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Missed field goal gives Katy win over Cinco Ranch, 21-20
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| Katy's Will Jeffery runs in for an eight yard touchdown run during the second quarter. (photo by Patric Schneider) |
By WES SWIFT
For the Katy Tigers and the Cinco Ranch Cougars, the battle for the 17-5A district title came down to a single errant kick.
Cougars kicker Jacob Farmen sent a game-winning kick wide left with 7 seconds left in the game to hand the Tigers a 21-20 victory Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.
The victory capped a comeback for the Tigers, who trailed by 20-14 after the Cougars scored with less than six minutes left in the game.
“The best thing was that our kids didn’t lost their composure once the other team scored,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said.
After jumping to a 14-0 lead on the strength of tailbacks Will Jeffery and Donnovan Young, the Tigers soon found themselves on the losing side of a momentum shift.
Desperately needing a score to keep the game from getting out of hand, the Cougars abandoned their running game and began throwing the ball to move the chains late in the first half.
Cinco quarterback Zach Myers was 3-for-3 on the key drive for 85 yards, and put the Cougars on the board at 2:43 left in the half when he found Joe Norrell for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
Trailing 14-7 at the half, the Cougars took to air again in the third quarter.
Myers evened the score at 14-all for the Cougars when he found Alex Ludowig from 11 yards out for the score, with 7:44 left in the third.
“We didn’t expect them to throw that much,” Joseph said. “They’ve been running the ball all year long. But our kids did a good job until the very end against their running back.”
But with time ticking down, the Cougars returned to their vaunted running game to put the game away.
Cinco turned to junior K.C. Nlemchi, their workhorse all season long, to churn up yards. With the Cougars starting on their 13 yard line with 7:10 left in the game, Nlemchi carried the ball on six of the next 10 plays, racking up 53 yards and setting up Myers to score the go ahead score with 3:43 left in the game.
Nlemchi became of the second running back to have more than 100 yards against the Tigers this year, finishing with 140 yards on 23 carries. The Cougars outgained the Tigers, 411 yards to 349, in total offense.
But things began to go awry for the Cougars. First, the Cougars missed the extra point kick, bouncing the ball off the goal post to keep the score at 20-14.
The miss gave the Tigers a chance to win the game with a touchdown and extra point instead of trying for overtime.
“It was a momentum changer,” said Jeffery, who led the Tigers with 21 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers rolled up 282 of its 349 yards on the ground.
Then Jeffery, Young and quarterback Michael Stojkovic took the field.
Stojkovic scampered for 14 yards, followed by two carries by Young which netted a yard. Then Stojkovic found receiver Ryan Johnson 14 to push the Tigers to the Cinco 33-yard line.
From there, it was all Jeffery, who carried the ball three times, the final carry for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:30 left on the clock.
The Tigers then converted the extra point to take the lead 21-20.
Cinco, however, still had life. Beginning their drive at their 43, the Cougars began driving down the field.
But it wasn’t easy. Facing third down and 18 at their 34, Myers found Nlemchi in the flat for a 18 yards, then converted a first down on the next play to keep the Cougars alive.
Three plays later, on third and 10 from the Katy 46, the Cougars converted a third down when the Tigers were called for defensive holding. Two plays later, Myers found Bobby Waid over the will for 16 to move the Cougars into field goal range at the 20-yard line.
The drama continued when a high snap on the 36-yard field goal attempt on second down forced holder Austin Goswick to throw away the ball.
The Katy sidelines went crazy calling for an intentional grounding call, but the referees didn’t comply.
That gave the Cougars a final chance to kick, but Farmen’s kicked sailed left, giving the Tigers the win.
It was another test for the defending state champions, who lost to the Cougars in overtime last year in the week’s final season before winning their sixth state title.
“We’ve been tested all year long,” Joseph said. “... They did a good job hanging in there.”
Cougars kicker Jacob Farmen sent a game-winning kick wide left with 7 seconds left in the game to hand the Tigers a 21-20 victory Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.
The victory capped a comeback for the Tigers, who trailed by 20-14 after the Cougars scored with less than six minutes left in the game.
“The best thing was that our kids didn’t lost their composure once the other team scored,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said.
After jumping to a 14-0 lead on the strength of tailbacks Will Jeffery and Donnovan Young, the Tigers soon found themselves on the losing side of a momentum shift.
Desperately needing a score to keep the game from getting out of hand, the Cougars abandoned their running game and began throwing the ball to move the chains late in the first half.
Cinco quarterback Zach Myers was 3-for-3 on the key drive for 85 yards, and put the Cougars on the board at 2:43 left in the half when he found Joe Norrell for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
Trailing 14-7 at the half, the Cougars took to air again in the third quarter.
Myers evened the score at 14-all for the Cougars when he found Alex Ludowig from 11 yards out for the score, with 7:44 left in the third.
“We didn’t expect them to throw that much,” Joseph said. “They’ve been running the ball all year long. But our kids did a good job until the very end against their running back.”
But with time ticking down, the Cougars returned to their vaunted running game to put the game away.
Cinco turned to junior K.C. Nlemchi, their workhorse all season long, to churn up yards. With the Cougars starting on their 13 yard line with 7:10 left in the game, Nlemchi carried the ball on six of the next 10 plays, racking up 53 yards and setting up Myers to score the go ahead score with 3:43 left in the game.
Nlemchi became of the second running back to have more than 100 yards against the Tigers this year, finishing with 140 yards on 23 carries. The Cougars outgained the Tigers, 411 yards to 349, in total offense.
But things began to go awry for the Cougars. First, the Cougars missed the extra point kick, bouncing the ball off the goal post to keep the score at 20-14.
The miss gave the Tigers a chance to win the game with a touchdown and extra point instead of trying for overtime.
“It was a momentum changer,” said Jeffery, who led the Tigers with 21 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers rolled up 282 of its 349 yards on the ground.
Then Jeffery, Young and quarterback Michael Stojkovic took the field.
Stojkovic scampered for 14 yards, followed by two carries by Young which netted a yard. Then Stojkovic found receiver Ryan Johnson 14 to push the Tigers to the Cinco 33-yard line.
From there, it was all Jeffery, who carried the ball three times, the final carry for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:30 left on the clock.
The Tigers then converted the extra point to take the lead 21-20.
Cinco, however, still had life. Beginning their drive at their 43, the Cougars began driving down the field.
But it wasn’t easy. Facing third down and 18 at their 34, Myers found Nlemchi in the flat for a 18 yards, then converted a first down on the next play to keep the Cougars alive.
Three plays later, on third and 10 from the Katy 46, the Cougars converted a third down when the Tigers were called for defensive holding. Two plays later, Myers found Bobby Waid over the will for 16 to move the Cougars into field goal range at the 20-yard line.
The drama continued when a high snap on the 36-yard field goal attempt on second down forced holder Austin Goswick to throw away the ball.
The Katy sidelines went crazy calling for an intentional grounding call, but the referees didn’t comply.
That gave the Cougars a final chance to kick, but Farmen’s kicked sailed left, giving the Tigers the win.
It was another test for the defending state champions, who lost to the Cougars in overtime last year in the week’s final season before winning their sixth state title.
“We’ve been tested all year long,” Joseph said. “... They did a good job hanging in there.”
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