The Cooldown: Week 16
Cover Photo courtesy of The Houston Chronicle
The playoffs have officially started for our 5A and 6A schools – at long last. We had plenty of great playoff action last week, including close games, some surprises and some things we absolutely expected. Check out a few recaps of the best games and a preview of what’s coming up in round two – the area round.
Atascocita ropes Dobie
I picked Dobie to win this game, so naturally the Longhorns lost by 40.
I wrote last week that Dobie had been on a roll (coming off a school record 72 points scored in its last regular season game) while Atascocita had been struggling. The part about Atascocita struggling isn’t particularly true; the Eagles just don’t typically play two top-five teams in the state in the regular season. A shortened schedule coupled with two losses and two close calls (a four-point win against CE King and an overtime win against West Brook) made it feel as if Atascocita wasn’t quite the same team we saw in 2019.
I also wrote that one Eagle in particular had been struggling…
…and he took notice. Of course, in reality Gavin Session is one of the better quarterbacks in the Houston area. I compared him a little too much to Bryce Matthews (Atascocita’s last outstanding signal caller) when making that statement. Session hasn’t particularly struggled with much this season, other than maybe ball security to an extent – and he proved that on Friday night.
Session completed 10 of his 14 passes for 254 yards and three scores, and a pick. He added 195 yards and three more touchdowns on the ground as well for a thorough 54-14 thrashing of Dobie. So, here’s me admitting I was wrong – I’m happy to own it! Atascocita gets Pearland next after the Oilers upset Clear Springs, and I think the Eagles are likely the favorites to meet North Shore in the Region III finals yet again.
Dawson survives an upset bid from Dickinson
Dawson was favored to beat Dickinson after a fantastic regular season that found the Eagles ranked in the top 20 of more than 250 teams in class 6A – but Dickinson had other ideas.
The Gators jumped out to an early lead after Edward Ford housed an interception for a pick-6; Dickinson would score a field goal on its first drive of the second half to take a 13-7 lead. Then, the Dawson offense got to work.
Jaden Stewart took off for a 56-yard touchdown to answer the Dickinson field goal and that followed by a 45-yard touchdown scamper from Torrance Burgess. The pair of Dawson backs dominated the night; Stewart finished with 17 carries for 155 yards and two scores while Burgess had 15 carries for 132 yards and two scores of his own.
Dawson took a 21-13 lead on the pair’s back-to-back touchdowns and never looked back, ultimately winning 35-19. Dickinson kept it competitive into the fourth quarter but the state ranked Eagles were too much. Next up is the ultimate test: a showdown with No. 1 North Shore on Thursday night.
Tomball Memorial survives shootout with Cy Park
Perhaps the most thrilling game of the week goes to Tomball Memorial and Cy Park, who combined for over 100 points.
This was a back-and-forth game all night, particularly in the second half. Colton Marwill finished 13-for-18 passing with 240 yards and three scores. Joseph Manjack caught five of those passes and accounted for four total touchdowns – three receiving and one on the ground. Richard Rodriguez also accounted for four scores in the win, running for 195 yards on 24 carries. All that was just enough to outlast Cy Park for a 57-52 win.
The Wildcats offense has been tough to stop all season, but they met their match on Thursday. Perhaps the best stat for Cy Park is that it had five players record a rushing attempt and four players catch a pass; all those players are juniors and so is quarterback Edward Dixon – according to Maxpreps. The Tigers should have quite the squad next season.
Dixon actually out-dueled the outstanding Marwill by completing 14 of his 19 passes for 352 yards and five scores. The majority of those yards went to Cameron King, who’s four receptions went for 108 yards and a score. King dominated the Memorial defense all night, adding 134 yards and another score on the ground.
Tomball Memorial advances to take on Oak Ridge in round two while Cy Park will gear up for what should be an explosive 2021 season with most of its impact players returning. Should Memorial beat Oak Ridge in round two, they would likely get a titanic showdown with Cedar Hill in round three.
Other Notable Games
Of course, those weren’t the only good playoff games in the area. Here’s a quick rundown of everything else that caught my eye last week.
- Oak Ridge took down Eisenhower 30-20 for its first playoff win in 18 years
- Pearland upsets Clear Springs 44-37 to set up big showdown with Atascocita
- Bridgeland passes first round test versus Klein Collins with flying colors and a 41-18 win
- Lamar shuts out Memorial in the second half for 39-7 win
- Fort Bend Marshall squeaks by Port Neches-Groves 21-14 as the Buffs look for a third-straight trip to state
- Clear Falls won a back-and-forth affair with Strake Jesuit, 21-16
- Klein Oak handily beat a good Cy Ranch team, 30-6
- Katy and Katy Taylor became the first teams from Houston to advance in the playoffs due to COVID-19
- Paetow dominated Baytown Lee 70-18
- Hightower upset previously undefeated Port Arthur Memorial 41-34
- Montgomery won a good game against Whitehouse, 38-31
- Heights beat Cy Creek 39-21 as Houston’s only Saturday game
What to Watch for: Week 17
Here is every playoff game involving Houston area teams, including when and where they’ll be played. Smaller slates are featured on Thursday and Saturday with most games taking place on Friday night.
6A-I, Region II
- Westfield vs Klein Cain, Friday at 7 pm (Planet Ford Stadium)
- Spring vs Klein Oak, Friday at 7 pm (Klein Memorial)
6A-I, Region III
- Cy-Fair vs Katy Tompkins, Friday at 6 pm (Katy Legacy)
- North Shore vs Pearland Dawson, Thursday at 7 pm (Challenger-Columbia Stadium)
- Jersey Village vs Ridge Point, Saturday at 4pm (Katy Legacy)
- Atascocita vs Pearland, Friday at 7pm (Sheldon’s Panther Stadium)
6A-II, Region II
- Oak Ridge vs Tomball Memorial, Friday at 7pm (Tomball ISD Stadium)
- Spring Dekaney vs Bridgeland, Thursday at 7pm (Cy-Fair FCU)
6A-II, Region III
- Lamar vs Katy, Friday at 7pm (Katy Rhodes)
- CE King vs Shadow Creek, Friday at 7pm (Challenger-Columbia Stadium)
- Heights vs Katy Taylor, Friday at 7pm (Delmar Stadium)
- West Brook vs Clear Falls, Friday at 7pm (Galena Park ISD Stadium)
5A-I, Region II
- Magnolia vs Frisco Lone Star, Friday at 7:30pm (Corsicana Tiger Stadium)
5A-I, Region III
- Hightower vs Pflugerville Hendrickson, Friday at 7pm (Waller ISD Stadium)
- Manvel vs Dripping Springs, Friday at 7:30pm (Green Stadium in Bryan)
- Cedar Park vs Foster, Thursday at 7:30pm (Waller ISD Stadium)
- Canyon vs Katy Paetow, Thursday at 6pm (Katy Legacy)
5A-II, Region III
- Texas High vs Crosby, Friday at 7pm (Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches)
- Huntsville vs Barbers Hill, Friday at 7:30pm (Woodforest Bank Stadium)
- Fort Bend Marshall vs Montgomery, Friday at 7pm (Randall Reed Stadium)
- Nederland vs Longview Pine Tree, Saturday at 2pm (Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches)