By Steve Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
If the Houston area high school football scene were a family, Katy would be the brawny oldest brother.
Both well respected and well established, the Tigers have not lost a Katy district game since the Houston Oilers left town. They won 5A titles in both 2000 and 2003, in the latter year knocking off familiar Texas powerhouse Southlake Carroll.
This year is no exception. They've opened the season undefeated, and have attracted national recognition. They've also been compared favorably to not only the top teams in Texas, but to those across the country.
Here in the district of Katy, this has led to a giant target on Tigers' back, a mark of some fraternal competition in the 5A football family.
"I feel like everyone wants to knock us off," said Katy coach Gary Joseph, who was an assistant coach at defensive coordinator at Katy for over 20 years before becoming head coach in 2003. "We get everyone's best shot."
The undisputed "best shot" they've endured recently came last year against neighborhood rival Cinco Ranch, who the Tigers will meet Saturday morning in a nationally televised game. Cinco Ranch had a slim, 3-0 lead at the half in last year`s contest, before Katy came out with 17 unanswered second half points.
Despite the near miss, Cinco Ranch went a long way toward branding itself as the up and coming team in the Katy area, the Romulus to Katy's Remus, the younger brother prepared to upend its older sibling.
"Its almost like a little brother situation. I feel like each year we get a little bit better and close the gap a little bit more, so the anticipation and excitement each year builds more and more," said Cinco Ranch head coach Don Clayton, who has been at the Cougars' helm since the greenhorn school's first football season at 2000.
Sam Khan, a Houston area native who has covered high school sports for the Houston Chronicle for several years, also recognizes the growing rivalry.
"Cinco still has that `we want to prove ourselves' [mentality] because they've yet to beat them in football," Khan said. "It's pretty intense, and the kids seem to get fired up for it."
Khan also mentioned some factors that have contributed to the fast growing rivalry, namely the rapid pace at which Cinco Ranch has developed success and the fact that many of the team's first players came over from Taylor, an old time rival of Katy.
Indeed, the influence of Katy's history is very alive and well in the present, as it contributes greatly to the dynamic of the relationship between the two schools.
"We've been here longer and we've got the tradition. Everybody comes down here and supports us," Katy senior linebacker Blaine Adkins said.
Cinco Ranch's Clayton, himself a former Katy coach, is trying to create tradition for the Cougars, having taken his experience at Katy and applied it at Cinco Ranch.
"When we opened up over here, a lot of the people over here wanted what Katy had," Clayton said. "I believe very strongly in what we did at Katy. A lot of the things we do are very similar to the things we did when I was over at Katy."
Katy coach Gary Joseph noted that it was a two-way street.
"We've got a familiarity with him, too," Joseph said. "We know they'll be well coached and we know their kids will play extremely hard."
Both coaches expect to see tremendous effort and consistent execution from their opponents on Saturday. Both teams speak with reverence about the other team. Every player involved badly wants a win.
It certainly has all the earmarks of game that could resemble a classic younger brother/older brother tussle. Whether or not the younger sibling will finally the overcome older is the question. Whether or not this rivalry game means everything in this Houston area hotbed for football is not.