The most interesting thing about Paetow’s football program when it started up in the summer of 2017 was it had a running back named Major Payne. Otherwise, no one knew much about or what to expect from the Panthers.
Now the most interesting thing about Paetow football is it is a state champion in just its fourth year of varsity football. Paetow has the Class 5A-Division I crown after taking a 27-24 overtime win over College Station in the state championship game Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Here are five factors, in no particular order, to the success of the remarkable 15-1 2021 Paetow Panthers, and how and why they reached the top.
>> GOTTE CULTURE
In January 2017, Katy ISD administration approved the hiring of 37-year-old B.J. Gotte to open Paetow High School in north Katy. No one saw what was about to come after a JV-only season in 2017, which held summer strength and conditioning camps in a parking lot by a dumpster near a neighboring junior high school, and a 3-7 inaugural varsity season in 2018.
From the beginning, from the first day when his office was a classroom on a junior high campus because construction on the high school had yet to be finished, Gotte preached a standard of excellence.
“And excellence starts by what you do every single day,” Gotte said. “And these kids bought into it. They worked hard and stuck with each other.”
It wasn’t easy. And Gotte knew it. He knows what it takes, having been an assistant coach on three state championship programs at Katy (2003, 2012, 2015) and La Marque (2006) and a player on a state finalist (1994). But what he saw from his players early and often was a willingness to doing things the right way, with discipline and efficiency.
“Going to a new school is not always popular, especially when you’re around the schools that we’re around,” Gotte said. “People from the jump were saying why anyone would want to go here, we weren’t going to win, it’s a new school. I told our kids from the beginning, we’re going to compete to win.”
Gotte played the offensive line for Katy High from 1993-1996. He was an assistant coach for the Tigers from 2001-2003 under Mike Johnston, and then returned later in his coaching career from 2009-2016, ultimately serving as offensive coordinator under Gary Joseph.
The Panthers’ program is practically a carbon copy of the Katy program, from the way practices are run to the run-oriented offense and 3-4 defense. But Gotte is his own man. It showed in the state title game, like when he elected his offense to go for it on fourth down six times, converting three, and in how he utilized personnel and formations to thwart the defense and offense.
“It’s about Paetow High School, man,” Gotte said. “That’s what this is about. I don’t talk much about Katy. This is about our kids, and our kids have bought into what we’re doing. Now they’re champions. I’m proud of them.”
>> CONFIDENCE, FAMILY
Two things aligned with Paetow’s success this season.
Confidence and family.
The confidence, Gotte said, came from senior leadership. Kids feeding, thriving, off each other. It came from practices, when Gotte had his team focus on situationals, like overtime scenarios, that force the offense and defense into uncomfortable positions to overcome.
“It’s who wants it more and who has more heart, and who already had the experience and practice to do so,” senior defensive back Kentrell Webb said. “We’re confident in ourselves. That’s really what it came down to.”
That confidence was evident when Gotte chose to have his defense on the field first to start the overtime and later on when he chose to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the College Station 3-yard line when a failed conversion would’ve meant victory for the Cougars.
The family aspect of the players, the bond and brotherhood, fostered belief, faith and trust in each other. It was a boon to the confidence.
“They care for each other,” Gotte said. “They are a family. Families have ups and downs, and we have had our ups and downs, but at the end of the day they come together and stand behind one another. That’s what I’m most proud of them for. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
>> DOMINANT DEFENSE
Gotte knew the defense would be the strength of this year’s team. He wasn’t wrong.
From up front to the secondary, Paetow was relentless in holding opponents to 11.7 points per game this season with five shutouts.
Paetow had 60 sacks in 16 games, an average of 3.7 per game. Junior linebackers Daymion Sanford (13.0) and Alex Kilgore (10.0), and senior nose tackle Sultan Bakare (10.0) accounted for 33 of those. The Panthers had 23 interceptions. Webb had 10 of those.
“We have playmakers all around the defense. There’s no weak spots,” said Webb, named the Defensive Player of the Game in the state final. “Everybody’s so talented and we have so much fun playing the game.”
Gotte said the experience guys like Sanford and Kilgore earned playing varsity as sophomores last season was vital.
They were more confident in the Panthers’ base packages, which then allowed Gotte to get more creative with exotic blitzes and coverages.
Paetow runs a 3-4 base defense. Often, however, it morphed into a four-man front after the snap, essentially becoming an offset 4-2-5 alignment because of a penchant for nickel packages.
“I love it,” Kilgore said. “We know we’re confusing the offense, and that’s our advantage. We know our talent. We know our ability. So not only are we confusing the offense, but we’re doing it with talent. It takes us one step further.”
In the state championship win, the Panthers held College Station to its fewest points of the season.
“It’s building with the brothers,” said Kilgore, who had seven tackles in the state title game. “Knowing what the person is doing next to you and doing your job to your best ability. It’s practice. Going 100 percent every day, not taking a day off, not taking a rep off.”
>> BROWN’S COMEBACK INSPIRES
One of the more inspiring stories at Paetow was the play of senior running back Jacob Brown.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder suffered a soft-tissue knee injury that caused him to miss six games during the regular season. While he returned in time for the playoffs, he was never at full health, operating at around “85 percent,” he said.
Still, Brown was spectacular. He compiled program records of 346 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the Panthers’ 35-12 regional final win over Hightower. In the state title game, he was named Offensive Player of the Game, totaling 120 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries and scoring the game-winning 2-yard run in overtime.
“It’s a dream come true,” Brown said. “I remember as a little kid watching (former Katy High running back) Rodney Anderson here at my same position. If you had told me a couple years ago I would be here, I’d never believed you. Really. It’s truly a blessing.”
Brown was a monster during the postseason with 930 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 8.5 yards per carry.
“I’m so proud of him, proud of his effort,” Gotte said. “I’m proud of his ability to come back. At the point when he got injured and got the news, there was a potential he may not play again. It was a pretty bad deal. For him to put his head down, go to work, rehab, and really commit to being his best self, and then to see him have this success, it’s really cool.”
>> JUST DOING THEIR JOB
Gotte said this year’s offensive line was Paetow’s biggest and strongest yet.
“It’s the first O-line we’ve had that they’ve been in our offseason for multiple years,” Gotte said. “We finally have some size up front, and it’s been the difference in being able to take our game to the next level.”
The group was led by 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior team captain and right tackle James Bailey. Senior Isaiah Villanueva (6-4, 265) was the other tackle. Senior Jeremiah Richard (6-2, 210) was the center. Senior Anthony Dorantes (6-1, 285) and junior Nicolas Lira (5-11, 230) were the guards. Senior Josh Prieto (5-10, 195) was the tight end, a position Gotte considers an integral part of the blocking up front.
“This year’s O-line hadn’t played together as much, especially compared to last year’s,” said Bailey, the lone returning starter. “But I think what’s key is each one of these guys has worked hard and stepped up to be what we are.”
The run game accounted for 65 percent of the Panthers’ offense. Paetow averaged 268.4 rushing yards per game. Seventy-three of its 101 offensive touchdowns came on the ground, including all four of its touchdowns in the state final.
Gotte brought some of Katy’s O-line schemes with him when he was hired to open the Paetow football program. He and offensive line coach Jamie Bridges teach it all: inside zone, outside zone, gap scheme, wide zone.
“We can go two-back, or we can spread it out,” Gotte said. “It is very intricate, a lot of different schemes. The flexibility is probably our most advantageous thing. We’re able to adjust what we do up front to fit the type of skill kids we have.”