The defending 6A champion North Shore Mustangs defeated the Katy Tigers 20-17.
This was an extremely exciting and back-and-forth battle between two of the best football teams in the region. The Tigers got on board first with a 38-yard touchdown run by Josh Oglesby. On the Tigers’ next drive, the Mustangs’ Matthew Stephenson intercepted Rocky Emery and returned the ball 25 yards to the Tigers’ 15-yard line. The Mustangs converted on the interception, when Bryant Badie ran the ball into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked. The Tigers led, 7-6, at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Badie broke a 39-yard run, and then was able to find Drakkar Pruitt for a 25-yard completion. The Mustangs’ field goal attempt was blocked by Michael Mutas, and the score remained the same at the half, 7-6, in favor of the Tigers.
To start the second half, The Tigers took their first possession 41 yards, with Seth Small converted on a 42-yard field goal to extend their lead, 10-6. The Mustangs answered with a touchdown, on a pass from Badie to Katreyvion Smith for a 29-yard touchdown to take the lead, 13-10. The Tigers and Oglesby came right back with a 22-yard touchdown to regain the lead, 17-13. These two high schools were going back and forth in the second half and began to clamp down on defense, until the Mustangs’ Kerrion Hadnot bounced off a couple defenders and then took it to the house for a 48-yard touchdown, taking the lead, 20-17.
This is when the defense of the Mustangs had to step up if they wanted to hold on to their lead and claim victory over a very tough Tigers team. The Tigers began their drive towards victory, with Emery finding J.C. Angulo for a 43-yard completion. The Mustangs got down to the one-yard line, and the Mustangs had a tall task in front of them, faced with having to stop the Tigers’ offense and their three opportunities to try and get in the end zone from the one-yard line. The Mustangs held firm and when the Tigers decided to go for it on fourth down, they were shut down and denied, handing the Mustangs the 20-17 victory.
The key player for the Mustangs was Kerrion Hadnot, who had seven carries for 96 yards. The Mustangs’ quarterback Bryant Badie was 9 for 15 with 102 yards and a passing touchdown, and also contributed 49 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Tigers’ Josh Oglesby ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Rocky Emery was a nonfactor, having just completed five completions out of nine attempts, with one interception.
The Katy Tigers were handed their first three-loss season since 2008.