The Cooldown: Week 7
I get whiplash somewhere around week 6-7-8 each year. This year, it was week seven. I found myself thinking I couldn’t believe we’ve already finished seven weeks of football and only have four weeks left in the regular season. It feels like the season started two weeks ago, to me at least.
As we continue to zoom through the regular season, playoff pictures are coming more into focus. In some places, playoff races have been narrowed to 4-5 teams and district title contenders are clear — with maybe one or two teams that truly have a chance. District 15-6A is not part of either of those scenarios, as usual. Let’s discuss.
Tomball sneaks past Klein Oak
Even though it still has perhaps its two-toughest games of the season ahead, Tomball is off to an impressive 6-0 start after a quality 24-21 win against Klein Oak.
This was one of the best games of week seven. Klein Oak is better than its 4-3 record would suggest, and Tomball needed an efficient, disciplined performance to get the win. That’s pretty emblematic of the type of program Tomball has been for the past several years. The Cougars are as consistent as they come, and they rarely beat themselves so-to-speak.
Quarterback Jaxyn Faldyn finished 19-of-23 passing for 187 yards and a touchdown, and he added a touchdown on the ground. Senior running back Oswaldo Morales also had an impressive night, running 28 times for 142 yards. Hunter Rathke was the leading receiver with five catches for 94 yards, while Miles Roy added five catches for 45 yards.
Tomball is the only team in 15-6A – which can never have a normal one – without a district loss. Only two teams in the district –Klein Cain and Magnolia – have one district loss; Tomball plays those two teams back-to-back, starting with Magnolia on Oct. 25. So, even though the Cougars are sitting at a pretty 6-0 (4-0), they could still realistically finish third in the district. And that’s to say nothing of the chaos Klein Oak could cause. The next month to decide this playoff race will be a blast.
La Porte continues bounce back with win against Kempner
La Porte started the season 0-3 with three fairly close losses to good teams. After trouncing Kempner 56-16, the Bulldogs are now 3-3, but 3-0 where it matters: district play.
La Porte got this win mostly on the ground with a pair of 100-yard rushers. Alijah Bright ran 10 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns, while Sean Simon racked up 177 yards and a touchdown on his 10 carries. Kylen Carter, Ricky Sandolph and Tyresse Barnes each had a rushing touchdown apiece.
Barnes also competed a pass for 40 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Aiden Saenz finishing 5-of-8 for 66 yards and a touchdown. Tyron Coleman Jr. caught both touchdown passes, part of his three-catch, 81-yard effort.
The Bulldogs are a force on the ground and should be a problem for the top of the district in 11-5A-I, a district that has become a three-team race. Angleton, Crosby (who we’ll get to in a minute) and La Porte are each 3-0. New Caney Porter is also in the race at 2-1, and La Porte gets them next.
Angleton, Crosby and La Porte each feature solid rushing attacks. Each had four games left, two of which will be against each other. We’re about to see four weeks to decide the 11-5A-I champion and determine most of the playoff order. Buckle up!
Bellville wins a thriller against Sealy
Sealy has had quite a season. The Tigers are 4-2 (0-1) and they’ve won and lost in the same ways. All the wins are double digit blowouts and the pair of losses came on the road in overtime.
Bellville is one of the best teams in the state and Sealy pushed the Brahmas to the brink. Bellville won it 35-28 in overtime. Ryan Broz finished 2-of-4 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown. In typical fashion, the Brahmas ran 45 times for 222 yards as a team. DD Murray was the leading rusher, finishing with 115 yards on 20 carries, and he also caught both of Broz’s passes. Izak Hranicky ran six times for 18 yards and two touchdowns, while Kendrick Turner ran for 44 yards and a touchdown.
For Sealy, it was a coin-flip performance for quarterback Kane Killough. On the one side, he threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, and was the leading rusher as well with 88 yards. On the other side, he completed 25 of his 43 passes and threw three interceptions. Four Tiger receivers were at or over 50 yards – Beau Finley (four catches for 50 yards), Noah Washington (4-51-1), Elijah Sanders (4-77-1) and AJ Cepon (7-77-1).
It's pretty clear that Bellville and Sealy will finish 1-2 in district 11-4A-II, and both have the capability to make a solid run in the playoffs. Madisonville (3-3) and Giddings (2-4) were the other two teams to win the district opener, while La Grange (4-2, 0-1) is also in the hunt.
Player of the Week
The bounce back for Crosby continued last week, thanks to a dominant performance from my player-of-the-week.
Crosby started the season 0-3 after a close opening night loss to Dayton and a pair of losses to area powers Iowa Colony and Fort Bend Marshall. Since then, the Cougars are 3-0 after a dominant 34-14 win against Kingwood Park on Friday night.
My player-of-the-week accounted for over half of Crosby’s offense. Wesley Yarbrough finished with 24 carries for 252 yards and three touchdowns as Crosby ran over Kingwood Park.
Wesley Yarbrough is my player-of-the-week!
What to Watch for
Cinco Ranch (2-5, 2-3) at Tompkins (3-3, 2-2) – Thursday
Currently, Katy, Jordan and Paetow are unbeaten in district 19-6A. Tompkins and Cinco Ranch are next in the standings, so the odds are this game will determine who gets the final playoff spot. Each team has had decent seasons, and I could see this being a high-ish scoring game and I think it will be a competitive game. Need I say more?
Willis (7-0, 5-0) at Conroe (6-0, 4-0) – Friday
I previously dubbed The Woodlands-Willis as the game of the year and the de-facto district championship. Though Atascocita-Summer Creek topped it in the GOTY category, that game was still more than likely the de-facto district championship – but Conroe will have something to say about it. Not many people predicted the Tigers would be 6-0 heading into a showdown with state-ranked Willis. I think we’ll learn a lot about Conroe this week. Are the Tigers a real district title – and playoff – threat? Or will it be closer to a third-place district finish and a short playoff appearance?
Cy Springs (5-1, 2-1) at Cy Woods (6-0, 3-0) – Friday
Speaking of teams that not many anticipated would be 6-0, help Cy Woods! The Wildcats are 6-0 for the first time in program history. They’ll another team from Cypress that has experienced unusual success. Cy Springs won just four games between 2018-2021, before matching that win total in 2022 alone, and doubling it to eight wins last season. The Panthers are a force once again. This game probably decides the 2-3 slots in the playoff race for 16-6A, unless Cy Woods can upset Bridgeland in the season finale.
Katy (5-1, 4-0) at Katy Jordan (7-0, 5-0) – Friday
I try not to double up on districts for these weekly previews but I simply had to here. As Cinco Ranch-Tompkins will help firm up the bottom of 19-6A, Katy at Jordan will likely determine the district champion. Paetow is also 4-0 in district play and could play a factor here, but I think these two are the best in the district.