DISTRICT 19-6A
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS (Playoff teams in bold)
Katy Tigers
Tompkins Falcons
Jordan Warriors
Cinco Ranch Cougars
Paetow Panthers
Morton Ranch Mavericks
Taylor Mustangs
Seven Lakes Spartans
Mayde Creek Rams
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Most Valuable Player
Wyatt Young, Tompkins
Offensive Player of the Year
Andrew Marsh, Jordan
Defensive Player of the Year
Loghan Thomas, Paetow
Breakout Player of the Year
Colin Willetts, Jordan
On the Cusp
Morton Ranch Mavericks
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Katy Tompkins Falcons
Lorin Cook (VYPE)
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Katy Jordan Warriors
Lorin Cook (VYPE)
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Cinco Ranch Cougars
Jamey Wright (VYPE)
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Katy Paetow Panthers
Jamey Wright (VYPE)
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The Katy Tigers are the brand of football in District 19-6A and Katy ISD. The Tigers have won the district crown 13 of the last 14 years and have reached the State Semifinals in three-straight seasons. In 2020, the Tigers added State Title No. 9 to the case and now Gary Joseph (255 career wins) seeks another. Katy will be a different looking team in 2023 with a new QB1 and RB1 toting the rock on offense. The defensive line will be anchored by four-star edge rusher Dakyus Brinkley, who is verbally committed to Kansas. Other notable commits for the Tigers are offensive lineman Coen Echols (Texas A&M), tight end Luke Carter (North Texas). Echols and Carter were first-team, all-district picks a year ago. District 19-6A Special Teams Player of the Year Adam Carter is also set to return for the Tigers.
The last team to defeat Katy in a District 19-6A contest was Katy Tompkins in 2020 when now-Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was leading the offense. The Falcons are loaded with talent. Todd McVey enters year seven leading the Falcons and seeks a sixth-straight playoff appearance. Six-foot-seven offensive lineman Ashton Funk (Texas A&M) will anchor the o-line, while Arizona-commit Eduwa Okundaye holds down the D-line. Okundaye led the team in sacks last year and chipped in 41 tackles. Rice-commit Wyatt Young, the reigning District 19-6A co-Offensive Player of the Year, is a spark plug on offense as he can do it all at receiver or quarterback. Young has deceptive moves and speed in the open field. He passed for 685 yards and seven scores, while rushing for another 565 yards and 10 scores. Tight end Rhys Phillips is also committed to Rice. Caleb Blocker is another name to remember after rushing for 1,150 yards and 13 scores in 2022. This group could push the Tigers in 2023.
Is year three of the Warriors program the one where they break through and make history? Katy Jordan has progressed in the first two years of Mike Rabe’s program, going from 3-6 in year one to 5-5 a year ago. This group is led by four-star receiver Andrew Marsh, who led the team in receiving with 845 yards and 11 scores. Add VanKeith Brown (10 offers, including TCU and Nebraska), Deacon Stanfield (HCU-commit) and Arizona State-commit Zechariah Sample (595 yards, 6 TDs) to that and you have a dynamic receiver group for quarterback Colin Willetts to toss the rock to. Willetts passed for more than 2,200 yards and 23 scores a year ago. Chad Gasper will pace the rushing attack (675 yards, 10 TDs), Defensively, the Warriors will have a lot to replace but look for them to lean on Zion Jones (4 INTs) and Sample (3 INTs) in the secondary for leadership early on.
Cinco Ranch will have to replace some major pieces from a 9-3 team, which reached the Regional Quarterfinals a year ago. Gone is District 19-6A MVP Gavin Rutherford and his more than 3,000 yards passing. Defensively, Yetxiel Perez Gilbes will lead the charge after racking up 106 tackles a year ago. Second-team, all-district secondary selection Taytum Johnson (10 offers) will anchor the back end after registering a team-high five interceptions in 2022. He also chipped in 53 tackles.
The Paetow Panthers will be led by David Hicks in 2023 after he served as the program’s interim head coach for the final four games of the 2022 season, which the Panthers went 2-2 in. Paetow is going to be led by their defense early, especially Notre Dame-commit Loghan Thomas and 2025 four-star cornerback DeyjhonPetteway. Other names to remember include receiver Jabari Bush (Arkansas State), offensive lineman Joseph Ugwu Jr., and safety JT Anderson.
Morton Ranch snapped a five-year playoff drought last year and will be led by Minnesota-commit Mike Gerald (CB), Sam Houston-commit Dean Ford (LB) and Prairie View A&M-commit Ryan Hall (RB), who was a first-team, all-district fullback in 2023. After a run of five-straight playoff appearances from 2016-2020,
Katy Taylor is seeking to get back into the dance in 2023. Nebraska-commit Ian Flynt will be the leader on offense at tight end. Louisiana Tech-commit Ashton Coker will anchor the defensive line, Memphis-commit Cyrus Reyes will roam at safety, while Dante’ Archie (5 offers) will be RB1 after rushing for more than 750 yards and seven scores in 2022. Seven Lakes and Mayde Creek are looking for bounce-back seasons in 2023 after going 1-9 and 2-8 a year ago, respectively.