Lightning in a bottle

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Every once in a blue moon an athlete comes around that never fails to amaze with their athletic ability and seems to do things on the field or court never seen before. Not only is this athlete a “phenom” but a natural born leader and pillar of the community with skills beyond his/her own years. If you follow Katy football then you know that blue moons are happening more frequently around these parts.

If you ask ten Katy football fans why Katy High school is good year after year after year you will get ten different answers. One answer may be that parents move to Katy at an early age to be a part of the tradition.

All star athletes are not uncommon to the Katy football program but it seems like they are overlapping and contributing to the program more and more frequently.. The 2012 season left many questions like “is Adam Taylor ok to play and if he is will he be 100% healthy? And who is going to be the quarterback? This being the topic of many discussions and blogs and stories all over for 5-A Texas football fans.

Taylor tore is ACL last year in the season opener against North Shore, recovered well and showed up at this season opener ready to lead his team to the 41-7 win over Klein Friday night at Reliant Stadium. Taylor, who was known to his teammates in the 2009 and 2010 seasons as the “freshman phenom” for his performance as a freshman and then on varsity during the playoffs that same year. In his sophomore season Taylor backed up one of Katy’s “blue moon” running back Donovonn Young who now plays football at the University of Illinios. Young had over 2300 yards leading the way for the then Sophomore running back Adam Taylor who had 1550 yards of his own following Young as the back-up tailback.

Taylor was the “Freshman Phenom” in ‘09  and then Rodney Anderson had one of those seasons in '11 that was what it would be like if you could catch lightning in bottle. Anderson who was scheduled to be a receiver last year took over rushing duties when Taylor succombed to his knee injury at the start of the season, and had over 1,100 yards rushing as the only freshman to ever start at any position for Katy High School since joining 5-A back in the early 80’s.

Friday night's game against Klein proved that Anderson is going to be something very special to watch the next four years and this years dynamic duo of Taylor and Anderson in the backfield along with senior Ricky Bickham as a tailback prove that Katy is loaded with depth and a force to be reckoned with.

It all started around 7:25 Friday night with a quick 3 and out by Klein and and an ensuing 4 play drive that ended with a short pass from junior Kiley Huddleston to Anderson at the line of scrimmage near the sideline that ended in a 43 yard touchdown which was Huddleston’s first pass at the varsity level and Anderson’s first reception and touchdown of the season. After another three and out by Klein, Taylor went to work and moved the ball back into scoring position for Katy.

Taylor then scored on a four yard jaunt making the lead 14-0 after a good PAT by Manny Mendoza leaving just 1:58 in the first quarter. Katy got the ball back on Klien’s 23 yard line after Christian Purdue recovered his first fumble of the season. Katy spread the ball around on the next series with a four yard run by Taylor, an eight yard pass to Trey Dunn and a ten yard scoring run by Anderson to give Katy a 21-0 lead as the first quarter came to an end.

The second quarter started just as bad for Klein as they fumbled the ball on their own 37 yard line where Katy’s Carson Strickler recovered it. Katy took possession of the ball for the first time in the second quarter and after a couple of incomplete passess the Tigers faced a fourth and six situation. The Coaches decided to go for it with 33 yards to go Huddlleston connected with Anderson for the score with just 10:55 left in the quarter. The score is now 27-10 after a failed PAT.

On their fifth possession of the game Klein finally got a first down on a run by David Hamm for ten yards. Katy’s defense didn’t let the Bearkat’s enthusiasm last long forcing a three and and a punt in which was returned to Katy on its own 25 yard line. Katy marched down the field 75 yards in seven plays letting the high school football community and fans know that Adam Taylor is back and better than ever connecting with him on one pass and letting him tote the rock four times with the later being a 2 yard touchdown rush 1 yard with 5:24 left in the second. The score now 34 to 0 after a good PAT by Mendoza. (note: Kyle Fulks had a rush for 10 yards and a reception of three yards to help move the ball on this possession)

On their sixth possession Klein showed their first signs of life all night. They started with the ball on the 22nd yard line and charged down to the Katy 46 yard line on a 32 yard rush by Mac Odom. Another 15 yard rush by Odem placed the ball on the Katy 31. A pass to Othello Gibson moved the ball to Kleins best field position of the half placing the ball on the Katy 24 yard line. On fourth and two Katy’s own Matt Dimon an Oklahoma commit and returning starter on the defensive line made a huge stop sacking the quarterback as Katy Nation almost blew the top off Reliant Stadium cheering on big Matt Dimon play.

With time running out in the second quarter Anderson went back to work with two rushes for 14 yards and a reception for four yards. Huddelston then hit Fulks on the 20 yard line of Klein but when he came down he lost possession of the ball. The next play Huddelston got sacked and with just :18 seconds left in the half the junior quarterback called the same play that Fulks had just dropped this time he made the catch again at the 20 yard line. This time Fulks used his world class speed to burn the Klein defenders for the last touchdown of the half and a 53 yard reception leaving :09 left on the clock. The Mendoza PAT was good making the score 41 to 0 at the half.

The second half of the game saw Katy playing musical chairs trying to get in as many players as possible with score up so high. The third quarter went scoreless as Katy’s backup players got much needed playing time in Reliant Stadium. With 6:55 left in the game Klein got on the scoreboard with a nice 34 yard reception from Mac Odom to Kenneth White. Gibson punched it in for six from three yards out while Charles Terranova sealed the deal with a good PAT.

Nearly four minutes later Andrew Soto marched the ball down field in five plays for 20 yards a touchdown. Andy Coonrod helped with a 14 yard reception for his first of the season. The good PAT by Mendoza finalized the scoring for this opening night match-up between Katy and Klein at 48-7. Katy once again appears to be on a warpath headed to the state title game in Jerry Jones’ Taj Mahal of football stadiums up in Dallas.

Katy started the season in a big way in an NFL stadium and they sure want to finish it the same way in an NFL stadium come December 2012. Let hope they find a way to catch some “lightning in a bottle”