Annual clash of Houston-area titans falls short of hype

Several highly-touted matchups end up lopsided; top recruits get bit by injury bug.

For the third straight season, Katy vs. North Shore (Houston) was the most-hyped and most-anticipated game of the opening week of the Houston high school football season.

For the first time since the series began in 2008, the game fell well short of the hype.

In what was a dominating performance by the Tigers, Katy rolled to a 44-6 road win over North Shore on Friday night at Galena Park ISD Stadium, delivering the Mustangs their most lopsided loss in more than six years.

Katy High's Donovonn Young.

Photo by Greg Pierson

In the last two seasons, the game featured a total of three touchdowns and the game was decided by fewer than five points each time.

For a quarter, it appeared that might be the case again as both offenses were stagnant, but Katy quickly got its running game on track behind the trio of senior Donovonn Young, senior Vernon Jeffries and sophomore Adam Taylor.

"That's the kind of backs (we have) and kind of team we are," Katy coach Gary Joseph said. "We're still a blue-collar team."

The Tigers — ranked No. 1 in the Houston area and third in the state — not only ran well but featured a good play action pass attack behind junior quarterback Brooks Haack. Haack, who started in the Tigers' Class 5A Division II championship game loss against Abilene, is in his first full season as the varsity starter.

Katy still seemed to be smarting from that loss heading into the season opener, and the Tigers seemingly took out their frustrations on North Shore.

The result also left several questions for North Shore, which was coming off its toughest season in a decade, as the Mustangs went 8-4 in 2009 and saw several streaks come to an end. The changes in offensive scheme and staff didn't yield positive results against Katy and how the Mustangs progress on that side of the ball will be something that many will be watching.

MORE BLOWOUTS IN TOP MATCHUPS
Several of the opening week's highly anticipated matchups ended in blowouts. Friendswood went on the road and dominated Angleton 48-29 behind a terrific performance from quarterback Pete Maetzold. The Mustangs entered the state's 4A top 10 rankings after the victory. La Porte pulled in a 37-7 win over Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land) at home in what was expected to be a competitive matchup and Memorial (Houston) crushed rival Stratford (Houston) 34-7 in the teams' first meeting as non-district foes (Stratford moved down a classification from 5A to 4A before this season). On the opening night of the season, Cinco Ranch (Katy) earned a three-touchdown win (42-21) over Klein Forest (Houston) and Clear Springs (League City) cruised by Dawson 40-23.

INJURIES SIDELINE THE STARS
Several top Houston-area prospects found themselves on the sideline on opening weekend. The most significant injury belonged to Klein Forest dual-threat junior quarterback Matt Davis, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Golden Eagles' 42-21 loss to Cinco Ranch. Davis dazzled in the first half of the game and scored the game-tying touchdown just before the half, but an MRI the next day revealed a torn ACL. The Woodlands senior running back Daniel Lasco, a California commitment, suffered a sprained ankle in the Highlanders' 44-7 win over Prepa Tech (Monterrey, Mexico). He exited in the first quarter and will likely miss the team's next game against Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City). Texas commitment and Fort Bend Dulles (Sugar Land) standout defensive back Sheroid Evans sat out the Vikings' season-opening win over Alief Hastings (Houston) with a hamstring injury and will sit out their second game on Thursday against Seven Lakes (Katy).

BREAKING THROUGH AND BREAKING IN NEW
Cy-Fair (Cypress) has had a pair of consecutive tough seasons and last season went winless, but the Bobcats broke that streak when they earned a 21-20 win over Katy Taylor on Saturday thanks in part to a 10-point rally in the final four minutes and a game-winning field goal in the final minute. Meanwhile, fellow Cy-Fair ISD team Cypress Ranch (Houston) debuted its varsity team with a 21-19 win over Fort Bend Austin (Sugar Land) on Friday. Also, several coaches made debuts with their new teams but perhaps none were more successful than former Hightower coach Shane Hallmark, who led his new team, Klein, to a 41-12 victory over Aldine (Houston).

PEARLAND SHOWCASES VOLLEYBALL POWERS
Several of Texas' top volleyball teams descended on Pearland for the 2010 Pearland Volleyball Classic, the largest and one of the most prestigious high school tournaments in the nation. The tournament hosted 76 teams in the three day event and King (Corpus Christi) shined the brightest, going 8-1 en route to the tournament championship. Cy-Woods (Cypress) and Dawson had the best showing locally, finishing ninth and 10th, respectively.

TOP PERFORMERS
C. J. McElroy, Clear Creek (League City): McElroy was the master of versatility, accounting for five touchdowns in four different ways in a 49-14 win over Pasadena Memorial. McElroy, who is committed to Houston, carried the ball five times for 149 yards and two touchdowns, caught four passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, threw a 74-yard touchdown pass and had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Bralon Addison, Fort Bend Hightower: The lightning-fast junior quarterback went 8 of 12 passing for 195 yards and three touchdowns and had 15 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown on the ground in a 44-39 win over Eisenhower (Houston).

Peter Maetzold, Friendswood: He threw for 251 yards in the first quarter alone, leading his team to a 35-point output in the first 12 minutes. At the end of the night, the senior quarterback completed 18 of 30 passes for 375 yards, and four touchdowns in addition to 11 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-28 road win over then state-ranked Angleton.

LOOKING AHEAD
Among the key games on the Week 1 slate:

* Hightower vs. The Woodlands, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium — Two perennial area powers clash, but The Woodlands will be without running back Daniel Lasco. Both teams scored 44 points last week.

* Cypress Creek (Houston) vs. Klein Oak (Spring), 6 p.m. Saturday at Klein Memorial Stadium — Several top recruits on the field for this one, including Cypress Creek quarterback/running back duo of Chuckie Keeton and Jermichael Selders along with Klein Oak defensive lineman Nathan Hughes and tight end Max Stevenson. Not to mention junior quarterback Nick Barattii, who is explosive on his feet.

* Memorial vs. Westfield (Houston), 7 p.m. Friday at Leonard George Stadium — Memorial opened its season with a 34-7 win over rival Stratford while Westfield, a perennial power, makes its season debut. These teams have met annually the last several years and often provide a competitive game.

RECRUITING NEWS
Several junior football recruits can expect some mail on Wednesday, the first day that the Class of 2012 can receive written scholarship offers from colleges. Among the top juniors in the Houston-area are Klein Forest quarterback Matt Davis, Dekaney (Houston) running back Trey Williams, Hightower quarterback Bralon Addison and Brenham defensive tackle Malcolm Brown.

SAM'S MIDWEEK MUSINGS
I've learned over the years to expect the unexpected and to never assume anything. Nothing reminded me of that more than Katy's drubbing of North Shore or Friendswood's handling of Angleton. On the flip side, people may assume that the two teams that lost those games might struggle but just when you think they're down, they could rise up again. ... Another thing that stood out to me this weekend was the season-ending injury to Matt Davis. Injuries are a part of the game and that's understood but you feel for a team when they lose their undisputed leader. In my dealings with him since he became the starting quarterback, Davis has been a class act on and off the field and reminds me a lot of former Cypress Ridge quarterback Russell Shepard in both skill set and personality. Both were natural leaders and carried themselves as such. While Davis will still be on the Klein Forest sidelines, they'll miss his presence in the huddle this season.

Sam Khan Jr. is a reporter who covers Greater Houston area high school sports for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach him at sam.khan@chron.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/skhanjr. The Chronicle's comprehensive Houston-area high school football preview magazine, Game Plan 2010, is on newsstands now.