KATY—Seth Davis is not a young man of many words. He speaks quietly and briefly. He is thoughtful, but succinct.
Katy High's star junior running back is comfortable letting his play speak for him, and Saturday against Cinco Ranch it wouldn't stop talking. Davis totaled 176 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries in leading the Tigers to a ho-hum 49-3 demolition of the Cougars at Legacy Stadium.
Davis's four touchdowns are a single-game best for him, coming just four games after he established a career-best in single-game yards with 224 against The Woodlands.
"I'm just trying to get better each day in practice, trying to help my team," Davis said. "I'm reading my blocks more. Trying to lead more. I just want to win state again."
Though he was named Offensive Most Valuable Player of the Class 6A-Division II state championship game last season, Davis feels he has so much more to show. He is never one to rest on success.
Coach Gary Joseph sees it every day in practice with Davis's persistent work ethic.
"He's stronger," Joseph said. "He's matured. He works at it. He doesn't complain and does a great job of always moving on to the next play. He's a great kid."
Davis has 1,333 yards and 15 touchdowns on 139 carries this season. He'll tell you how he's doing it. It has everything to do with the offensive line.
"They've improved a lot," Davis said. "From the start of spring ball, they're way more physical and they're better on their blocks. It's everything."
Katy's offensive front of senior Terrence Ochai, junior Jacob Egg, senior Dylan Erickson, senior Caleb Webb, and junior Isaiah Ybarra continues to get better and better. They're not as big as last year's O-line—none is taller than 6-foot-2—but they make up for it with toughness and technique.
"We're maintaining good aggression recently," Erickson said. "We're not the biggest line, but we want to be the most physical. We pride ourselves on our footwork and physicality.
"Every week, we're challenging ourselves to get better, and each week we're always hoping to be just a little bit better than the last. Hopefully it builds up until the end goal."
Joseph said the offensive linemen have made considerable strides in being physical and understanding what they're being coached to do.
Joseph commended the leadership of Webb and Erickson. He was effusive in his praise of Ochai, who has stepped in admirably in place of the injured Jace Butler. The selflessness of Ybarra, a defensive lineman and tight end last year, to do whatever the team needs is typical of what a Katy High football player is all about, Joseph said.
"The little things our offensive line coaches are teaching them in practice, they're finally understanding the why," Joseph said. "It's important for us to be physical, as far as the offense we run, and those kids are trying their best to be physical."
It's made for yet another dominant start for the Tigers, who are 8-0 overall, 4-0 in District 19-6A, heading into their bye week.
Despite missing as many as nine players out for multiple games this season due to injury—including highly-touted Class of 2022 recruits Nic Anderson, Malick Sylla and Bobby Taylor, the emerging and versatile Ronnie Schneider, and the veteran Butler—Katy has hardly skipped a beat, beating opponents by an average of 32.9 points per game.
"We look good, but of course we want to improve," Erickson said. "Our goal is still state."
EXTRA POINTS
>> GLASS SETTLING IN: The No. 2 running back has always been key for Katy, as Joseph likes to use a tandem to prevent wear and tear on the lead back. Junior Dallas Glass, brother of former Tigers star Deondrick, is settling into that No. 2 role this year. Glass had 133 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against Cinco Ranch. Overall, this season, he ranks third in 19-6A in rushing with 662 yards and eight touchdowns. "They're different strength-wise between Seth and him, and that's obvious," Joseph said of Glass. "Dallas was one of the kids who did a lot of virtual (learning) stuff last year and missed a lot of offseason and a lot of training and summer strength stuff. He gets by because he works. He's quick, but he's going to have to get stronger if he's going to be that dynamic back he can be."
>> TAKEAWAY TIGERS: Katy entered the Cinco Ranch game with just eight takeaways in seven games but got three takeaways (an interception, two fumble recoveries) against the Cougars. "It was awesome to see that," said Joseph, whose team is a minus-3 in turnover differential this season. "It has a way of balancing itself out. It's disappointing to have been minus, but I'm proud for the kids. They work. You get turnovers by hustling, and they've been hustling. They've been trying."
>> CEYANES STEPS UP: With Anderson and Schneider unavailable because of injury, junior receiver JR Ceyanes helped steady the Tigers' passing game with 46 yards on four catches.