The Cooldown: Week 5
Every year when week five rolls around, I think to myself “wow, I can’t believe it’s already week five.” It’s the first week of the season that makes me realize how fast it’s going by. We’re nearly halfway through the 11-week regular season, and we’ll be more than halfway through in just a few days. That’s wild to me because I feel like the season just started.
Nonetheless, there’s been some great football played so far and there’s plenty more great games to come before the second season starts in November. Speaking of great games, if you’re a fan of points…
Tomball Memorial saves no points for the rest of us
I won’t bury the lede here, Tomball Memorial took down Klein Cain 79-33 in what might be the most impressive win from any team this season.
Now of course, it’s not like Cain is North Shore. It’s not like this makes Tomball Memorial a state title contender. But in terms of pure shock value, name a better win? I can’t think of one. And it does at the very least indicate that the Wildcats could make a good run in the playoffs, perhaps at least akin to the 2020 team that fell to eventual state runner-up Cedar Hill in round three. That dynamic Wildcat offense featured do-it-all Joseph Manjack. This group has quarterback Aiden Martin.
Efficiency is Martin’s game. He finished 18-of-20 passing for 374 yards and six touchdowns and he added 47 yards and another score on the ground. Lane Stockton had seven catches for 126 yards and two scores while Lance Martinez finished with a line of four catches for 143 yards and three TDs. Yeriel Rodriguez caught the other Martin touchdown pass as part of his three catches for 56 yards.
If that’s not enough numbers for you, Treveon Green topped the 100-yard mark out of the backfield with 17 carries for 106 yards and a score. Leon Dorsey scored on the ground as well to cap off Memorial’s nine touchdowns.
The Hurricanes hung 33 points on a Tomball Memorial defense that hadn’t given up more than six points in a game all year. Of course, Cain is far and away the best team Tomball Memorial has faced this year. Isaac Mooring passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
What might be most shocking about this score is when looking at it in the context of what Klein Cain has done this season. Entering the week, Cain was 2-1 with a narrow loss to state ranked Summer Creek. Then Tomball Memorial totally dismantled them. The Wildcats are much more serious a threat come November than probably anyone (me, at the very least) thought.
Cy-Fair keeps rolling
Cy-Fair lost a nail biter to Bridgeland on opening night, 31-30. Since then, the Bobcats have scored 40+ in three straight games, winning each by at least 16 points. That includes last weeks’ 42-21 win against Stratford. That’s not too shabby of a bounce back.
Like Aiden Martin, Cy-Fair quarterback and Texas commit Trey Owens had quite an efficient night. He finished 33-of-40 for 363 yards and five touchdowns. Add in two INTs and only five of his 40 passes hit the ground all night. A completion percentage over 82% and an average of 11 yards per attempt will get the job done every time.
And it’s good that Owens was efficient and made quick work of Stratford, because no Bobcat ran for more than Arnell Fontenot’s 39 yards on 10 carries. Owens had 24 rushing yards and the lone Cy-Fair rushing touchdown himself.
Owen Carter was the favorite target on the night, catching 10 passes for 106 yards and two scores. Connor Porter hauled in seven catches for 126 yards and a score, while Wyatt Herbel added seven catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Though Stratford scored only 21 points, the Spartans still had a good night on offense. Aaron DeLeon threw for 302 yards, two touchdowns and two picks, and the team ran 23 times for 116 yards and a score – good for five yards per carry. Though they got beat, Stratford is still in the playoff race in what should be a competitive 17-6A.
La Porte rallies to upset Barbers Hill
Barbers Hill is typically one of the better teams in the Houston area in 5A-I, and this year looks to be no different. Barbers Hill raced out to a 4-0 start, winning every game by double digits. It held a 21-7 lead over La Porte at halftime and was up 21-14 entering the final quarter. Then, La Porte outscored Barbers Hill 21-7 in the final frame to take home a 35-28 win.
Quarterback Aiden Saenz finished with just 27 passing yards, while wide receiver Tim Walker completed his only pass for 46 yards. La Porte got it done on the ground as usual; Tyresse Barnes ran 23 times for 152 yards and Ricky Sandolph added 16 carries for 80 yards.
La Porte is now the only team in 8-5A-I with a 3-0 district record, but there is plenty of good competition in this district. La Porte and Barbers Hill should be the two best teams, but Kingwood Park, Port Arthur Memorial, Baytown Lee and New Caney Porter are also in the race and could shake up the top of the standings.
News and Notes
In this section each week, I’ll hit on some of the scores that caught my eye, but didn’t have time to discuss in full detail like the games above.
- Tomball, 29 – Klein, 3
- Dickinson, 35 – Clear Springs, 14
- The Woodlands, 55 – Conroe, 2
- Dobie, 38 – Deer Park, 35
- C.E. King, 31 – Humble, 24
- Cinco Ranch, 49 – Morton Ranch, 42
- Magnolia, 42 – Angleton, 35
- Friendswood, 42 – Foster, 21
- Magnolia West, 24 – Manvel, 10
- Lake Creek, 59 – Randle, 34
- Columbus, 42 – Huffman-Hargrave, 14
Player of the Week
This selection for player-of-the-week is a little overdue. Lamar has been playing outstanding football all season, outscoring opponents 213-42 in five games, and that’s in big part because of the stellar play of quarterback Jordan Reaves.
Lamar took down Heights 36-8 last week and Reaves went 13-of-19 for 309 yards and a touchdown through the air, adding 51 yards and another score on the ground. Lamar should breeze its way through the rest of the regular season and has the firepower to make a nice playoff run.
What to look forward to
Here are the games I’m most looking forward to this week. Games on Thursday or Saturday are noted. Week six is also a popular bye week, so the slate might be a little lighter than normal.
- Conroe at Oak Ridge (TH)
- Angleton at Fulshear (TH)
- Clear Falls at Clear Springs
- Cy Ranch at Cy Springs
- Elkins at Travis
- North Shore at C.E. King
- Humble at Summer Creek
- Katy at Katy Jordan
- Klein at Klein Cain
- Klein Oak at Tomball
- Friendswood at Magnolia
- Kingwood Park at La Porte
- Lake Creek at Montgomery
- Columbia at Bellville
- Cy Creek at Stratford (SAT)
- George Ranch at Ridge Point (SAT)