IN TERMS OF OFFENSIVE PROWESS IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, THERE ARE FEW TEAMS THAT CAN CLAIM TO BE AS EXPLOSIVE AS RIDGE POINT.
Don’t believe it? Check last year’s stat-line as the Panthers averaged over 48 points per game.
At the helm of this prolific attack is senior QB Austin Carlisle, whose journey to the top has been one noted by determination.
As is the case for many young athletes, Carlisle was inspired from watching others.
“Growing up, my Dad played football, so it was always a goal of mine to continue his dream and legacy,” he said. “I’ve also been impacted by all the professionals – guys like Patrick Mahomes and C.J. Stroud, who have incredible stories – telling myself I wanted to be there one day. I feel like the heart they show kind of fuels my ambition to prove to everybody in my community that I could be there.”
This three-star signal-caller’s path is also reminiscent of that of another professional, Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers), starting from the bottom to become an instant sensation.
“Initially, I started out at Foster before moving over to Ridge Point my sophomore year,” said Carlisle. “I was a third-string guy and ended up taking over in the fourth game against Hightower. I’ve started ever since.
“The culture is different. They brought me into their family immediately and didn’t treat me as just some new guy. They’ve pushed me to work hard like I was one of their brothers that they’ve known forever, and I’ve fed off of that.”
While he was impressive during his debut, it wasn’t until his junior campaign that Carlisle became a household name, throwing for over 3,000 yards through the air (34 TDs) and tacked on nearly 600 more on the ground (10 TDs), to earn District Offensive MVP honors.
Said performance allowed the University of Houston-commit to truly burst onto the college recruiting scene.
“Coach (Rick) LaFavers would always just tell me to keep my head down, keep working and let all the offers come as they will,” he said. “I knew that God had a plan for me, so I didn’t worry about what everyone else was doing – I just stayed the course, which led me to U-of-H.
“Joining a program that’s being built by head coach (Willie) Fritz, QB coach (Shawn) Bell and the rest of his staff really spoke to me. It means a lot to be in that first recruiting class to come in, while having the city behind my back.”
Ridge Point went 9-3 a year ago, which was highlighted by their fourth-consecutive undefeated district championship.
However, they might be playing with a chip on their shoulders, after being eliminated in the second round of the postseason, in a 31-28 nail-biter against Lamar.
Suffice it to say, the Panthers will be locked in.
“It’s really going to be about us playing our game,” Carlisle said. “We need to do what we do best, which is complementary football –offense having the defense’s back and vice versa. If someone makes a mistake we’ll be there to pick up our brother.
“Obviously, we want to maintain that explosiveness we’ve shown. We want everything clicking by week one, but we don’t want to peak there. That way we’ll be ready for that long playoff run.”
If history is any indication,the Carlisle-led Panthers should remain one of the premier forces to emerge from H-Town this Fall.