North Shore takes down Katy in powerhouse playoff matchup
Davis accounts for 417 yards, six TDs as North Shore crumples Katy
Living up to a state championshipwinning touchdown pass repeatedly played on “SportsCenter” is difficult.
Dematrius Davis might have done so and then some.
The junior North Shore quarterback juked, pump-faked and stutter-stepped his way to 283 rushing yards and three TDs on 21 carries with 134 yards and three more scores on 8-of-12 passing in the Mustangs’ 56-35 win over Katy in the Class 6A Region III Division I semifinal
Friday at NRG Stadium.
The 49 points in last year’s regional semifinal loss to North Shore was the most Katy (12-1) had allowed in a playoff game until Friday. Davis played quarterback on both of those North Shore teams.
More remarkable is that Davis didn’t have a rushing attempt in the teams’ season opener in August. This was Katy and North Shore’s 11th meeting since 2008 and fourth straight in the postseason.
“I just do what I have to do. Whatever they give me, I take,” said Davis, responsible for the Hail Mary touchdown pass to A.J. Carter that sent North Shore past Duncanville as time expired in the 2018 6A D-I title game.
Davis makes it sound simpler than it looks. The shifty Virginia Tech commit constantly made defenders miss and was difficult to bring down, especially on his 40-yard TD run in the second quarter and 30-yarder in the third. His other touchdown run was just a 1-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to provide the game’s final score.
But even that drive included some of his magic.
On a first-and-10 from North Shore’s 37-yard line, the pocket collapsed around Davis, but he escaped and juked a defender on the way to a 52-yard run that set up the 1-yard TD.
Katy wasn’t short on explosive plays, either — especially early. There was Bronson McClelland’s 72yard touchdown pass to Steven Stiles and an equally exciting 86-yard kickoff return for a TD from Bryan Massey in the first quarter.
Tied at 21 with 3:56 before halftime, Davis and North Shore grabbed the momentum.
Davis dropped a perfect pass into the lap of Charles King for a 25-yard touchdown. North Shore then forced a Katy punt with 58 seconds remaining in the half. It was more than enough time as Davis found Ismael Fuller for a 48-yard score 36 seconds later.
Katy opened the third with another punt. Davis’ legs went to work again for North Shore’s third unanswered score on the 30yard run for a 42-21 lead at the 8:03 mark.
“We had a guy there for him on every play,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said of defending Davis. “It wasn’t just him. We have other guys who are responsible for doing things. Their size caught up with us a little bit. They were throwing us around, and we were about a step off on everything we did.”
Much like the season opener when Katy trailed 21-7 at halftime but won 2421, the Tigers found a way back in dramatic fashion.
A North Shore punt attempt went awry as the snap sailed toward the end zone. The punter attempted to corral it and still get the kick off, but the ball was popped in the air off Aiden McKinney’s hit and fell into Daylin Johnson’s hands for a 1-yard score.
That combined with Jalen Davis’ 10-yard touchdown run on the previous Katy drive cut North Shore’s lead to 42-35 with 3:21 left in the third.
Katy’s Jalen Davis finished with eight carries for 44 yards and a touchdown. Ron Hoff, who rushed for 206 yards in the August meeting, had 10 carries for 27 yards.
North Shore was missing injured star receiver Shadrach Banks, who also missed the season opener.
But Dematrius Davis, King and Fuller more more than made up for it. Not to be outdone, standout North Shore tailback Zach Evans produced two scores and 115 yards on 23 carries.
After North Shore’s mishandled punt, it came up with a five-play, 48-yard drive that ended with Davis and King connecting again for a TD, this time for 11 yards. A key play in that drive was Davis’ 24-yard run on a second-and-9 from Katy’s 47.
“I think it was (important) just to handle the ups and downs of a game, which I think our kids did very well,” said North Shore coach Jon Kay. “We took a few punches to the face — two specifically on special teams. Kids didn’t back down, jumped right back in the fight. I think that was the difference.”