The Cooldown: Week 1
After a much needed summer break, The Cooldown is back for the 2024 season! With football underway, there’s plenty to catch up on, including familiar faces in new places, new emerging stars, and plenty of recalibration of expectations for many teams – more on that below.
Let’s dive in by starting with the game I attended on Friday night.
Strake Jesuit fades in the fourth in road test at Trinity
For the uninitiated, Euless Trinity has long been one of the top programs in the state. Though the Trojans haven’t played for (2010) or won (2009) a state championship in a while, they are still among the elites in Texas. Trinity made a run to the state quarterfinals in 2020 and routinely get knocked out of the playoffs by a nationally ranked team.
Trinity is the North Texas version of Katy. Ground and pound, known for producing elite running backs. In fact, last years’ Doak Walker Award winner as the best collegiate running back went to Trinity alumnus Ollie Gordon II. For Strake Jesuit fans who watched the game or saw the box score, that fact probably isn’t surprising.
Trinity attempted just seven passes and ran for 344 yards on an average of nearly 14 yards-per-carry on Friday. Five Trojans recorded rushing attempts (all at 9.8 YPC or better), but no Trojan topped 100 yards. Strake Jesuit nearly out-rushed Trinity and the Crusaders did out-gain the Trojans, 459-382.
Much of the reason why is because Trinity had several good kickoff returns, including one returned for a touchdown. The game was tied for most of the first three quarters, but Trinity pulled away with two fourth quarter touchdowns to win it, 49-28.
Coming off a three-win season, I think Friday night was a big step forward for Strake Jesuit. The Crusaders hung with a really good Trinity team for three quarters and had an impressive offensive output. Running back John Hebert was the star of the night, running 33 times for 263 yards and a touchdown – that’s 7.9 yards-per-carry.
The Crusaders also got the passing game working a little bit. Quarterback Bryson Easley finished 11-of-18 for 114 yards, three touchdowns and one very suspect interception. The INT came on a jump ball Easley threw after it appeared Trinity had jumped offsides – a “free play” ball if you will. But, no flag was thrown and the interception stood. Not a bad night for Easley as a compliment to the rushing attack.
Luke Omanga caught two of Easley’s touchdown passes as part of his five-catch, 46-yard performance, while tight end Hegar Davis caught the other touchdown.
Strake’s methodical offensive attack should serve it well this season, and the defense wasn’t bad either – it’s just difficult to contain so many talented rushers. Realignment served the Crusaders well, too. Strake Jesuit plays the Alief ISD schools, George Ranch, and two schools up from 5A – Foster and Fulshear – in district play this season. A trip to the playoffs could easily be in the cards, in addition to a marked improvement on 2023.
Klein Cain impresses against Cy-Fair
Given their mascot, what Klein Cain did to Cy-Fair on Thursday night can only be described as “category 5.” The Hurricanes dominated in every phase of the game.
Junior quarterback Zach Johnson wasn’t super-efficient completing less than half of his passes, but his 10 completions did go for 255 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. Receiver Maxwell Hendrick stole the show, hauling in five passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Jaelon Dixon also had an impressive night, catching Johnson’s other touchdown pass and running 11 times for 109 yards and two more scores. Running back Jah’Rin Louis accounted for the other offensive touchdown as part of a 7-rush, 83-yard effort. That’s six offensive touchdowns, totaling 41 points. A blocked PAT and a safety puts the total at 43. So where’d the other two touchdowns come from?
The real star of the night was defensive back Marcus Coleman, who finished with six total tackles, two interceptions returned for a touchdown and a forced fumble, per Maxpreps. Two pick 6’s in a game is incredibly rare, much less in a season opener. Also of note, Trent Lancaster led the team in tackles with 12.
It was natural to expect a little fall off from Cy-Fair; there’s typically no replacing a quarterback as talented as Trey Owens. But what Klein Cain did on Thursday night was simply unexpected. What was a good Hurricanes team a season ago might now be a great team. It’s still early in the season, but Cain looked impressive on both sides of the ball. There are obvious playmakers at all the key spots. I’m excited to see where Cain winds up this year and how much they can build on this first game.
North Shore shuts out 5A powerhouse South Oak Cliff
Now for the familiar faces in new places portion of the blog. Quanell X Farrakhan Jr. made his debut for North Shore after previously playing for The Woodlands. He played a solid role, catching four passes for 68 yards, but Cameron Smith was the leading receiver with six catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Kaleb Bailey made quick work of the Golden Bears, finishing 7-of-12 passing for 143 yards and two touchdown passes, and he added five carries for 74 yards and another score on the ground. North Shore might’ve gotten a little glimpse of 2025 as well. Backup quarterback Kaleb Maryland finished 8-of-12 passing for 110 yards and ran for an additional 47 yards on eight carries. The two quarterbacks were North Shore’s leading rushers; D’Andre Hardeman totaled 33 yards and a score on 10 carries.
But the defense was the star of the night, holding a South Oak Cliff team that has played in the state championship game in each of the last three seasons to no points in the 38-0 win. Of course, there is a big difference between playing 5A competition and 6A competition. South Oak Cliff has been insistent on playing top 6A competition in non-district play the past few seasons, and the Golden Bears have struggled to score points each time. However, it’s still a good start to the season for a North Shore team looking to make a sixth state championship appearance in seven seasons.
Player of the Week
This week is going to be a little different, with two players-of-the-week. My first POTW gave Manvel an appetizer sample platter of just about everything. Jonah Williams ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns, caught two touchdown passes, returned a kick for a touchdown, blocked a PAT and recorded six tackles and two pass breakups. Williams stuffed a full meal and all the sides into the box score.
My next player-of-the-week is a player we’ve already discussed in this blog. I simply couldn’t leave out Marcus Coleman. How often does a player have *two* pick-6’s in one game? It’s pretty rare. Throw in six tackles and a forced fumble and that is as POTW-worthy of a defensive performance as you’ll see.
Jonah Williams and Marcus Coleman are my players-of-the-week!
What to Watch for
Willis (1-0) at Klein Collins (0-1) – Thursday
Willis began the post-DJ Lagway era with a 30-23 win against Aldine Davis. The Wildkats have plenty of playmakers, but facing Klein Collins will be no easy task. This game might tell us more about the 2024 Willis Wildkats than the game against Davis did. Meanwhile, Klein Collins dropped its opener against College Station, 35-28. Willis should be a good test before an always-interesting district schedule in 15-6A.
Bridgeland (1-0) at Tompkins (1-0) – Friday
Last week was a tail of two stories for Bridgeland and Tompkins. The Bears put the screws on Pearland Dawson, winning 52-14. The Falcons scored 21 answered points to sneak past Cy Ranch, 21-20. Bridgeland should be the favorite in this game, but Tompkins is always a tough program and rarely loses games by a wide margin. I’m looking forward to this one.
North Shore (1-0) at Crowley (1-0) – Friday
The second of three DFW-Houston area regular season showdowns (and second for North Shore) will take place up in DFW this time. The Mustangs travel to Crowley to take on a team that beat 5A Birdville 50-14 in the opener. Though Crowley is no slouch, North Shore is a top five team in America. The Mustangs shouldn’t have a whole lot of problems in this one, but the matchup still offers some intrigue – and might get the Mustangs reacclimated to the trip up I45. December will be here before we know it.
Hightower (1-0) at Westfield (1-0) – Friday
Hightower and Westfield each played tight contests in week one. The Hurricanes topped Clear Falls, 19-14, while Westfield took down a pretty good C.E. King squad, 34-28. This should be a pretty good measuring stick game for each squad. Each play in districts with not many opportunities for games against opponents on the same talent level. Westfield will play North Shore, but this is a great opportunity for each to take on a team perceived to be of similar talent levels.