The Cooldown: Week 3
With week three in the books, most teams are done with non-district play and onto the meat of the schedule. The calibration games are just about over; now the games have real implications.
Week four is one of the most popular bye weeks in the state, so the slate this weekend is a little lighter. Nonetheless, there will still be plenty of great action. Let’s recap week three, look ahead to the weekend and name a POTW.
Tomball opens district play with a win
I wrote in last weeks’ preview that this would be a game to watch. Tomball had survived two close games to open the season while Klein Collins lost to College Station and Willis in the first two weeks. With Klein Collins largely dominating this district for the better part of the last decade, I thought this game would be telling to how the district race could shake out. I was right.
Tomball won what was largely a defensive slugfest. The Cougars topped Klein Collins 28-14 thanks in part to a fourth quarter touchdown run from Oswaldo Morales. Tomball did just enough on offense while relying on a defense that has gotten better every week.
Morales was the hub of the offense from Tomball, running 21 times for 191 yards and a touchdown. Brady Burrow and quarterback Jaxyn Faldyn also scored rushing touchdowns. Faldyn finished an efficient 12-of-16 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown. Miles Roy caught the TD pass as part of his four-catch, 73-yard performance.
Both Klein Collins and Tomball face Magnolia West next in what should be a win for each team. Tomball is on a bye week this week while Klein Collins looks to pick up its first win of the season. Tomball is squarely in the district championship race with Klein Cain and Magnolia, and the Nov. 2 showdown between Cain and Tomball could be the de-facto district championship game. However, we’ve got a lot of football to play before then.
Katy Jordan takes down 19-6A stalwart Tompkins
Both Katy Tompkins and Katy Jordan are relatively new schools, with Tompkins opening in 2013 and Jordan opening in 2020. Tompkins has established itself as the second-best football school in the district behind state powerhouse Katy. Jordan could seriously challenge that over the next few years.
The physical dominance of Tompkins – not a huge point scorer since Jalen Milroe left school, but always a physical team that rarely gets beat bad – against the high-flying Jordan offense was the type of immovable-force-meets-unstoppable-object type of game I was looking forward to. The result was something that wasn’t surprising to me.
Jordan won the game 24-14 after what was a slow first half. I’ve seen Tompkins play plenty of these types of games. The Falcons are tough and disciplined, but ultimately didn’t have enough offense to beat Jordan. The Warriors out-gained Tompkins 355-270. For Jordan, Beau Bryant finished 6-of-11 passing for 110 yards, while Dominic Cangolosi finished 4-of-7 for 63 yards and a touchdown. Landon Williams hauled in three catches for 64 yards and a the Cangolosi touchdown, while star receiver Andrew Marsh caught four passes for 76 yards.
On the ground, Zion Jones ran for 70 yards while Tanner West ran for 65 yards and a touchdown. The other scores came from a Jimmy-Phrisco Alo-Suliafu pick-six and a pair of Sebastian Baptista field goals. While regurgitating the entire box score might seem unnecessary here, I wanted to highlight the group effort it took to put points on the board against this Tompkins team. It had to come from everywhere.
For Tompkins, Ethan Meadows ran 14 times for 88 yards and a touchdown, while Robert Bernard ran in the Falcons other touchdown. Josh Davis was credited with 16 tackles, a sack and three QB hurries.
I say it every season, but 19-6A is going to be a lot of fun. Katy is always going to be Katy. Jordan can score with anyone. Tompkins is much better than its 1-2 record, the other loss coming to state ranked Bridgeland. I would say those three are safe bets for the playoffs. That leaves one spot for six teams.
Now that these two have played, the biggest test remaining for each is a date with Katy; every other game should be pretty winnable. Jordan faces Katy on Oct. 18 and Tompkins will face the Tigers on Nov. 1.
Bellville rolls against newcomer Fort Bend Crawford
There have been a few schools that had success on its debut season in the Houston area in the past several years. Shadow Creek, for example, played for two state championships right off the bat, starting off 32-1 in its first two seasons. Of course, not everyone can be Shadow Creek.
Fort Bend Crawford is in its first varsity season, playing in 4A-I. Technically, playing a team in 4A-II would be a step down. Except that particular team happens to be No. 3 in the state. Bellville rolled to a 62-0 shutout of Crawford, now 2-1 on the season. The Chargers might not be Shadow Creek, but they could one day resemble Iowa Colony, who went 12-1 last season after a 2-7 debut year. Crawford is on track for a better year one than that right now.
But, back to the plot, playing Bellville isn’t good for the business of winning games. The Brahmas rolled, 62-0. That’s consecutive shutouts for the Brahmas after a 49-30 loss to Celina, ranked No. 4 in 4A-I, to open the year. Bellville got it done in typical Braham fashion, rolling up 62 points despite attempting just four passes for a total of 27 yards. The Brahmas ran for 482 yards as a team, with D.D. Murray going for 229 yards and three scores. Travis Turner, Ryan Broz and Grady Hesters accounted for the other touchdowns. Broz also threw a touchdown pass, his only completion.
Crawford struggled to run the ball against a dominant Bellville front that features DJ Sanders, a top 100 recruit in the nation. The Chargers 19 rushing attempts went for just 35 yards. Quarterback Trevin Berrod Jr. finished 18-of-28 passing for 132 yards and an interception.
Crawford will need to regroup, though they’ve had an otherwise solid start to their debut season. Bellville looks like a state title contender once again, and might face little resistance prior to a deep playoff run – except for next week. Bellville faces Hitchcock on the road, one of the most athletic and talented teams in class 3A-I. The Bulldogs are No. 6 in the state. This is a great measuring stick game for each team, because the talent level will be similar to what each will face in the later rounds of the playoffs of their respective divisions.
Player of the Week
My player-of-the-week played in what might’ve been the best – and craziest – game of week three.
Hightower-Port Arthur Memorial came down to the wire. After the Hurricanes lost a double-digit lead, Camben Emanuel found Kade Phillips for a 39-yard gain down the five yard line. With one second left, Emanuel hit Dontreal Fisher for a game-tying touchdown.
Emanuel ran in the game-winning touchdown in overtime to cap the comeback. He finished with three touchdowns passing and the game-winner on the ground. Especially because of the last two plays of regulation, Emanuel is my player-of-the-week!
Video courtesy of @Camben_Emanuel on X.
What to Watch for
Willis (3-0) at The Woodlands (3-0) — Thursday
A year ago, this game featured a showdown between highly recruited quarterbacks DJ Lagway and Mabrey Mettauer. A year later and those names are gone, but the game holds just as much weight. Each team is 3-0 and the winner of this game likely takes home the district championship. Only Conroe and Grand Oaks have at least two wins among the rest of the teams in 13-6A. Willis and The Woodlands are easily the best teams in this district. It’s kind of weird to feel like a district race is being decided in week four, but this should be a great game at least.
Marshall (3-0) at Randle (3-0) — Thursday
District realignment put the two best teams in the Houston area in 5A-II in the same district. This was a bi-district playoff game last season, with Randle coming out on top 35-24. Randle has a great offense and has scored 35, 61 and 62 points in its first three games. Marshall, as is typical for the Buffs, has a great defense, allowing 23, 14 and 14 in its three contests. With athletes all over the field, this might be the best game in the Houston area in 5A-II for the regular season.
Bellville (2-1) at Hitchcock (2-1) — Thursday
I hit on this matchup above, but it is definitely the game of the year in Houston below class 5A. I bet it’ll be a top five game of the regular season regardless of classification. These two teams are the best in the area in their respective divisions and each has aspirations of a state championship run. Because this game doesn’t affect the long-term goals of either team, each should be able to play pretty loose and free. This one is going to be a lot of fun.
Manvel (1-2) at Shadow Creek (2-1) — Friday
Unlike the other games mentioned, this one will be played between great programs that each need a win after slow-ish starts to the season. Manvel dropped games to Galveston Ball and Barbers Hill before boat racing Pasadena Memorial last week. Shadow Creek got mauled by Summer Creek in week one before bouncing back for wins against Clear Creek and Alvin. Each team is looking for its first quality win of the season in this one, which should make for a good game.