Katy-Area Regional Playoff Roundup: Katy, Paetow Advance

By George Slaughter

Katy and Paetow punched their tickets to the quarterfinal round of the high school football playoffs with decisive wins Friday.

Katy defeated C.E. King. Paetow defeated Cedar Park.

The other two remaining Katy-area teams in the playoffs, Tompkins and Cinco Ranch, fell short in their playoff bids over the weekend.

North Shore held off a valiant Tompkins second-half comeback to win that game. Summer Creek posted a strong win against Cinco Ranch, which ended a remarkable comeback season for the Cougars. Cinco Ranch was making its first playoff run since the 2017 season.

Tompkins, meanwhile, has made the playoffs for the past four seasons.

Katy 41, C.E. King 24

Katy held off a third-quarter comeback attempt to defeat C. E. King Friday at Legacy Stadium.

With the Tigers holding a 17-3 halftime lead, the Panthers scored on the first play of the third quarter, on a 75-yard pass from junior quarterback Nehemiah Broussard to senior running back D.K. Hammond.

The Tigers responded with some fireworks of their own, scoring on a 62-yard run by junior running back Seth Davis. Davis finished as the game’s leading rusher, with 167 yards on 27 carries. He also threw a touchdown pass for the first score of the game, an eight-yard strike to junior wide receiver J.R. Ceyanes.

But the Panthers came back with another score of their own, this one on a 25-yard run by Hammond. His touchdown put the score at 24-17, and hopes for an easy Katy victory seemingly disappeared.

The Tigers rallied with a 38-yard field goal by senior kicker Axel Robertson, his second of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Katy scored on a 29-yard pass from junior quarterback Caleb Koger to sophomore tight end Luke Carter. The touchdown pass to Carter was the second for Davis. His first touchdown pass came in the first quarter on a 47-yard strike to senior wide receiver Nic Anderson.

Koger was 13-of-23 for 171 yards.

King’s final touchdown came on a 3-yard Hammond run with 3:49 left in the game. Katy responded with its final touchdown, a 40-yard run by Anderson, with :50 remaining.

Katy is 13-0. King finishes its season at 10-3.

North Shore 26, Tompkins 20

The Tompkins Falcons’ rally from a 20-0 halftime deficit came up short as they fell to the Mustangs Friday at Galena Park ISD Stadium.

The Mustangs took their halftime lead on three touchdown passes from freshman quarterback Kaleb Bailey. His first, for 5 yards, went to senior wide receiver Messiah Dunham. His second, for 31 yards, went to senior wide receiver Jhalyn Bialey. His third, for 22 yards, went to junior wide receiver David Amador.

Falcons coach Todd McVey had a talk with his team at halftime, and the comeback began early in the second half. Sophomore quarterback Wyatt Young scored on a 51-yard run to put the Falcons on the scoreboard.

North Shore scored 20-yard pass from Kaleb Bailey to Jhalyn Bailey.

The Falcons got another touchdown on a 32-yard run by Young with 2:58 remaining in the third.

Young had a 25-yard run with 8:26 remaining in the game to bring the Falcons within six points, but time ran out for them.

Young was the game’s leading rusher for Tompkins. He had 131 yards on 10 carries along with the three touchdowns. Quarterback Cole Francis was 10-of-22 for 143 yards.

Caleb Bailey was eight-of-12 for 109 yards and the four touchdowns for North Shore. He was also the Mustangs’ leading rusher, with 103 yards on 12 carries.

North Shore is 11-1. Tompkins finishes its season at 11-2.

Paetow 65, Cedar Park 13

Senior running back Jacob Brown rushed for 241 yards on 14 carries and four touchdowns as Paetow rolled to a decisive win against Cedar Park Friday at Waller ISD Stadium.

Brown’s first touchdown, a 72-yard run, came with 11:01 in the first quarter. From then on it was all Panthers, they rolled up 487 yards of total offense, 312 of which came on the ground.

Senior quarterback C.J. Dumas was the leading passer for Paetow. He was 13-of-15 for 152 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to senior wide receiver Kole Wilson.

The Panther defense played its part in the win, holding Cedar Park to only 31 yards rushing and 286 yards of total offense. Cedar Park senior quarterback Joshua Pell was 16-of-38 for 255 yards and two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Paetow is 12-1. Cedar Park finishes its season at 7-6.

Summer Creek 62, Cinco Ranch 41

The Summer Creek defense held Cinco Ranch to only 67 yards rushing as the Bulldogs defeated the Cougars Saturday at TDECU Stadium.

After a 95-yard touchdown kickoff return by Cinco Ranch junior Seth Salverino to start the game, the Bulldogs went to work. They scored on 13- and 40-yard runs by senior running back Torrie Curry. They then extended their lead to 27-7 with a 28-yard pass from junior quarterback Jarick Jones to senior wide receiver Andrew Alexander, and a 39-yard run by sophomore running back Lloyd Avant.

Cinco Ranch scored on a 10-yard pass from junior quarterback Gavin Rutherford to junior wide receiver Noah Abboud with no time left in the first half.

But the Bulldogs exploded for three more touchdowns in the third quarter to effectively decide the game. Avant scored on a 55-yard run with 10:41 remaining in the third. Curry scored on runs of two- and 35 yards.

Rutherford was 29-of-44 for 235 yards and two touchdowns along with an interception. Junior quarterback Jack McCall was three-of-five for 43 yards and one touchdown for Cinco Ranch

Curry had 156 yards on 18 carries and five touchdowns. Avant had 178 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns for Summer Creek.

Summer Creek is 10-3. Cinco Ranch finishes its season at 8-5.

Katy-Area Quarterfinals Playoff Matchups

Here are the quarterfinal playoff matchups featuring Katy-area teams:

• Paetow v. Fort Bend Hightower, 7 p.m. Friday, Rice Stadium
• Katy v. Summer Creek, 1 p.m. Saturday, Rice Stadium