

Katy finally led 28-21 with 9:18 remaining and had to hold off a Ridge Point drive. Shepherd Bowling’s interception in the red zone helped the Tigers take control.

“Second half, we didn’t keep our heads down,” Bowling said. “We knew we were still in the game. We just had to keep fighting. We just flipped it in the second half and started making plays.”

McClelland tried Patrick on a deep ball four plays later, which he one-handed and pulled away for a 56-yard touchdown and a 3521 lead with 4:00 left.

Marcus Wright scored for the Panthers late, but Daylin Johnson recovered the onside attempt and a 51-yard run by Davis helped ice the win.

The Ridge Point defense appeared amped from the start, with Carter Aycock, Frank Osagiede and Bryson Stewart combining for a sack on the first play from scrimmage.

That Katy series ended in a three-and-out, the next two on interceptions by Preston Steszweski and Anthony Thornton.

“They came out in a split. We had not practiced that all week, so the offensive line was scrambling around a little trying to figure out how to stop it,” Patrick said. “But we went in the locker room, they figured it out. They watched a little film and then came out and did what we were supposed to do.”

The Panthers took a 14-0 lead in between, with B. Keith Jackson turning a shot pass from Will Pendergrass into a 52-yard sprint down the sideline for the game’s first touchdown less than five minutes in.

Ridge Point could not convert after its first interception, missing a 40-yard field goal. But a 12-yard catch on third down by Keenon Pitts kept the next Panthers drive going.

Pendergrass tried John Paul Richardson one on one three plays later, with Richardson making a covered catch for a 24-yard touchdown.

The Panthers led 14-0 with 10:28 left in the half, but a wild finish was in store.

Both teams punted on consecutive drives, with the last returned to the Ridge Point 19-yard line by Katy’s Jordan Patrick. McClelland found Steven Stiles for a touchdown on the next play with 1:55 left in the second quarter.

The Panthers responded with an 85-yard kick return from Richardson and appeared for a moment to extend their lead when Marcus Wright approached the goal line on the next play. But he fumbled and the ball went out of bounds for a touchback.

Katy needed one play to take advantage, with Davis breaking a tackle near the line and scoring 80 yards later.

Ridge Point answered with a 62yard touchdown from Jackson with 21 seconds left in the half.