By Tom Behrens
Mayde Creek and Morton Ranch won their season openers last weekend. The Rams, playing in the first game at the new Legacy Stadium, won a 51-48 thriller on a late touchdown run by quarterback Keyonte Fiakpul. The Mavericks defeated the Longhorns 36-17 at Pasadena Memorial Stadium.
Here is a summary of the other Katy ISD football games played last weekend.
Katy 24, The Woodlands 21: Tigers win a cliffhanger
The teams, which met Saturday at Legacy Stadium, spent the start of the game struggling to capitalize on clock-consuming drives.
Kesean Carter for The Woodlands scored first, taking the kickoff for 102 yards and the lead.
Josh Oglesby for Katy replied with his own spectacular play, an 80-yard run down the right sideline to even the score.
Oglesby wasn’t done scoring yet, scoring his second touchdown from three yards out for a 14-7 Tigers lead at halftime.
After touchdowns by both sides, Seth Small nailed a 39-yard field goal with no time left to give Katy its first win of the season.
Porter 24, Tompkins 17: Interception sets up Porter win
The Tompkins Falcons knew going into the game with Porter, played Friday at Texan Drive Stadium in New Caney, that they needed to slow down Porter RB Carlos Norman, who ran the ball 24 times for 132 yards and three touchdowns the previous week.
However, Porter senior linebacker Bradley Moore and junior defensive back Kaleb Bailey broke open a tie game to propel Porter past Tompkins, 24-17.
With the game tied 10-10 at the half, the Falcons and Spartans traded possessions in the third quarter with neither team scoring.
In the fourth quarter, Moore picked off a pass and returned it 23 yards to the end zone, giving Porter a 17-10 lead. The Falcons marched the ball down to the Spartan five-yard line on the ensuing possession, but a fumble recovery and a 97-yard dash down the right sideline by Bailey gave Porter a 24-10 lead.
Scoring for Tompkins were Ryan Schmidt and George Benyeogor. Jacinto Esteban added a field goal for the Falcons.
Tompkins coach Todd McVey said he was proud that Falcons played four quarters and played hard.
“We made some mistakes,” McVey said. “But I give credit to (Porter). They took advantage of them.”
Magnolia 35, Taylor 26: Mistakes cost Mustangs
The Taylor Mustangs lost to the Magnolia Bulldogs, 35-26, Friday at Rhodes Stadium.
Taylor coach Trey Herrmann attributed the loss to a bunch of mistakes.
“We talked a lot after the game about taking care of little things,” Herrmann said. “We did a lot of little things wrong, like snapping the punt over the punter’s head, a bunch of misconnections between the center and quarterback exchange, missed connections between the quarterback and running back. It was not one particular thing. It was a collection of small mistakes that led to the overall outcome.”
Herrmann said that Ean Beek had a great game.
“Besides the TDs that he made, he had another 80-yard touchdown that was called back on the fake punt, and it could have been even more yards for him. He made some big plays for us.”
On the defense, Herrmann said, “The defensive line did well on the pass rush. The thing we didn’t do well is keep Foster contained. The first thing we talked about was playing within the system. When they don’t do that, they put our linebackers in jeopardy, but overall I thought they played pretty well.”
Herrmann summed up his comments on the Magnolia game on a positive note.
“This should be a good year for us,” Herrmann said. “We need to stay healthy. That’s always a big thing. Of all the years, this is the year we have the most depth at positions, have the ability to put some different personnel on the field on different situations on both sides of the ball. We have a lot more depth on special teams than we have had in the past. Play hard and take it one week at a time. We are young up front. Guys every single game will get a little bit better.”
Foster 16, Seven Lakes 10: Mistakes seal Spartans’ fate
Coach Lydell Wilson of Seven Lakes summed up the Spartans’ loss to Foster: “Close game except for the second quarter.”
Foster defeated Seven Lakes lost to Foster 16-10, Saturday at Traylor Stadium.
Seven Lakes made a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter, and a 10-yard pass completion from John Harrington to Kellan Johnson for a touchdown in the second quarter. Alex Harris scored Foster’s first touchdown. Grant Guzzetta hauled in Shadeed Ahmed’s pass for the second touchdown.
“We pretty much played a good game, but just made a couple of mistakes in the second quarter, ran a wrong route,” Wilson said. “They came up with the interception, enough for a touchdown. Outside of that I think we pretty much dominated the line of scrimmage, kids ran around and made plays.”
The Spartans’ problems were holding on to the ball and catching the ball.
“We had a bunch of drops, too many penalties, sloppy play on the offense,” Wilson said.
Cinco Ranch 47, Memorial 10: Cougars cruise to victory
The Cinco Ranch Cougars had no problem with Spring Branch Memorial, winning big, 47-10, Friday at Tully Stadium. The Cougars scored 14 in the first quarter; 20 in the second, and 13 in the third.
Scoring for Cinco Ranch were Justin Hill with both a rushing and receiving touchdown. Cameron Harper had a 19-yard touchdown run. Brant Kuithe carried the ball 12 times for 202 yards and three touchdowns.