After a great pair of championship games played yesterday, we now get to see our representatives of the 6A divisions. The Cedar Hill Longhorns and the Katy Tigers battled it out to see who would take home the 6A-II State Title. While both teams are some of the best in the state, neither Cedar Hill or Katy has won a state title since 2015.
Cedar Hill would win the coin toss and elect to start out with the football. The Tigers defense came to play, and were focused on shutting down this Longhorns offense. A crucial drop on 3rd and 9 would force them to punt on their first drive, and Katy would force a second punt on the next drive.
Caleb Koger and the Tigers offense would get going with five minutes left in the first quarter. Normally we see Katy rush the ball down the opponents throats but this time they got it done through the air. Taylor Saulsberry would cap the drive off with a 37-yard touchdown grab to give us our first score of the game. With 1:18 left in the first quarter, the Katy Tigers would take a 7-0 lead.
It wouldn’t just be their offense that started to click though. Outside linebacker Shepherd Bowling would come up with a huge diving INT right before the end of the quarter. Two plays into the second quarter and we’d have our second touchdown of the game. Jalen Davis would rush the ball for a three-yard touchdown. In just six minutes of play the Longhorns were suddenly down 14-0.
With under four minutes to go in the half, Katy had the ball and was looking to extend their lead. They had the ball inside the red zone, but a costly chop block would kill their drive. Nemanja Lazic would knock down an impressive 49-yard field goal to extend the Tigers lead to 17.
Isaiah Smith would explode for a 51-yard touchdown run right before halftime to break the lead open to 24-0. Cedar Hill’s offense would continue its struggles, and fail to put up any points before halftime. Leading 24-0, the Katy Tigers were in full control of the game and would receive the second half kickoff.
While they would only be able to kick a field goal off their opening drive, Katy would keep the pedal down on defense. Hamilton McMartin would come up with a huge fumble recovery and take it all the way to the crib. In just a few minutes this game was flipped out of control.
Kaidon Salter would finally get the Longhorns offense going in the second half. After scoring on a quarterback keeper, he would come back and launch the ball to Anthony Thomas for a deep strike. The Longhorns would get a little bit of life in them thanks to Salters second TD of the game.
Katy would put the nail in the coffin though after Seth Davis broke off his first touchdown of the night. Cal Verner would pick off Kaidon Salter, and take it back to the house for Katy’s second defensive touchdown of the night. The Tigers would run out the clock, and end the game with a score of 51-14.
This is Katy High School’s ninth State Title in school history, and first since 2015. The future of Katy football looks bright as Caleb Koger and Seth Davis both shined bright in tonights game. Congratulations to Katy High School on a beautiful ending to a crazy season.
