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| District 18-5A Preview |
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By Christopher Lyke
Texas HS Football Chief Editor
Despite only returning nine lettermen and four starters back, the Katy Tigers are still the team to beat in the district. A trip to the state champioship game and a solid junior varsity move up, should get the Tigers right back in the thick of the regional playoff picture. After Katy at the top, all the gloves and bets are off as to who will be in the district playoff chase.
The Katy Tigers have a superstar wideout in Michael Fuda back for his senior season. Fuda, who earned numerous awards last season, will be the go-to guy for Bo MItchell. Mitchell, a junior, will be taking over the Katy quarterback after the graduation of Andy Dalton. Fuda is not the only key returning offensive player looking to help the Tigers grow out of the inexperience mode. WIth almost 900 yards on the ground, junior running back Aundre Dean is back in the mix again. If the offensive lne can work through communication early, the Tiger may be as dangerous offensively as they were last season.
On the defensive side, Ryan Williams, a senior linebacker, will be assuming the leadership role left by Will Thompson. Williams is coming off a junior season where he grabbed 87 tackles, a sack and first team All-District honors.Joining Williams in the defense will be Trent Hunter and Terence Henry, both of whom are juniors. Both Hunter and Henry combined for over 110 tackles and will play a big role in the special teams department.
Cinco Ranch will be pinning their hopes on the arm of J.J. McDermott and the depth of the offensive line to get them into the playoffs. And with McDermott, looking to stay on his feet in 2006, the Cougars will also be counting on a suddenly strong running game for even more production. Florida transfer Frankie Lugo comes off a season where he picked up 1,500 yards and Garrett Forward, in limited action, grabbed 300 yards of ground. On the other side of the ball, look for a big year from Michael Garza out of the backfield. If the Cougars improve defensively, then expect them to put up a good fight late in the season.
The Elsik Rams are probably the most mysterious team in the entire district as far as expectations are concerned. The strength of the Rams may be on the defensive side where DB Pat Shankle and LB Chris Jackson make their return. Jackson is the type of player that could turn a game around for the Rams if the score is a close affair Shankle, a three -year starter, is the leader of the team. And so go Jackson and Shankle, goes the season for the Elsik Rams. If QB Charles Jones, finds consistency in the offense, the Rams should improve even better than most are expecting them to.
Greg Alexander makes his return to the Hastings Bears as a head coach and inherits a team that has solid speed and size on the offensive side of the ball and a defense that has plenty of promising days ahead of it. QB Michael Bonner will looking to connect with RB Rounell Wilson and WR Bennie Black on a fairly consistent basis. If they are effective offensively, the Bears should have no problems making it into post-season action. But those playoff hopes will be reliant upon players such as DB Justin Malveaux and DL Kamlo Ngassa to step up their game to a brand new level and keep the offense on the field.
The sleeper in the district race could be the Lions of Alief Taylor. With an improved offense and experienced defense, the Lions shuld see their record play role reversal on the 2005 result. The concern about the Lions could be the disadvantage they may experience in size. It will be the execution of the plays that will be the difference between the Lions contending and pretending. Key players to watch on the Lions squad includes WR Donte Elliott, RB Jamale Carter and DB Cheta Ozougwu.
Katy Taylor and Mayde Creek will be improved in 2006, but the question is, how much improvement will these two make? Spoiler role is definately in their cookbooks for the 2006 season. If they can overcome the lack of depth and experience, there could be a bright future ahead. |
| Key Players & Team Information |
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4376 |
5-5 |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
QB |
Michael Bonner |
6'2 |
190 |
4.7 |
Sr |
WR |
Bennie Black |
6'2 |
195 |
4.5 |
Sr |
RB |
Rounell Wilson |
5'11 |
175 |
4.5 |
Sr |
DL |
Kamlo Ngassa |
6'4 |
280 |
4.9 |
Sr |
DB |
Justin Malveaux |
6'2 |
187 |
4.5 |
Sr |
|
|
 |
4153.6 |
2-7 |
|
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
DB |
Pat Shankle |
5'9 |
180 |
-- |
Sr |
QB |
Charles Jones |
6'0 |
200 |
-- |
Sr |
RB |
Jeremy Hills |
5'10 |
185 |
-- |
Sr |
DL |
Hugo Esparza |
5'10 |
240 |
-- |
Sr |
LB |
Chris Jackson |
6'2 |
215 |
-- |
Sr |
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3253 |
4-5 |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
QB |
J.J. McDermott |
6'4 |
220 |
4.9 |
Sr |
OL |
Joel Scott |
6'4 |
293 |
5.3 |
Sr |
RB |
Frankie Lugo |
5'8 |
200 |
4.5 |
Sr |
DB |
Michael Garza |
5'11 |
175 |
4.5 |
Sr |
DL |
John Gioffre |
6'0 |
270 |
5.3 |
Jr |
TE |
Joe Wiesner |
6'2 |
220 |
4.8 |
Sr |
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2801 |
4-5 |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
OL |
Michael Bergmann |
6'6 |
342 |
5.6 |
Jr |
DB |
Blake Burkett |
6'0 |
183 |
4.6 |
Sr |
DB |
Jay York |
6'0 |
185 |
4.6 |
Sr |
DB |
Wayne McNeil |
6'3 |
178 |
4.6 |
Sr |
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2789 |
14-1 |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
WR/KR |
Michael Fuda |
5'11 |
175 |
4.4 |
Sr |
RB |
Aundre Dean |
6'1 |
190 |
4.5 |
Jr |
DE |
Tyler Mueller |
6'0 |
225 |
4.9 |
Sr |
LB |
Ryan Williams |
6'0 |
195 |
4.7 |
Sr |
DB |
Trent Hunter |
5'10 |
175 |
4.5 |
Jr |
DB |
Terence Henry |
5'8 |
165 |
4.6 |
Jr |
LB |
Matt Montgomery |
5'9 |
185 |
4.8 |
Sr |
FB |
Taylor Stuckey |
5'9 |
200 |
4.8 |
Sr |
OL |
Eric Ball |
6'3 |
265 |
5.3 |
Jr |
K/P |
Ryan Doerr |
6'1 |
175 |
4.8 |
Jr |
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2702 |
1-8 |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
TE |
Zac Benson |
6'2 |
245 |
5.0 |
Sr |
RB |
Ed Turner |
5'10 |
170 |
4.4 |
Sr |
LB |
Chase Hooper |
6'2 |
200 |
4.8 |
So |
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2588.5 |
3-6 |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
DB |
Cheta Ozougwu |
6'2 |
196 |
4.5 |
Sr |
RB |
Jamale Carter |
5'9 |
180 |
4.6 |
Sr |
QB |
Long Huynh |
5'8 |
160 |
4.6 |
Sr |
TE |
Kensley Paul |
6'1 |
190 |
4.8 |
Sr |
LB |
Andra Spencer |
5'11 |
183 |
4.7 |
Sr |
OL |
Andrew Krutsinger |
6'1 |
250 |
5.5 |
Jr |
WR |
Donte Elliott |
6'0 |
180 |
4.7 |
Jr |
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2476.5 |
NEW |
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Pos |
Name |
Ht |
Wt |
40 |
Yr |
WR |
Ray Payne |
5'11 |
160 |
-- |
Jr |
DB |
Andre Solamon |
5'10 |
200 |
-- |
Jr |
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| Projected Finish |
1 |
Katy |
2 |
Katy Cinco Ranch |
3 |
Alief Elsik |
4 |
Alief Hastings |
5 |
Alief Taylor |
6 |
Katy Taylor |
7 |
Katy Mayde Creek |
8 |
Katy Morton Ranch |
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| Pre-Season Awards |
District Darkhorse |
Alief Taylor |
District MVP |
Michael Fuda
Katy |
Offensive MVP |
J.J. McDermott
Katy Cinco Ranch |
Defensive MVP |
Ryan Williams
Katy |
Diamond In The Rough |
Michael Bonner
Alief Hastings |
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| 2005 Records |
| Alief Hastings |
5-5 |
| Alief Elsik |
2-7 |
| Katy Cinco Ranch |
4-5 |
| Katy Taylor |
4-5 |
| Katy |
14-1 |
| Katy Mayde Creek |
1-8 |
| Alief Taylor |
3-6 |
| Morton Ranch |
New |
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| Recruiting Key |
| THSF Top 200 Player |
| Top '07 Prospect |
| Top '08 Prospect |
| Top '09 Prospect |
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