Clear Falls ready
Knights OK with being big underdog against Katy.
Clear Falls is the state’s biggest underdog this week. It’s fine by the Knights, who often are filling that role.
Katy has been the opponent in Clear Creek ISD football teams’ last four regional title games. There was Clear Brook’s 40-0 loss in 1998, Clear Lake beat Katy 35-34 in double overtime in 2004, Clear Springs fell to the Tigers 38-21 in 2009 and now Clear Falls gets a shot at 1 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Stadium.
It’s a stage Clear Falls — the school district’s youngest program at just nine years old — has been working toward. The program’s first playoff win came in a 21-16 triumph over Strake Jesuit in this year’s bi-district round. Clear Falls currently has a program-best eight wins, more impressive considering COVID-19’s effect on the schedule.
Teams like Ridge Point and Shadow Creek also are barely a decade old in Texas high school football, but those programs have seen massive success the second the school doors opened. Clear Falls took its lumps early. The Knights have three playoff appearances and two winning seasons all-time. Coach Zach Head has been at the helm for two of those playoff berths
and both of those winning seasons.
Clear Falls was a combined 1-19 the two seasons before Head showed up in 2016. The Knights have been close to achieving some of those long-elusive playoff feats sooner. To realize those goals now is satisfying.
“Now to see us not only get in (the playoffs) again but also make this run, it’s very rewarding,” said Head,
a former offensive coordinator at Clear Creek. “It’s just all the work that our players and coaches have put in to make this happen.”
The difference this year? It’s defense. Last year, Clear Falls was led by quarterback Gavin Esquivel, who had 30 touchdown passes on nearly 3,000 yards through the air. The offense’s ability to rack up yards and points is still present,
but the defense leads the way this year.
It arguably hasn’t been more evident in any game this season than the 10-9 regional semifinal win over Katy Taylor — a 2019 state semifinalist.
“We’ve known we had to get better on that side of the ball, and each year we made more and more commitment to that,” Head said. “This year, to be honest with you, most of our best players are actually on defense, which is good. The way our defense has played all year has been probably the biggest thing that’s probably different from this year to last year.”
The Clear Falls defense’s next task: slow down a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Katy brothers Jalen Davis and Seth Davis. On the other side is a Katy defense rounding into its usual dominant shape with each postseason win. State title No. 9 is in the Tigers’ sights.
Those are things no one needs to tell Head and his 8-3 Clear Falls team. The respect runs deep for Katy. Even if few give the Knights a chance Saturday, it won’t prevent them from trying to extend a dream season.
“Honestly, a lot of people haven’t given us a chance all season,” Head said. “We go back to the beginning of the year, some of the first district games we played, people were picking a couple of the opponents we played to beat us. We really feel like we’ve proved people wrong the entire year. We understand it. We know that Katy is the heavy favorite. That’s no secret. But our guys are going to be very respectful of Katy but also not in awe of them. We’re just going to go out and play our A-game.”