Manvel (Texas) vs. Katy (Texas)
Rodney Anderson, Katy
File photo by Robbie Rakestraw
Manvel, one of the Houston's top up-and-coming powers, takes on Katy, the region's most established football program, in this Class 6A Division II quarterfinal showdown. Aside from its two-point win over then-unbeaten Pearland in the regular season finale, No. 10 Manvel has been pounding its opposition into the ground all season. Led by a lineup that features a minimum of 10 players who'll likely sign with FBS colleges this year or next, the Mavericks (13-0) have an average margin of victory of 35 points. Junior
D'Eriq King, a four-star dual-threat quarterback prospect according to 247Sports, eclipsed 3,000 passing yards for the year with a season-best 326 yards and five touchdowns in a 63-47 win over Cypress Woods (Cypress) last week. On the other side, Katy (12-1) has bounced back in a big way from an early upset loss to The Woodlands. The Tigers have won 10 in a row by an average score of 58-7. Leading the way is senior four-star running back
Rodney Anderson. The Oklahoma commit recorded season highs of 265 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a 63-20 rout of Dawson (Pearland) last week.
Follow live scoring of this game on Qwixcore Just the facts: A 56-14 Katy win in last season's state quarterfinals is the only other meeting in history between these teams. Manvel's first season of varsity football was 2007. … Katy has won six state titles and reached the championship game on five other occasions during the last 18 years. Manvel's only trip to the state finals happened when it lost a 4A title game to Aledo in 2011.
Mitch Stephens: Katy 38, Manvel 35
Kevin Askeland: Manvel 40, Katy 35
Jamie DeMoney: Katy 38, Manvel 31
Stephen Spiewak: Katy 41, Manvel 38
Leland Gordon: Katy 34, Manvel 32
Colin Ward-Henninger: Katy 30, Manvel 27
