Football: No. 13 Katy 17, No. 20 Jordan 7
In a battle of two top-20 state-ranked teams, Katy's defense shuts down Warriors' potent offense as Tigers take step forward in 19-6A title race
District 19-6A’s second-best defense overwhelmed its second-best offense on Friday night.
And with it, Katy took a big step toward a 15th district championship in 16 seasons.
In a showdown of two top-20 state-ranked teams, Katy overwhelmed Jordan 17-7, authoring a defensive clinic before a sellout crowd of almost 10,000 at Rhodes Stadium.
Allowing a stingy 15.3 points on 223.7 yards per game entering Friday, the Tigers’ defense held the Warriors scoreless on 167 total yards. Only a Rocky Alo-Perry 82-yard pick-6 with 4:25 left in the fourth quarter was all Jordan could muster on the scoreboard.
The Warriors entered Friday undefeated, averaging 40.7 points on 404.7 yards per game. They left it with their first loss of the season, and an offense that showed it has considerable room for improvement.
No. 13 state-ranked Katy improved to 6-1 overall, 5-0 in 19-6A. The Tigers are beating teams by an average of 37.2 points per game since a 41-24 Week 2 loss to No. 4 state-ranked Atascocita.
No. 20 Jordan fell to 7-1 overall, 5-1 in 19-6A.
The win keeps the Tigers tied with Paetow (5-0 19-6A) for first place in 19-6A, with a half-game lead on the Warriors with three games left. Katy has Paetow next week, in what should be another marquee affair, Tompkins (3-2 19-6A) and Mayde Creek (2-3) remaining.
Jordan only has two games remaining in Taylor (1-4) and Paetow.
Katy’s offense, No. 1 in 19-6A at 43 points on 424.5 yards per game, wasn’t great Friday night.
The Tigers managed two offensive touchdowns, both in the first half, and one of those was a gift when Jordan shanked a punt for 1 yard deep in its own territory midway through the first quarter.
On the first play of the next series for Katy, senior quarterback Gunner Nelson found senior receiver Israel Olotu-Judah for a 25-yard scoring strike.
Jordan’s defense, ranked No. 1 in 19-6A and surrendering 11.6 points on 179.4 yards per game, played well. The Warriors limited the Tigers to 299 total yards, 4.9 yards per play, and scoreless in the second half.
Jordan forced two Katy turnovers and three turnovers on down. Nelson completed just 4 of 12 passes for 58 yards.
But the Warriors’ offense got nothing going. Jordan had one first down in the first half, and went 3-and-out on four of five possessions.
With Jordan having the ball to start the second half, Katy junior defensive back Isaiah McMillian intercepted junior quarterback Beau Bryant not even a minute into the third quarter.
The Tigers went on a drive that lasted almost eight minutes. While it resulted in a turnover on downs, it stunted any momentum Jordan could have gathered coming out of halftime.
The Warriors did not cross midfield into Katy territory until 2:44 remained in the third quarter. Senior receiver and Michigan commit Andrew Marsh, 19-6A’s top receiver, did not have a catch until 4:16 was left in the third. It went for six yards.
Katy’s defense sacked Bryant three times, had six tackles for loss and stuffed seven run plays for one yard or zero.
Jordan had 67 rushing yards on 22 carries.
Katy, meanwhile, was content to let its defense work and pound the Warriors into submission on the other side of the ball.
The Tigers carried the ball 48 times for 241 yards. Junior Tremayne Hill had 125 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Junior Aqualis Jordan had 94 yards on 18 carries.
Jordan tried to surprise late in the second half.
On 4th-and-goal from the Katy 3 early in the fourth quarter, Jordan brought in senior running back and Florida commit Chad Gasper. Gasper had not played all season due to an apparent shoulder injury. The sudden move forced a Katy timeout but little else.
Katy junior linebacker Reid Garrelts stuffed Bryant for a loss of seven and turnover on downs.
When Jordan got the ball back later that quarter, on its own 5-yard line, Gasper took a handoff 39 yards for his first touch of the season. He would not touch the ball again the rest of the way.
Box score and scoring summary from the game:
NO. 13 KATY 17, NO. 20 JORDAN 7
SCORING:
First quarter
KHS: Giovanni Moreno 38 FG, 7:26
KHS: Israel Olotuh-Judah 25 catch from Gunner Nelson (Giovanni Moreno kick), 5:54
Second quarter
KHS: Tremayne Hill 26 run (Giovanni Moreno kick), 7:09
Fourth quarter
JHS: Rocky Alo-Perry 82 interception return (Sebastian Baptista kick), 4:25
Team Statistics
Yards rushing: KHS 48-241, TD; JHS 22-67
Yards Passing: JHS 100; KHS 58
Total Yards: KHS 299; JHS 167
Passing: JHS 13-24-1, 100 yards; KHS 4-12-1, 58 yards, TD
Turnovers: KHS 2; JHS 1
Penalty-Yards: JHS 4-35; KHS 4-29
Individual Statistics
Rushing – KHS: Tremayne Hill 22-125, TD; Aqualis Jordan 18-94; Joshua Smith 5-13; Gunner Nelson 3-9. JHS: Chad Gasper 1-39; Beau Bryant 11-22; Zion Jones 8-5; Tanner West 2-1.
Passing – JHS: Beau Bryant 13-24-1, 100 yards. KHS: Gunner Nelson 4-12-1, 58 yards, TD.
Receiving – JHS: Landon Williams 3-30; Andrew Marsh 3-23; Zion Jones 1-19; Tanner West 3-18; Benedict Okwura 3-0. KHS: Israel Olotu-Judah 2-29, TD; Cade McCall 2-19.