For those who believe that the first round of the Texas high school football playoffs don't provide much excitement because so many teams qualify, several Houston-area teams offered proof why the games are still worth paying attention to.
Four local teams that were ranked in the top 10 in the state in their respective classes made early exits from the postseason, losing in the bi-district round.
Click here to view MaxPreps' Texas football playoff brackets.The upset that made the biggest waves on Friday night was a 31-14 win for
Klein Oak (Spring) over The Woodlands at Woodforest Bank Stadium. The Highlanders, ranked No. 4 in Texas, came into the game with a 10-0 mark. They had won 20 straight regular season games but had exited the postseason early the last two seasons at the hand of an emerging state power, Round Rock Stony Point.
Klein Oak (8-3), which had won four straight coming into the game, used a varied offensive attack and a high-pressure defense that hassled Woodlands quarterback Joseph Schneider and shut down standout running back Daniel Lasco.
"They're so dang good throwing and catching," Klein Oak coach David Smith said. "So we sent five (pass rushers) and they were picking them all up so I said ‘Bring more'?"
And while The Woodlands loss provided plenty of buzz, perhaps the most shocking result came out of Turner Stadium in Humble, where playoff newbie
Kingwood Park stunned 2009 Class 4A Division II state finalist Brenham 29-24. The Panthers jumped out to a 13-0 lead behind a strong defensive effort and capitalized on four Brenham turnovers to earn the win.
Brenham was ranked No. 3 in the state and was the heavy favorite to win the Region III-4A title and get back to the Division II title game.
Also falling was state 4A No. 10 El Campo, 28-21 to
La Marque. In Class 3A, No. 6 Sealy fell to
Navasota 33-17.
TOP PERFORMERS* Deshun Laurent, Worthing (Houston): In a 16-13 victory over Austin in the Class 4A Division I Region III bi-district playoffs, Laurent compiled 277 yards of offense and accounted for all of the Colts' points. He caught five passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, had nine carries for 108 yards, and kicked a field goal and extra point. Laurent's 25-yard field goal came with three seconds remaining and gave the Colts the victory.
* Keshawn Hill, Klein: The senior running back had 36 carries for 247 yards and a touchdown in a 44-38 win over Lufkin in the Class 5A Division II Region II bi-district playoffs.
LOOKING AHEADThe area round of the playoffs begins on Friday. The most intriguing game of the week will go down at Pasadena Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night when
North Shore (Houston) meets
Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City). Other notable games include
Pearland vs.
West Brook (Beaumont),
Cypress Creek (Houston) vs.
Cinco Ranch (Katy),
Alief Taylor (Houston) vs.
Memorial (Houston) and Klein Oak vs.
Stony Point (Round Rock).
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 or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/skhanjr. You can also join him, Jenny Dial and other writers from around the state in a weekly high school football chat at noon on Wednesdays at www.chron.com/hs.
