The Cooldown: Week 14

As the saying goes, teams to remember play in December. We’ve finally made it to the final month of the year, and several Houston area schools have a shot to win a regional championship this weekend.

Let’s recap round three, preview who’s competing for a regional title and name a POTW.

Atascocita wins a shootout against Fulshear

District 23-6A comprises all of the Region III championship finalists in class 6A with Atascocita taking on North Shore in Division I while Summer Creek faces Kingwood in Division II.

While these teams (except for maybe Kingwood) were favored to make it to this point, it very nearly didn’t happen. Fulshear gave Atascocita what might’ve been the best game of the season so far in a 47-42 loss.

This game was dominated by the running backs, with Atascocita running for 382 yards and Fulshear running for 521 yards. Each team just barely eclipsed the 100-yard mark through the air.

Cardae Mack paced the Eagles on the ground with 20 carries for 230 yards. Tory Blaylock got half the amount of carries that Mack did, and half of his carries went for a touchdowns. His 10 runs resulted in 152 yards and five scores; Mack did not find the end zone on the ground. There isn’t a more dangerous one-two punch at running back in the state and maybe the country. I try not to sound hyperbolic but these two are about as good as it gets.

Mack also completed seven of his 13 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. CJ Toney caught five of those passes for 94 yards and both touchdowns. The Eagles have playmakers everywhere, which will once again be put to the test next week against North Shore.

Meanwhile, Fulshear’s first venture into class 6A couldn’t have gone much better. The Chargers spent pretty much the entire season state ranked. They scored 40+ points in every game except for the season opener. The lone loss came to an Atascocita team that ranks top 10 in the state (and could easily be top three). I’d rank Fulshear’s season among the most impressive of any school in the state, performing this well in its first 6A season.

The Chargers also posted their third-straight season with at least 11 wins, finishing 12-1. This is after winning a total of 13 games in four years between 2018-2021. Though the talent is certainly there moving forward, Fulshear will miss this season class.

Senior Patrick Broadway led the way with 22 carries for 205 yards, and he also threw a short touchdown pass. Zane Smith, also a senior, added 14 carries for 139 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Ryland Forks is just a sophomore and will be back next year; he finished 6-of-14 passing for 96 yards and an interception, and added four carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Atascocita moves on to the regional finals where it will look to avenge its only loss. In many ways, we’ve been waiting for this game since North Shore scored a go-ahead touchdown with six seconds left to beat the Eagles back on Oct. 25. This isn’t a surprising outcome. Can Atascocita break up a potential North Shore-Duncanville state championship matchup for the sixth time in seven years, or will the inevitable arrive all the same? We get to find out on Saturday.