08/31/20

The Cooldown: Week 1

Cover Photo courtesy of The Houston Chronicle.

Folks, football is BACK in the state of Texas and man does it feel good.

Friday night was a therapeutic feeling. It was a blast getting to tweet updates for schools we normally don’t get to cover a whole lot. In the inaugural edition of The Cooldown for the 2020 season, we’ll recap two of those games and I’m going to release my first, second and third-team All-Houston squads, with an honorable mention section as well.

Bellville vs Giddings

The first game of the 2020 season didn’t disappoint as Bellville took down Giddings 34-31 thanks to a late rally.

Quarterback Jake Lischka torched Giddings to the tune of 237 yards and three scores through the air, with two nice passes to Robert Briggs as you see above. Briggs had a great night and was instrumental in helping Bellville to an opening night win.

Next up is a big test against state powerhouse Cameron Yoe on the road – but as of right now, I like Bellville to win its district. Yoe and a road trip to Rockdale in week four should be an excellent test for the Brahmas ahead of district play, which kicks off on October 9 against Wharton.

El Campo vs Gonzales

This was the other game I was excited to keep an eye on in week one, and El Campo didn’t let me down.

The Ricebirds took the opening kick back for a touchdown; a play that was emblematic of the game they put together as a team. El Campo dominated from start to finish, shutting out Gonzales 35-0. Charles Shorter was the star of the night after returning that opening kick 88 yards for a score and later hauling in a 40-yard pass to set up El Campo with a short field.

The running game was very by-committee with everyone getting an equal opportunity. The Ricebirds finished with three players with more than 50 yards on the ground, led by Reuben Owens with 72 yards and two scores.

Next up for El Campo is a trip to Port Lavaca Calhoun; district play starts on October 9 against Stafford.

All-Houston Teams

This is my third season working with Inside High School Sports: Houston. My first season saw Dematrius Davis and Shadrach Banks win a state championship as sophomores. Two years later, the class of 2021 are seniors and there is no shortage of talent in this class. I’ve seen these guys play for most of their high school careers, so I found it fitting to release my first-ever All-Houston teams this season.

Here are a few notes before we get started. I included only juniors and seniors, and I did not include players from Port Arthur or Beaumont, because those areas fall just outside of our coverage area. I do want to mention that those cities have some great football players.

I also want to explain how I put this together. I wanted to go with two quarterbacks and two running backs on each team because there are so many good ones around Houston. I also wanted to go with as many defensive players as offensive players, so each team has six defensive backs in addition to just four linebackers and four linemen. The reason I did it like that is because I think Houston is deeper at defensive back this season that it is on the defensive line.

With that being said, here are my first-team, second-team, third-team and honorable mention picks for the Greater Houston Area for the 2020 football season!

All-Houston First-Team

Offense

QB — Dematrius Davis — North Shore

QB — Jalen Milroe — Katy Tompkins

RB — L.J. Johnson — Cy-Fair

RB — Jaydon Blue — Klein Cain, Jr.

WR — Shadrach Banks — North Shore

WR — Cody Jackson — Foster

WR — Theodore Knox — The Woodlands

WR — Dylan Goffney — Bridgeland

TE — Donovan Green — Dickinson, Jr.

OL — Donovan Jackson — Episcopal

OL — Bryce Foster — Katy Taylor

OL — Reuben Fatheree — Foster

OL — Kelvin Banks — Summer Creek, Jr.

OL — Kam Dewberry — Atascocita, Jr.

Defense

DL — Derrick Harris Jr. — New Caney

DL — Malick Sylla — Katy, Jr.

DL — Albert Regis — La Porte

DL — Keith Cooper — Dickinson

LB — Terrence Cooks — Shadow Creek

LB — Dylan Hazen — College Park

LB — Harold Perkins — Cy Park, Jr.

LB — Dylan Dixson — Pearland, Jr.

CB — Hunter Washington — Katy

CB — Denver Harris — North Shore, Jr.

CB — Jalen Emery — Shadow Creek

S — Mark Wilson — Clear Lake

S — Romario Noel — Cy Ranch

S — Christian Jackson — Fort Bend Marshall

All-Houston Second-Team

Offense

QB — Kyron Drones — Shadow Creek

QB — Jakolby Longino — Hightower

RB — Julius Loughridge — Mayde Creek

RB — Alton McCaskill — Oak Ridge

WR — Latrell Neville — Hightower

WR — Elijah Bean — Summer Creek

WR — Javon Gipson — George Ranch

WR — C.J. Guidry — Shadow Creek

TE — Landen King — Atascocita

OL — Jaeden Roberts — North Shore

OL — Matthew Wykoff — Magnolia

OL — Hayden Conner — Katy Taylor

OL — Cullen Montgomery — Episcopal

OL — P.J. Williams — Dickinson, Jr.

Defense

DL — Cameron Whitfield — Pearland Dawson

DL — Kevon Garcia — Spring Dekaney

DL — Elroyal Morris — Spring Dekaney

DL — DeMone Green — Heights, Jr.

LB — KC Ossai — Oak Ridge

LB — Kenny Seymour — Fort Bend Marshall

LB — Martrell Harris — The Woodlands

LB — Justin Medlock — Manvel

CB — Dru Polidore — Katy Tompkins

CB — Julian Humphrey — Clear Lake, Jr.

CB — Dorian Friend — Spring, Jr.

S — Jaylen Lane — Shadow Creek

S — Bryce McMorris — Bridgeland

S — Dalton Johnson — Katy

All-Houston Third-Team

Offense

QB — Kameron Kincheon — C.E. King

QB — D.J. Ciers — Cy Ranch

RB — Darius Hale — Pearland

RB — Marquis Shoulders — Katy Tompkins

WR — John Paul Richardson — Ridge Point

WR — Randy Masters — Shadow Creek, Jr.

WR — Joseph Manjack — Tomball Memorial

WR — Matthew Golden — Klein Cain, Jr.

TE — Fernando Garza — Katy

OL — Max Merril — Strake Jesuit

OL — Canon Boone — Dickinson

OL — Lamont Vaz — Fort Bend Marshall

OL — Ethan Onianwa — Cinco Ranch

OL — Remington Strickland — FB Christian Academy

Defense

DL — Trent Ward — Klein Collins

DL — Christian Njoku — Bellaire

DL — Chase Myers — Fort Bend Austin

DL — Nikolas Campbell — Atascocita

LB — Layne O’Dell — Conroe

LB — Jayhvion Gipson — Langham Creek

LB — Ty Kana — Katy, Jr.

LB — Bralon Jones — Spring, Jr.

CB — Brian Mayes — Heights

CB — Donald Lee — Klein Collins

CB — Bobby Taylor — Katy, Jr.

S — Ben Langston — The Woodlands

S — Johnathon Baldwin — Dobie

S — Trevor Woods — Katy Taylor

All-Houston Honorable Mention

Offense

QB — Jalen Morrison — Heights, Jr.

QB — Conner Weigman — Bridgeland, Jr.

QB — Bronson McClelland — Katy

QB — Bert Emanuel Jr. — Ridge Point, Jr.

QB/RB — Aldyn Bradley — Spring

RB — Kameron Burton — Cy Ranch

RB — J.P. Martin — Cy Falls

RB — Keith Jackson — Ridge Point

RB — Kendric Rhymes — Heights

RB — Quincy Thompson — Atascocita

WR — Keith Wheeler — Atascocita

WR — Kaleb Hymes — Clear Springs

WR — Edwin Smith — Cy Ranch

WR — Bryson Jackson — Kingwood Park

TE — Ben Postma — Cy Ranch

TE — Mason Tharp — Klein

TE — Var’Keyes Gumms — Spring Dekaney

OL — Aaron Session — Morton Ranch

OL — Luke Lapeze — Summer Creek

OL — Luis Chavarria — Episcopal

Defense

DL — Tyler Onyedim — Foster

DL — Blane Channel — Cy Ranch

DL — Agumba Otuonye — Katy Paetow

DL/LB — Kason Tullos — Klein Oak

LB — Shepard Bowling — Katy

LB — Jalen Waddy — Westside

CB — Cameron Oliver — Travis

CB — D’Juan Grant — New Caney

S — Blake Smith — Pearland Dawson

S — Joshua Wyatt — C.E. King