Katy Breaks Mustang Spirit in a 52-14 Round Up of James E. Taylor

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Saturday, October 29, 2011, was one of the nicest days of the year in our area. It was one of those days where you shut off the A/C for the first time since May and open all the windows to let in as much fresh air as possible. It was also the first day the teams in 19-5A play on Saturday mornings, which meant fans would enjoy 70 degree weather. 

Katy Cheerleaders do the "Train dance" before the opeining kick off.

I’m not sure if it was the 11AM kickoff time, the nice weather, or the fact that the Mustangs have only won one game this season, but the Katy Tigers 9-0 (6-0) came out kind of flat. I’m guessing  it was a combination of all three. I am not sure if I would call it flat, since they did have a 21 point lead in the first quarter.  But the energy was just not there for the start of the game.

Katy Captains meet the Taylor Captains for the Coin Toss

Taylor 1-8 (1-5) won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Katy started on their own 40 line and senior Cody Gomez got the start at runningback , carrying several times to the Taylor 28 yard line. The Tigers were forced to punt on 4th and 28, but a great move by Brandon Ebrecht  to keep the ball out of the endzone trapped the Mustang offense on the one yard line. 

For the third straight game Katy’s defense shut down the opposition’s ground attack by allowing Taylor 87 yards rushing. You could tell on the Mustang’s first possession it was going to be a long day for the Taylor running backs as they were allowed only four yards and had to punt from their own end zone. The Katy defense is one of the best in the nation and has only allowed an average of 102 yards rushing per game and 69.7 in the air. These numbers are a little on the high side considering that most of yards against Katy are late in games when the starters have been pulled.

MATT DIMON STREATCHES OUT FOR HIS THIRD TOUCHDOWN CATCH OF THE SEASON

Katy started their second drive from the Taylor 38 yard line. Brooks Haack gained 15 yards on a QB keeper and then completed a pass to junior Kyle Fulks, who has played well this year with 13 catches for 208 yards in nine games. Haack then continued his air attack with a ten yard touchdown to Matt Dimon in the back of the end zone.  This was Dimon’s 6th reception and fourth touchdown this season.   The amazing Matt Dimon has 98 yards in catches this year as a full time defensive end and part time tight end. Speaking of amazing, senior placekicker Jeff Johnson has yet to miss a PAT this season in more than 40-plus attempts, and the score was 7-0 with 3:15 left in the first quarter.

Taylor started their second possession at their own 29.   That was all the yardage the Mustangs could manage against Katy’s powerhouse defense. The Mustangs were forced to punt and Thompson brought the rock back 20 yards, setting up Haack and the offense at Taylor’s own 33.
With a short field to work with, Rickey Bickham now in at RB, carried twice for 14 and 5 yards.  Bickham has been valuable eating up clock late in games, and relished the opportunity to carry the ball in the first quarter, since starter Rodney Anderson was held out to make sure he was not to bruised up for the playoffs. Bickham proved a capable performer with a game leading 149 yards for the Tigers.  He scored his first of 3 touchdowns from 14 yards out with just 1:21 left in opening quarter. Johnson’s PAT made the score 14-0.

Bickham Battles a Taylor Defender For a Few Extra Yards

Taylor started on their own 24 and I guess head coach Flint Risien realized the running game had stalled so he took to the air. Taylor QB Robby Wells completed a 7 yard pass to Grant Phillips. Mustang fans didn’t get to cheer long as Katy defender Jordan Wert stripped the ball from Wells as he was being sacked, giving Katy the ball back on the Taylor twenty yard line.

With under a minute left in the first quarter, Katy decided to shut down any Taylor momentum by executing a perfect reverse where  Bickham handed to Fulks, who bobbed and weaved his way into the end zone for another six. Johnson was again perfect with the PAT making the score 21-0 with :51 left in the first quarter. When you look back at Katy’s first quarter performance on paper it looks anything but “flat”. It must be that this is just another day at the office for the Tigers who expect to put numbers on the scoreboard every time they touch the ball.

Finally Taylor woke up and showed some fight after the next kickoff when sophomore Jalen St. Julien had a nice 44 yard return. Wells then connected with sophomore Dane Meyers for a ten yard reception. After another couple of short rushes and a botched play resulting in a keeper by Wells, Taylor made their deepest penetration into Katy territory at the 38 yard line. With their own fans behind them, the Mustangs decided to go for it on fourth down.  But an awesome defensive play by Ivan Garcia forced a turnover on downs when he knocked down a pass intended for Waynard Crawford.

Ivan Garcia makes a great 4th down defensive play

With Taylor’s offense showing a little life, their defense kept pace by forcing a Katy three and out.  

Senior safety Drake Dowling killed Taylor’s next offensive possession by sacking Wells on third and 10, forcing a short punt, and setting Katy up at the Taylor 38.  Haack used Gomez and Thompson to get the ball down to the five yard line.  After a dropped touchdown pass to a wide open Stein Spiller and an overthrow to Thompson, Katy went with an easy 22 yard field goal by Johnson. This made the score 24-0 with 5:37 left in the half.

Taylor’s next possession started at their own 20.  After a couple of broken plays and a sack, Taylor was able to get a first down and moved the ball to the 30 yard line. What happened next was really strange.  Wells took the snap and struggled to find an open receiver and was brought down on the 25 yard line by a host of Tigers. The ball popped out and rollled to the 30 yard line where Katy senior linebacker Bo Brown fell on the ball. The officials ruled it was not a fumble and gave the ball back to Taylor; but on the 30 yard line, and not on the 25 where Wells was supposedly tackled before the fumble.  On the next play,  Wells was getting pressure from  Dimon, but dumped the ball off to Jullien, who took it 70 yards for their first score.  24-7.

Cody Gomez blows out a big Taylor Defender on his way to more yardage

Haack and the offense responded with a 10 play, 65 yard march down the field.  Gomez, with and impressive 125 yards on the day, went in from the 2 yard line to seal the deal.   Fulks had a key reception on that drive.  Johnson helped with another PAT leaving the score 31-7 with just :09 seconds left in the half.

Cody Gomez on His Way to 125 Yard game

The second half started off like a baseball game where both teams pitchers are striking every batter out for the first five innings. Taylor received the kick-off and quickly went three and out.
Katy began a drive and were moving the ball, but stalled when Bickham fumbled on the 32 yard line of Taylor. Taylor then went five plays and when Wells tried to go deep, Ivan Garcia picked off the pass intended for Brent Vaile.

The next Katy possession featured nice runs and a reception by Gomez, before a 50 yard touchdown pass to Thompson from Haack was called back because of an ineligible receiver down field. When I looked at the film, the only people past the line of scrimmage were Thompson, Fulks, and Spiller the tight-end. All of them left the at the same time and all are eligible receivers. After this play Haack went incomplete, which forced a Katy punt.

Jordan Thompson was robbed of a nice 50 yard touchdown because of a mystery man downfield

Taylor fair caught the punt at the ten yard line before going three and out again.

Katy began with a very short field after a poor punt, and on the second play Bickham made up for his fumble by going 24 yards for the score with 2:12 left in the third. Johnson had another good PAT making the score 38-7.

Katy's "Demolition Defense" forces another three and out

The Katy defense forced another three and out and the offense began on its own 42 yard line.  One the first play, Haack couldn’t find an open receiver so he left the pocket and appeared to be headed out of bounds.  But he saw an opening and headed up the sideline for an extra ten yards.  He  tucked the ball just in time to take a vicious hit from Taylor defender Aaron Saldivar.  It appeared Saldivar led with his helmet on the hit, ringing Haack’s bell . Haack laid face down on the turf for what seemed like forever (10 to 15 seconds)  but when he tried to get up he fell forward and was scooped up by the trainers.  The trainers  determined he was ok to return the next play.

As the fourth quarter began, Haack returned to the game and began handing off to Gomez for gains of 15, 9 and 4 yards,  moving the ball all the way to the Mustang ten yard line. The next play was some good ‘ole Haack to  Thompson magic for another score.  45-7.

On Taylor’s next possession, backup quarterback Brent Vaile put together one of the most effective drives against the Tigers  this season, going 90 yards in 18 plays, aided by a 15 yard pass interference penalty. This short range pass attack moved the ball efficiently for the Mustangs and ended with a 29 yard pass from Vaile to Dane Myers. This made the score 45-14 with just 4:34 left in the game.

Rickey Bickham finally gets his long breakaway touchdown for 58 yards

Katy responded to Taylor’s second score in two plays,  when Bickham broke away for a nice 58 yard touchdown blast. David Beckendorff’s PAT ended the scoring, giving Katy the win at 52-14.

Katy will face Cinco Ranch next Saturday at 11AM to determine the district championship in rivalry week for the fourth straight year.

Katy football's biggest fan, Pup Adams, enjoys the nice weather and nice win over Taylor