The Cooldown: Week 5
Week five is in the books and we’re onto the last popular bye week of the season in week six. Though we’re only a game or two into district play in many cases, contenders are separating themselves and playoff pictures are coming into focus if we can squint just a little bit.
Let’s recap week five and look ahead to a lighter, yet top heavy week six that’s sure to produce some bangers.
Bridgeland races past Langham Creek
Bridgeland picked up an impressive win last week, 35-6 over previously unbeaten Langham Creek — a prime example that non-district play can teach us a lot or nothing at all.
Bridgeland played two quarterbacks, and they were equally as effective. Jett Lewis finished 10-of-11 passing for 108 yards and a touchdown while Tyler Begeal finished 12-of-15 for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Kash Schwab was the leading rusher, tallying 72 yards on 10 carries, while Alex Spence Myers scored Bridgeland’s only rushing touchdown.
Eight Bears caught a pass with Trace Meullion’s 51 yards leading the way; Meullion and Jonathon Taylor caught the Bears’ two touchdown passes.
The result is a playoff picture that might already look in focus in 16-6A just one week into district play. Though the final order of the top three teams is just about anyone’s guess, Cy Springs, Cy Woods and Bridgeland have established themselves as the top three. Record wise, Langham Creek is in the hunt at 3-1 (0-1), though Cy Ranch is a strong competition as well.
Bridgeland has what is probably the biggest game of its season up next. The Bears face Cy Springs and the winner is likely the favorite to win the district, though that could come down to a regular season finale between Bridgeland and Cy Woods. In any case, keep an eye on this district as one of the more entertaining playoff races in the area primarily concerned with seeding.
Klein Cain bounces back against Tomball Memorial
Klein Cain’s loss to Klein Oak is going to look more puzzling as the weeks go on, I think.
The Hurricanes thrashed Tomball Memorial — a team that hung with Magnolia, who themselves thrashed Oak — by a score of 55-14. Not that Klein Oak is a bad team, but Klein Cain should’ve won that game. Nevertheless, it was a needed bounce back week for the Hurricanes.
Quarterback Zach Johnson finished 11-of-18 passing for a whopping 301 yards and five touchdowns, in addition to two interceptions.
Jah’rin Louis was the leading rusher with 111 yards on just nine carries, while Jaelon Dixon ran for 63 yards and a touchdown and EJ Johnson tacked on 49 yards and a rushing score.
Maxwell Hendrick had another monster week, catching six passes for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Dixon also caught three passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, a good all-purpose day for the senior running back.
Klein Cain moves to 4-1 (1-1) while Magnolia and Tomball remain the last unbeaten teams in district play. That’s a solid trio and Cain’s loss to Klein Oak could hurt later on. To win the district, the Hurricanes might need to beat both — not an easy task. We’ll get a little clarity on that next week when Cain takes on Magnolia.
Elkins picks up a key win over Austin
Elkins picked up a potentially season-defining win in a 41-6 blowout of Fort Bend Austin.
In this eight-team district, Travis and Dulles haven’t won a game all season. Sharpie. Clements is 1-3 with a few bad losses. Sharpie. That leaves five teams for four spots. Hightower and Ridge Point are virtual locks to make the playoffs. That leave Austin, Elkins and Bush. Elkins already has a leg up after beating Austin, and is in the driver’s seat for the third spot in 21-6A.
Romin Seymour had a nice night, finishing 10-of-16 passing for 134 yards, two touchdowns and an INT. Tyson Craft was also over 100 yards, running 18 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while Johnny Palmer had 72 yards and a score. Saxon Gumabong was the leading receiver, catching five passes for 94 yards and both Seymour TD passes.
Elkins gets Travis next, and plays Bush after that. The Knights could win every game leading up to the season finale against Hightower, and they’ll need to in order to finish third in the district. The game against Bush in two weeks will be huge for playoff seeding.
Player of the Week
My player-of-the-week just capped off a dominant two week stretch that put his team firmly in the 5A-II state championship discussion.
Landen Williams-Callis was close to a one-man wrecking crew in Randle’s 30-10 win against Iowa Colony last week. He racked up 173 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries, with no other Lion accounting for more than 100 yards.
The final score is a little misleading. Though Randle won this game by 20, this game was close most of the way. Randle led the game 10-3 midway through the third quarter until Williams-Callis scored three touchdowns in the final quarter-and-a-half.
With 15 touchdowns through five games and wins against Fort Bend Marshall and now Iowa Colony, the two-best 5A-II teams in Houston other than Randle, Williams-Callis is off to a dram start to the season. Not to mention, he’s only a sophomore. Landen Williams-Callis is my player-of-the-week!
What to Watch for
Bridgeland (3-1, 1-0) at Cy Springs (4-0, 1-0) – Thursday
Not going to elaborate on it too much because it is discussed above, but in my opinion, the winner of this game will win 16-6A. Cy Springs is a slight favorite, but I think it’s a toss-up. Cy Springs has a little bit better of an offense; Bridgeland is a little better on defense. This is going to be a really fun game and it’s the main event for Thursday night. Also on Thursday is Langham Creek (3-1, 0-1) at Cy Woods (4-0, 1-0) which should be a great game and could decide 3/4/5 seeding in this district. We’re going to learn a lot about 16-6A this week.
Atascocita (4-0, 1-0) at Summer Creek (4-0, 1-0) – Friday
This is the first game of three that could all be billed as the game of the year between the triumvirate of Atascocita-North Shore-Summer Creek. Atascocita enters ranked No. 8 in the state while Summer Creek is No. 6. The Bulldogs have yet to give up a point this season. Atascocita has one of the most explosive offenses in the state, averaging more than 42 points-per-game. Something’s gotta give and I can’t wait to find out what.
Cinco Ranch (2-3, 2-1) at Katy Jordan (5-0, 3-0) – Friday
Cinco Ranch has been an interesting team this season. A 2-3 record isn’t anything to write home about, but two district wins in three contests is encouraging. It’s not like Cinco Ranch can’t score points: The Cougs scored 55 last week against Katy Taylor and have scored at least 22 points in every game except against Katy. Jordan, meanwhile, is the best team in the district not named Katy, and they’re explosive on offense. I think Cinco keeps it closer than the 52-7 loss to Katy. I’m interested to see how close of a game this can be – it might be telling for who will take the final two playoff spots in 19-6A.
Klein Cain (4-1, 2-1) at Magnolia (3-1, 2-0) – Friday
This game is another that very well could decide the district championship race while we’re still early in district play. Tomball will certainly be a factor here, but these two teams have been the most impressive so far. Of course, Klein Cain had the slip-up to Klein Oak, so the Hurricanes have more to lose in this game.