By George Slaughter
The Katy Tigers can claim the distinction of winning the first playoff game in Legacy Stadium. It did so with a Friday night with a 45-14 victory over Fort Bend Travis.
There was no drama in this one, as Katy scored the first four times it had the ball and took a 28-0 halftime lead.
Junior running back Deondrick Glass scored the first touchdown on a two-yard run at the 5:21 mark in the first quarter. Two consecutive 15-yard passes from senior quarterback Austin Marshall to senior wide receiver Tyler Pullig were key to the drive.
After forcing a Travis three-and-out, Glass scored again, this time on a one-yard vault over the line of scrimmage.
The Katy defense forced a turnover on the next drive, as senior defensive back KeShon Rowe intercepted a pass and returned it to the Travis 22. On the next play, Marshall hit sophomore wide receiver Jason Patrick for a score with 11:09 in the second quarter.
The final touchdown of the half was an 87-yard run by senior running back Josh Oglesby, who took the ball on an off-tackle play to the left and took it in for the score with 7:58 left in the half.
“I just heard Coach Joseph’s voice in my head saying, ‘Just run,’” Oglesby said. “I saw the hole and I just hit it as fast I could.”
Katy made the only score of the third quarter on a four-yard run by Oglesby at the 1:01 mark. The drive capped an 83-yard drive and was set up by Rowe’s second interception of the game.
Rowe suffered a leg injury during the regular season. He said after the game that he felt he was at 65%, though the two interceptions surely helped him feel better.
“It does feel good, I’m not going to lie,” Rowe said. “I’m in pain, but I’ve got to push through the pain and break that barrier for my team.”
Joseph said Rowe was the returning starter in the defensive backfield.
“Knowing what he’s doing, having experience, I felt it would compensate” for Rowe not being at 100%, Joseph said. “He should have had three picks.”
Rowe said he keyed on the quarterback’s eyes when positioning himself to make the interceptions.
Glass scored on a one-yard run with 9:13 left in the game, and after the extra point Katy had a 42-0 lead. Even though the game had been all but settled, things got a bit interesting at this point.
On the ensuing Travis possession, Katy senior defensive back Joel Mewis intercepted a pass to put Katy at the Travis 44. On the next play, Oglesby took the ball in for a 44-yard touchdown run, but the play was called back on a penalty.
On the next play, freshman quarterback Bronson McClelland rolled to his left and threw an interception to senior defensive back Stacey Reynolds, who returned it 79 yards for Travis’s first touchdown of the night.
Katy got the ball back and senior Seth Small kicked a 26-yard field goal to make the score 45-7. Small also kicked all of Katy’s extra points in the game.
Travis’s second touchdown came on a nine-yard pass from senior quarterback Amryn Jeffrey to junior wide receiver Arjei Henderson with 2:07 left in the game.
Katy improves to 9-0 and will face the Cy Ranch Mustangs. The Katy-Cy Ranch matchup is set for noon Saturday, November 25, at NRG Stadium.
Joseph said he had no preference as to who Katy plays next.
“I know Cy Ranch, we’ve played them the last two years, they’ve got an outstanding team, an outstanding program,” Joseph said. “Their coach (Gene Johnson) does a really good job. It’s going to be tough either way. There are no easy ones left in this thing right now. We know that, our kids know that, and we’re going to have to heal up and get well and go watch Cy Ranch play Bellaire tomorrow.”
Travis ends its season at 5-5.
In other Katy ISD high school football action Friday, the Taylor Mustangs defeated Fort Bend Bush, 14-0, at Mercer Stadium. The Mustangs improve to 6-4 and will play Langham Creek in the area playoff round. The Broncos close with a 7-2 record.
Meanwhile, the Cinco Ranch Cougars saw their season end with a 40-23 loss to Ridge Point at Hall Stadium. The Panthers, winners of District 20-6A, improve to 9-1. The Cougars close with an 8-2 record.