Know the Enemy: Katy Tigers

2020 Regular Season, Week 2: Cypress Woods Wildcats vs. Katy Tigers
7:00 PM Saturday, October 3, 2020
Cy-Fair FCU Stadium

Photo by Don Carson

Previously on Cy Woods Football...

Chapter 13 of Cy Woods football began on a winning note as the Wildcats went on the road to beat Kingwood 21-7. Trayse Holmes ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.

Well, I wish I could say that things would get easier, but I can't. One of the most storied programs in the state of Texas ramps up the schedule's degree of difficulty. Can't prove anything by beating up on cupcakes, though. 

District 16-6A

Current Standings

1. Cypress Park (1-0)

2. Cypress Woods (1-0)

3. Bridgeland (1-0)

4. Cypress Ranch (0-1)

5. Cypress Lakes (0-1)

6. Cypress Springs (0-1)

7. Langham Creek (0-1)

8. Cypress Falls (0-1)

Week 1 Results

Katy Taylor 37, Cypress Springs 0

Bridgeland 49, Klein Cain 42

Tomball Memorial 55, Langham Creek 7

Cypress Park 55, Cypress Ridge 40

C.E. King 51, Cypress Falls 3

Cy-Fair 13, Cypress Ranch 10

Morton Ranch 24, Cypress Lakes 14

Week 2

Thursday, October 1

Cypress Springs vs. Humble, 6:30 at CF-FCU

Cypress Falls vs. Pearland Dawson, 6:30 at Pridgeon

Friday, October 2

Cypress Park vs. Cy-Fair, 7:00 at CF-FCU

Langham Creek @ Jersey Village, 7:00 at Pridgeon

Bridgeland @ Shadow Creek, 7:00 at Freedom Field

Saturday, October 3

Cypress Ranch vs. Cypress Ridge, 6:00 at Pridgeon

Cypress Lakes @ Mayde Creek, 6:00 at Legacy Stadium

Cypress Woods vs. Katy, 6:00 at CF-FCU

The Enemy: Katy Tigers

2019 Record: 12-1, 6-0 (1st) in District 19-6A

Lost to North Shore 56-35 in 6A Division I, Region III semi-final

Katy's 2019 results

W 24-21 @ North Shore 

W 56-14 @ Atascocita

W 65-0 vs. Aguilas Blancas IPN (Mexico)

W 49-7 vs. Clear Springs

W 35-30 @ Tompkins

W 45-3 vs. Morton Ranch

W 47-0 @ Seven Lakes

W 42-0 vs. Cinco Ranch

W 47-0 vs. Mayde Creek

W 57-0 @ Katy Taylor

6A Division I Region III Bi-district: W 35-28 vs. Ridge Point

6A Division I Region III Area: W 27-14 vs. Cy-Fair

6A Division I Region III Semi: L 56-35 vs. North Shore 

Katy began its 2020 season with a 28-13 road victory over Clear Springs. Well, playing without their starting quarterback certainly handicapped the Tigers, but their defense stifled a high-flying Charger offense. Even a program of Katy's stature can't win every game 55-0, but the job was done. Jalen Davis ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers.

All-Time Series

Katy leads 2-0. This will be the first regular-season game between Cypress Woods and Katy; the first two occurred in the playoffs.

Players to Watch

Bryce Nirider - JR QB #9

Jalen Davis - SR RB #28

Seth Davis - SOPH RB #23

Fernando Garza - SR TE #89

Omarion Aigbedion - SR OL #66

C.J. Marsh - SR OL #76

Malick Sylla - JR DL #2

Cohen Dearman - SR DL #94

Cal Varner - SR DL #91

Shepherd Bowling - SR LB #25

Carson Marshall - JR LB #21

Ty Kana - JR LB #42

Arian Parish - SOPH DB #6

Hunter Washington - SR DB #7

Dalton Johnson - SR DB #43

Bobby Taylor III - JR DB #3

2¢ on Katy

Without a doubt, the Katy Tigers are the gold standard for Texas high school football. Now, their throne has been taken over by Dematrius Davis and North Shore, but there is absolutely no doubt that they are a premier program in this state. Katy is the program that every high school aspires to become and they are hell-bent on reclaiming their status as not just the best program in Houston, but the best in Texas.

Katy's offense might seem basic, but it is also an offense that has won them six state championships in this century. There's not much to the imagination; the Tigers look to run the ball and beat down their opponents. Jalen Davis will be the feature back this year and he gained plenty of experience during the playoffs when last year's starter, Ron Hoff, went down with an injury. Jalen's brother, Seth, is his backup and likely heir apparent at running back for the next two seasons. Bronson McClelland is a three-year starter and a four-year letterman at quarterback, but he did not play against Clear Springs and he is now no longer affiliated with the Katy Tigers football program.

Taking the reins in McClelland's stead is Bryce Nirider, a junior who also saw action last season when McClelland went through other off-field issues. Expect to see Caleb Koger, a sophomore, take snaps under center as well. With Jordan Patrick and Steven Stiles graduating, Taylor Saulsberry, Nick Anderson, and Fernando Garza will be the main pass-catching threats for the Tigers; Garza, an imposing figure at 6-6, 250, is committed to Texas A&M for football and baseball.

Defense wins championships, and no program understands this better than Katy. In the past, they didn't have nearly as many athletes so they relied on players who simply knew their roles and executed those roles to perfection. Owing to that, the Tigers defense has perenially been one of the premier units in Texas. Now, add a little athleticism to those kids and this defense is simply on another level. If there's one thing the Katy defense does well, it's the fact that they will not allow the opposing team's best players to beat them. We saw that in last year's playoffs against Cy-Fair when L.J. Johnson was completely taken out of the game. 

The Tigers' star-studded secondary is probably one of the best in the state. Bobby Taylor III, the son of longtime NFL cornerback Bobby Taylor, is also a top 2022 recruit, while Hunter Washington (Florida State) and Dalton Johnson (Arizona) are two Power-5 commits. They'll be joined by Arian Parish, a rising sophomore, and Hamilton McMartin, who started in Washington's place against Clear Springs and held his own. 

However, Katy is best known for producing outstanding linemen and linebackers and the tradition will surely continue for years to come. Cohen Dearman anchors the middle, while Cal Varner and Malick Sylla cause havoc on the edges. Sylla is one of the top defensive ends in the country for the Class of 2022. There are much bigger names on this Katy defense, but Shepherd Bowling is probably its heart and soul. Bowling fought his way to recover from a career-threatening neck injury and has become a crucial piece of an outstanding defense. Ty Kana, their leading tackler from last year, is yet another rising junior, and Jaden Maronen is another key member of a deep Tiger linebacker corps that will also feature Dontay Sowells.

Fuller Shurtz is a dependable punter and he played a significant role in Katy's win last week as he gave the Tigers a huge advantage in terms of field position when called upon to punt.

Cy Woods is the clear underdog in this game, but they've never been one to shy away from a challenge. No doubt, Katy is an imposing opponent and the name is sometimes enough to instill fear in teams. Cy Woods isn't an ordinary team, however. If there's a level beyond perfect, that's what it is going to take to win this game. It is a non-district game, so ultimately, this game has no bearing on whether the Wildcats will make the playoffs or not. But, if you can't get yourself emotionally and mentally ready to take on the best teams that Texas has to offer... if playing the Katy Tigers doesn't get you amped up, why are you even playing football in the first place?

Last Time These Two Teams Met

The seniors who will be participating in this game were in fifth grade. Katy won 51-7 in a Class 5A Division II area round matchup at Rhodes Stadium in 2013.

(and then there's me, proceeding to use a picture from that game)

Sub-Varsity Game Information

Freshmen at Cy Woods, JV at Katy on Thursday. 4:30 for the Gold, 6:15 for the Cardinal.

Location of Katy High School

Cypress Woods 21, Kingwood 7: Job Done. Good Start.

 2020 Record: 1-0

Photo courtesy: Carmen Agnew, Phlox Photography/MaxPreps

Photo galleries: Varsity, JV, Freshman Cardinal, Freshman Gold

Plug: Are you a parent of a Cy Woods football player and would like to have some pictures to remember this season by? Phlox Photography has you covered. A photographer will be on-site at every Cy Woods varsity football game and all Cy Woods sub-varsity home games. 

For more information on how to purchase a spotlight photo gallery for your athlete, please contact Tom Dendy, JoAnn Nowak, or Carmen Agnew, visit the Phlox website for more details, or watch this explainer video on how to order photos. Tom, Mrs. Nowak, and Mrs. Agnew are all official MaxPreps photographers and you can also view their photos on Cy Woods' MaxPreps page.

 

The wait is over, and the Cypress Woods Wildcats made sure that it was worth it as they traveled to Humble and came away with a 21-7 victory over Kingwood. This is Cy Woods' first victory in a season opener when they shut out Klein Collins 21-0 to begin the 2013 season. The Wildcats turned in a workmanlike performance and came away with the victory. Nothing flashy about this game, they did their job and as a result, they enter Week 2 with a 1-0 record.

After years of seeing Cy Woods effortlessly put up 40-50 points on the scoreboard, I'm still trying to get used to seeing them take part in low-scoring, defensive struggles. This game was a brawl. As I stated in the preview, Kingwood's new head coach, Cale Melton, was the defensive coordinator at Highland Park and he enjoyed massive success at one of Texas's most storied programs. Coach Melton had his team ready to play and the Mustangs certainly made the Wildcats earn this victory. I have a feeling that the Wildcats will need to prepare themselves to get into some ugly games this year. With the triple-option, they have just the playing style to muck things up for their opponents.

At halftime, I spoke with Braden Barrett's father and we had a brief discussion about the merits of non-district play. Yes, it is nice to go into district play with as good of a record as possible. Coming in undefeated would be ideal! But, the time for teams to work on certain plays, fine-tune the gameplan, identify players they want in their rotations, etc. comes in non-district games. Cy Woods has usually adopted the "let's work on this and that" approach, but with the roster turnover, this year is a little different.

With a roster largely consisting of players who would be experiencing varsity football for the first time, it would probably be important for them to start off with a victory, especially with this one team called the Katy Tigers up next on the schedule. I hear Katy's pretty good.

Woods got the win, and with it, a little momentum on their side heading into next week's showdown against one of Texas's premier programs.

What Happened

The Wildcats' first points of the season came on a three-yard touchdown run by Trayse Holmes with 6:42 remaining in the first quarter. The Cats were lucky to have been in a position to score because they were dangerously close to committing a turnover inside the five-yard line, however. Connor Morris took a pitch and looked as though he had a path to the end zone, but a hard hit resulted in him fumbling the ball, which flew about ten feet in the air before Ty Van Atta swooped in to recover the fumble.

Uh... not quite.

Photo courtesy: Carmen Agnew, Phlox Photography/MaxPreps

The defense followed up by forcing a three-and-out and a poor punt gave the offense good field position. A personal foul penalty on Kingwood was tacked on to a first-down catch by John Niles to put Woods in the red zone and two plays later, Dylan Cormier found Niles again for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

Kingwood had a scoring threat aided by a pass interference call and then a 43-yard pass put them at the Cy Woods three-yard line. However, the Wildcats snuffed out the threat as Chris Agnew forced a fumble and then the ball rolled about 20 yards before Carson Cox picked it up to give Cy Woods the ball.

End of 1st Quarter: Cy Woods 14, Kingwood 0

The Mustangs got on the board on the final play of the first half thanks to a two-yard touchdown run from Nick Bernell, capping off a 99-yard drive. Well, that wasn't an ideal end to the first half of the season.

Halftime: Cy Woods 14, Kingwood 7

There was no scoring in the third quarter. Cy Woods got the ball with a little over a minute to go in the third and they proceeded to put up the only points of the second half thanks to a 15-play, 78-yard drive capped off by a four-yard rushing touchdown by Trayse Holmes with seven minutes left in the fourth. The defense followed that up by forcing a three-and-out and the offense turned the ball over on downs on their next drive, but they ran 5:30 off the clock, leaving the Mustangs with just 36 seconds to make up a two-score deficit, which did not happen.

Final: Cy Woods 21, Kingwood 7

Ground

The Wildcats ran for 218 yards in this game and make no mistake, they had to earn every single yard. Seeing Trayse Holmes run up the middle ten plays in a row may seem like complacent playcalling, but first, you never show your hand in game one. Second of all, that's the faith that Coach Neill has in Trayse. He's the feature back in this offense and he's one of the best overall players on this team, so he stuck with Trayse knowing that he could break off a big run at any time. And he had a very impressive run in the third quarter that, unfortunately, had some of the yardage taken away due to a penalty. Trying to tackle Trayse definitely took its toll on the Mustangs' front line and the Wildcats just chipped away and the two/three-yard gains eventually turned into four/five yards.

And third, Wildcat A-backs only had eight carries combined and J.J. Williams and Charlie Bain were the only two who caught a pass. Seems to me like no one in that group has truly separated themselves as locks to start just yet. 

A new-look offensive line acquitted themselves well, especially with two former defensive linemen in Jacob King and Duke Leonard getting starts. Cameron Yoakem, a junior, got the start at left tackle, and Micah Batchman, another junior, also saw some playing time. The onus will be on Braden Barrett and Ty Van Atta to help lead this young and promising group. This looks to be one of the largest offensive line groups at Woods since when Ty Dendy was around in 2014. 

Air

Dylan Cormier made sound decisions through the air and the Wildcat receivers made good, solid plays. There was probably only one throw from him that I would have considered "forced." In five third-down passing plays, three of his completions resulted in first downs. DC floated one up to Ryan Faulk in double coverage and Faulk made an excellent catch over two Kingwood defenders in the third quarter. 

Defense

Giving up a 99-yard touchdown drive right before halftime is inexcusable. Fortunately, this is the only thing I can complain about on defense in this game. Defense is the phase of the game where there has to be constant and consistent energy, whether it's coming from the eleven men on the field or from the sideline. The energy from Woods on that drive just didn't seem right to me.

Other than that, and some late-game stat-padding through the air, the defense came up with stops when they needed to get them and stifled Kingwood. Well, to be fair, Kingwood has a new coach and a new offensive system that is being installed, but you still have to stop them. When the Mustangs were threatening to score late in the first quarter, Chris Agnew stepped up to deny them. Kingwood had two opportunities to tie the game in the third but they could only manage to get one first down on each drive before being forced to punt. They bought time for the offense to recollect themselves.

The Wildcats allowed only one run of ten yards or more in this game and held the Mustangs under three yards per carry. Jonathan Mendoza managed to throw for 212 yards, but he needed 54 yards at the end of the game to reach that total. Also, Mendoza only completed 50% of his passes, so a brand-new secondary of Brenton Frizell, Josh Jones, Will Price, and Ryan Estay did a solid job in their first varsity game.

Fourteen Wildcats recorded a tackle in this game and sophomore linebacker Dylan Rogers led the way with ten. Ryan Estay, a sophomore safety, finished second with seven; Tyler Sherrill also had seven. Chris Agnew had five tackles, 2.5 of which resulted in a loss of yardage, and forced a fumble. Two sophomores leading the team in tackles is pretty significant; Cy Woods has a very talented sophomore class in the system and we will be hearing plenty from Dylan and Ryan in the coming years.

Special Teams

Michael Fernandez hit all three of his extra-point attempts, had a 34-yard punt, and missed a 26-yard field goal attempt because he kicked it right into his blockers. Ryan Faulk appears to have taken on the punting duties and got a couple of nice rolls on his punts, both of which landed inside the Kingwood 20-yard line. He also returned a kickoff 14 yards. 

Game Summary from Varsity Wires

Man of the Match: Trayse Holmes

Four straight 100-yard games for Trayse Holmes dating back to last season. With 35 carries, he demonstrated that he can handle a heavy workload and the Wildcats will need every carry out of him this season. He'll probably have 200 carries and a very real opportunity to run for 1,000 yards this season.

Sub-Varsity Results

Freshman Gold (1-0) 26, Kingwood 0

Freshman Cardinal (1-0) 50, Kingwood 14

JV (combined) 27, Kingwood 24

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats will wrap up their non-district slate with the Katy Tigers. Yes, the Katy Tigers. Kickoff from Cy-Fair FCU Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 on Saturday, October 3.

Know the Enemy: Kingwood Mustangs

2020 Regular Season, Week 1: Cypress Woods Wildcats @ Kingwood Mustangs
7:00 PM Saturday, September 26, 2020
Turner Stadium

Photo courtesy of Phlox Photography

Previously on Cy Woods Football...

On November 22, 2019, the Cypress Woods Wildcats met their end in the Area round of the 2019 Texas High School Football Playoffs as The Woodlands came to Cypress and snatched the victory from the Wildcats' grasp as they prevailed 34-28 in triple overtime. The toughest loss this program's taken, I've already said it countless times, so let's move on.

So... what will the 2020s have in store for the Cypress Woods football program?

This game was originally scheduled to be played on August 29, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic pushed the start of the season back by a month for Class 6A and 5A. The smaller schools, despite some early concerns, have done their part and now football in the two largest classifications in the state of Texas can begin. 

I never thought we would get to this point, but we are now officially playing football. To say that the 2020 football season will be a season like no other is probably a massive understatement.

I really don't care to get into arguments about whether you want to wear a mask or not or the health impacts of the coronavirus. These kids, especially the seniors, have waited for their chance to play football. Please don't ruin that opportunity for them. Let's do our part to ensure that they get to play a full season. 

District 16-6A Week 1

Thursday, September 24

Bridgeland vs. Klein Cain, 6:30 at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium

Cypress Park @ Cypress Ridge, 6:30 at Pridgeon Stadium

Cypress Springs @ Katy Taylor, 6:00 at Legacy Stadium

Langham Creek @ Tomball Memorial, 6:00 at Tomball ISD Stadium

Friday, September 25

Cypress Lakes vs. Morton Ranch, 7:00 at CF-FCU

Cypress Ranch @ Cy-Fair, 7:00 at Pridgeon

Cypress Falls @ C.E. King, 7:00 at Sheldon ISD Stadium

The Enemy: Kingwood Mustangs

2019 Record: 5-6, 5-3 (4th) in District 22-6A

Lost 55-21 to Beaumont West Brook in 6A Division II, Region III bi-district round

Kingwood's 2019 results

L 35-16 vs. Ridge Point

L 24-7 @ DeKaney

L 70-10 @ Atascocita

W 70-6 @ Sam Rayburn

W 56-14 vs. South Houston

W 44-15 @ Pasadena Memorial

L 14-0 vs. Dobie

W 24-7 vs. Summer Creek

W 58-12 vs. Pasadena

L 31-21 vs. Humble

L 55-21 @ vs. Beaumont West Brook

This is the first-ever meeting between Cypress Woods and Kingwood. The Mustangs will be the 36th different team to take on the Wildcats.

Players to Watch

From Dave Campbell's Texas Football

J.P. Mendoza - SR QB #5

Kade Duplechin - SR RB #21

Nick Bernell - JR ATH #24

Jack Dugas - SR WR #11

Grant Mize - JR DL/LB #40

Evan Richard - JR DB #8

2¢ on Kingwood

Since Kingwood is a team I am completely unfamiliar with, there's not really much information for me to go on. Humble ISD has moved out of a district that they shared with Pasadena ISD schools; they now share a district with Beaumont West Brook, C.E. King, and the back-to-back state champions, North Shore. Safe to say that their path to the playoffs will be a little tougher for the next two seasons. The Mustangs have a new head coach in Cale Melton; prior to taking this job, Coach Melton was the defensive coordinator at Highland Park, where he enjoyed massive success, including a three-peat from 2016 to 2018. He inherits a team that should contend for a playoff spot in District 21-6A.

J.P. Mendoza will be the Mustangs' field general and he has a solid running back tandem with Kade Duplechin and Nick Bernell, who could see playing time as a defensive back as well. Grant Mize was a first-team All-District player as a sophomore in 2019 and his versatility is a huge plus for the Mustang defense.

Sub-Varsity Game Information

Freshmen at Kingwood, JV at Cy Woods on Thursday. Sub-varsity game times are 4:30 for the Gold and 6:30 for the Cardinal. Kingwood has one JV team, so there will be one game at 5:30. Please adhere to all guidelines.

Location of Kingwood High School

Location of Turner Stadium

Per Humble ISD, Turner Stadium will open at 20% capacity. 

Quick Thoughts from the Willis Scrimmage

On Friday, the Cypress Woods Wildcats traveled to Willis to scrimmage the Willis Wildkats as they get set to finally begin their 2020 football season. Here are a few of my thoughts.

1. Starting Quarterback?

When I spoke with Coach Neill last week, he informed me that a good battle was brewing between Dylan Cormier and Trey Craft. DC is entering his third season on the varsity and he's done well in his limited action over the last two seasons, so I feel that he has earned the first opportunity to start. 

After what I saw in Willis, however, I came away with the feeling that Dylan's hook might be a little shorter than I expected. I feel that this battle will continue through the two non-district games and we'll see the winner take the field first when the Wildcats open district play against Falls in three weeks. Don't count the loser out of the running, however; Cormier and Craft both demonstrated that they can commandeer this offense effectively during this scrimmage and whoever winds up as the backup should still see plenty of playing time.

2. Trayse Holmes

Is a wrecking ball. His form last year was inconsistent and he would probably be the first person to admit that. His work ethic, however, has never been doubted. Trayse played his best football as the stakes got higher last season and he should be in line for a huge senior year. I believe that he has a great chance to rush for 1,000 yards this season. 

3. Defense

After graduating almost every starter, the Cy Woods defense would have plenty of questions to address heading into this season. With all due respect to Willis, they aren't a great team, so there are probably a few more questions that will require an elaborated answer. However, the kids stepping in look like they are capable of handling the huge expectations they will have to uphold. We know about Chris Agnew and what he brings to the table on the defensive line. He and Tyler Sherrill will be a handful for opposing offensive lines this year.

Josh Jones and Brenton Frizell acquitted themselves well as the presumptive starting cornerbacks. Josh's progress has been particularly impressive considering he missed pretty much the first half of last season due to injury. I've heard (from a bit of a biased source, admittedly) that out of the three Jones brothers, he's the most athletic of the trio. 

The one name to know now and for the future, though, is Dylan Rogers. Dylan got his first taste of varsity football last year as a playoff call-up after dominating at the freshman level. He showed that he could excel on offense and defense, but his upside is clearly higher on defense, and on a team that's retooling on that side, he has a prime opportunity to shine. In all my years being around this program, the one person who I've seen work harder than Dylan Rogers has up to this point probably has to be Daylan Skidmore, and Daylan turned out to be a pretty decent player in the end.

4. Offense

There will be no shortage of firepower from the Wildcat offense this year, no matter who's at the helm. Woods will need to replace almost all of the production from last year's A-backs, but again, Connor Morris, Charlie Bain, and J.J. Williams seem to be up to the task. J.J. should enjoy a breakout year now that he's moved over from B-back to A-back. Ryan Faulk, Casey Cogdill, and John Niles have also made strides at the wideout positions and they'll have to come together to replicate the big-play impact that Cam Sowell had last season. 

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with what I saw in Willis on Friday night. I would love to be a massive homer and say that Cy Woods will successfully defend their district championship in 2020, but that's not my style. The 2020 edition of the Cypress Woods Wildcats will enter with a huge target on their backs and certainly plenty to prove. The intriguing mix of new faces and veterans should keep this team in the playoff hunt in what is shaping out to be a tough District 16-6A.