Coming off back-to-back last-minute wins, the St.

 {mp3}Podcast-081009{/mp3}   With five weeks to go in the high-school football season, some districts are just now beginning play while others already are seeing make-or-break games on the schedule. Dave Purpura and Chad Washington preview the weekend, which includes such important games as Travis-Elkins, Humble-Eisenhower, Elsik-Strake Jesuit and Morton Ranch-Katy ...

  Your quick study in high school football entering Week Six: BEST OF THE LOT Morton Ranch (5-0) vs.

  Finally, all the five other Katy ISD teams have a crack at big brother Katy High. Which can also be a bad thing. This is the first year that all six KISD teams will play each other in District 17-5A, which will make every game a rivalry game.

  Part of the reason Cypress Creek switched to a 3-4 defense for this season was its tremendous turnover in personnel – the Cougars had only three experienced players returning on that side of the ball. A side benefit was that one of them, senior defensive tackle Evan Floyd, got the chance to strut his individual talents even more than last year, when he earned First Team all-District honors. {mosimage}“He’s a little more free now,” said Trent Faith, Cy Creek’s defensive coordinator.

{mp3}Podcast-20081006{/mp3}   A few districts have yet to start play, but the races in some others are taking shape - some surprisingly so.   In this Monday podcast, Dave Purpura and Chad Washington review Week Five of high school football and assess where some district races stand with five weeks to play in the regular season.

        A strong start and an even stronger finish powered Cypress Creek to a 31-21 upset of Cypress Ridge in a 15-5A district game Saturday night at the Berry Center.

          A 21-point first quarter powered Strake Jesuit past Northbrook 44-10 Saturday night in a District 18-5A game at Tully Stadium.   The teams combined for 10 turnovers and 13 fumbles, but despite those staggering numbers, the Crusaders (3-1, 2-0) defense kept the Raiders (1-2, 0-2) offense in check all night.   “We got great field position, especially in the first half,” Crusaders coach Ron Counter said.

          The scoreboard read Hightower 45, Fort Bend Austin 7.

  The Eisenhower football team made a strong case for itself as the greatest show on 19-5A high school turf, at least on this Saturday night, pounding MacArthur 56-0 at Thorne Stadium. The Eagles (2-2 overall, 2-0 district) dominated the Generals from start to finish, exploding for 56 points in the first half, which included a 99-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kenneth Guiton to Texas commit and senior receiver Gregory Timmons to jump start Eisenhower at 5:46 mark of the first quarter. The pitch and catch put the Eagles ahead 7-0, and from there it was Katie bar the door.

        Quiuna Shar’na Amaya Johnson was crowned 2008 Cypress Springs homecoming queen on Friday night at the Berry Center.   Johnson was one of six candidates.

        The Cypress Falls Golden Eagles won a double-overtime thriller against the Cypress Springs Panthers 45-38 at the Berry Center on Friday night in a District 15-5A game.   In the second second overtime, the Golden Eagles intercepted quarterback Hunter Arter which set up quarterback Kolby Gray and the offense to finish the game.

          As three of St.

        It’s the second week of district play and that means Homecomings are upon us.

        A first possession interception touchdown sparked Memorial to a 28-10-district win against rival Stratford Friday night at Tully Stadium in a District 18-5A game.

          Behind a stout defensive front and a strong running game, Travis earned a tough 23-6 win against Clements Friday night at Mercer Stadium to move to 2-0 in district play and set up a possible playoff run for a team in its first year of varsity play. “The coaches and players did a good job preparing for Clements,” Travis coach Randy Cunningham said.

    Katy Taylor’s Steven Sartory had 19 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown leading the Mustangs to a 17-0 non-conference win over Baytown Lee at Stallworth Stadium Friday night. The game turned into a defensive battle after Taylor (4-1) scored two touchdowns in the opening period to take a 14-0 lead. Sartory 23 yard run for a touchdown with 9:01 in the first quarter gave the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.

          Elkins moved to 3-0 on the season after an impressive 35-12 win over Fort Bend Marshall at Mercer Stadium on Thursday night.   This was the second District 23-5A game for both teams, but it also was the first Zone B game for each, meaning this win was very important in the race for a playoff spot. “Our defense gave us a great opportunity to win this game,” Elkins coach Robert Crivellari said.

On paper, the MacArthur football team has a tall mountain to climb if it hopes to defeat District 19-5A pre-season favorite Eisenhower Saturday evening at Thorne Stadium. “I don’t know how you stop them,” Generals coach Jerry Drones said.

  Your quick study in high school football entering Week Five: BEST OF THE LOT Memorial (1-1, 0-1) vs.

  So far, District 19-5A has looked like the haves and have-nots.   The haves – Eisenhower and Humble – look to be the teams that have the tools necessary to have strong seasons and do well in the playoffs.

    It’s hard to find fault with anything that the Dayton Broncos did on the football field Tuesday night in their District 19-4A game against Goose Creek Memorial at Stallworth Stadium. Behind defensive tackle K.J.

  So far in this young but abbreviated season, Morton Ranch has transformed from a doormat into a contender. {mosimage} The Mavericks have a 4-0 record after a 1-9 season last year and a 0-10 record in 2006. The reason for the resurgence comes from two offensive players.

{mp3}Podcast-20080929{/mp3}   What a glorious weekend - football was back for most every team in the area, and on top of that district play started in many areas.   Dave Purpura and Chad Washington talk about some of the highlights in this week's podcast, including Strake Jesuit and Cypress Ridge, among others, picking up big early victories in district plays.

  Photo courtesy of David Fernea/HumbleWildcatFootball.com   Humble averaged just more than a point a minute in the first half, then settled into a second-half fight with Aldine before pulling out a 31-21 victory Saturday afternoon at Thorne Stadium in the District 19-5A opener for both teams. Behind senior quarterback Keith Baker’s two touchdown passes in the first half, sandwiched between a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown by Rashad Garrett and an 80-yard run for a score by Darryl Smith and a field goal by kicker Walter Pinon, the Wildcats built a 31-0 lead at halftime. But Aldine (0-3, 0-1) didn’t fold. They scored two touchdowns in the third quarter by way of a five-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jordon Moore to receiver Clyde Green and a 41-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Isaiah Archie. They tacked on their final touchdown in the fourth period when Dontae Williams burned the Wildcats defense for a 42 yard run for a score. After the game, Wildcats coach Walt Beasley blamed the second-half meltdown by Humble to fatigue and rust after not having played a game in three weeks. Yet, he was both surprised and happy with the results. “We were a little bit rusty I thought, although I surprised by the way we played in the first half,” said Beasley, who saw his Wildcats climb to 2-1 overall.

  Stratford overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Alief Taylor, 31-24 in the District 18-5A opener for both teams Saturday night at Tully Stadium.

  Big plays by Eisenhower were the order of the day for the Eagles as they ran roughshod over Kingwood, 39-13 Saturday night at Thorne Stadium in the District 19-5A opener for both teams. The Eagles (1-2 overall, 1-0 district) built a 13-0 lead on their first five plays of the game when running back Curtis McGregor took a pitch right and scampered down the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown run and quarterback Kenneth Guiton connected with senior receiver Craig Loston on a spectacular 60-yard bomb for a score. The two touchdowns came just 3 minutes, 16 seconds into the first quarter. McGregor, a senior, ended the night with 249 yards on the ground.

          Cypress Creek’s defense forced five turnovers while the Cougar offense capitalized for a 39-28 win over Langham Creek Saturday night at the Berry Center in the District 15-5A opener for both teams.

    It wasn’t the most well-played game, but for Fort Bend Travis, it will be the game the school will remember for a long while. Travis got its first varsity win Saturday night, 20-7 against Kempner at Mercer Stadium in the District 23-5A opener for both teams.

          It was tough to tell in the first quarter Saturday whether Katy Taylor or Baytown Sterling had had a three-week layoff because of Hurricane Ike. For the record, Sterling hadn’t played since starting 2-0 while Taylor had won two straight games coming in. But Taylor’s defense kept the Mustangs afloat long enough for the offense to find its groove, and they scored 35 straight points in the middle quarters to erase a 13-point deficit and win 42-27 at Stallworth Stadium. Sterling fumbles set up Taylor’s first two scores – a 1-yard run by John Lattal and a 7-yard pass from Lee Rodgers to Steven Sartory – and Josh Thomas returned an interception 64 yards for the Mustangs (3-1), who trailed 20-7 just minutes into the second quarter but led 28-20 at halftime despite amassing only 108 yards in the first half. Taylor was outgained 363-279.

      Fans were treated to an old-fashioned Texas shoot-out Friday night at Pridgeon Stadium as Cypress Ridge outlasted Cypress Woods 43-41 in a District 15-5A showdown.

  Photos by Graham Cull The buck sweep is the bread and butter of the Spring Woods offense.   That was never more apparent than Friday night at Tully Stadium, when the Tigers used it over and over again in a 23-14 victory over downstreet rival Northbrook. Behind versatile running back Robert Pineda, the Tigers kept the Raiders at bay thanks to a play that has become the staple of the Spring Wood offense ever since Dwayne Eggerman became head coach. “We call it the buck sweep, where we get outside the ends to pick up yardage,” Eggerman said.

        A 96-yard kickoff return began Madison’s 34-19 comeback win against Nimitz Friday night at Delmar Field.

    Never mind that both teams haven’t played in two weeks.

      Photos by Elizabeth McDonough Strake Jesuit took what it could Friday night from Memorial, then did its best to survive the last three quarters.   The Crusaders scored 14 points before they picked up a first down in the District 18-5A opener for both teams, and once that lead stood through the rest of the first half and into the second, coach Ron Counter’s play-calling went ultra-conservative. “We weren’t gonna get the ball too much.

Not a bad performance for a team that hadn’t played in almost a month. Hightower dominated offensively and defensively in a 55-0 win against Willowridge in the District 23-5A opener for both teams Thursday night at Mercer Stadium.

            An unwritten rule of high school football said Pasadena Memorial would go for two points and the win in overtime Thursday night. On paper entering the game, Dobie wasn't supposed to have created that situation in the first place. But the Longhorns' steamrolling run game kept them even with and ahead of the Mavericks all evening at Veterans Memorial Stadium, and their savvy defense sealed an upset. Senior defensive back Anthony Phillips tackled Pasadena Memorial's Bo Snelson on the 1-yard line on his two-point conversion attempt, and Dobie pulled off a 24-23 victory in the District 22-5A opener for both teams. "The tight end was dragging me so I had to fight him off and just make the tackle in the open field," Phillips said. That play capped a back-and-forth battle in which the Mavericks (1-2, 0-1) fought from 10 down in the third quarter to tie but couldn't overcome several untimely penalties - one of which negated a touchdown - and Longhorns (1-2, 1-0) running back Randy Owens. Owens rushed for 238 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries.

  With three weeks of the schedule wiped out after Hurricane Ike, the Houston Independent School District will get back to playing football this weekend, and even start District 20-5A play. Two district games will happen this weekend, with Bellaire facing Milby and Chavez meeting Lamar on Saturday afternoon.

{mp3}Podcast-20080925{/mp3}   This week, (pretty much) everyone plays.   Dave Purpura and Chad Washington preview a slew of Week Four matchups - not just the top-tier games, but a few more that could be intriguing in their own rights.

  Trying to preview District 18-5A is tough for two reasons – the hurricane-related layoff, of course, and its depth. Few area districts have the parity this district has.

  Your quick study in high school football entering Week Four: BEST OF THE LOT Memorial (1-0) at Strake Jesuit (1-1), 7 p.m.

{mp3}Podcast-20080923{/mp3}   It was an abbreviated schedule, but football did return this weekend.   Dave Purpura and Chad Washington talk about some of the highlights in this week's podcast, including Katy getting its first win.

  At the end of the day, some teams are better off than others in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Such is the case in District 15-5A, where district play starts Friday night at the Berry Center and Pridgeon Stadium. It’s tough to assess teams when they’ve played just one game, but we’ll do our best to do that and take a quick look at where everyone fits in in this realigned district.

  Someday, North Shore will get a chance to win another game. That won’t happen this week. The Mustangs’ highly-anticipated game at Southlake Carroll this Saturday night has been canceled, mostly because North Shore hasn’t been able to practice since Hurricane Ike and more than 30 players remain without power at their homes. Galena Park ISD is scheduled to re-open no earlier than Thursday. North Shore is seeking its 73rd consecutive regular-season win, which would break the old state record held by Carroll.

      WALLER, Texas — After a hectic week after dealing with the destruction of Hurricane Ike, all the Angleton football team — as well as the rest of the community — wanted to get back to playing football.   Angleton shook off all the bad vibes of this past week and put a 39-14 beating on Waller Saturday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium.

          BROOKSHIRE, Texas — The rivalry game between Sealy and Brookshire Royal brought a lot of fans out Friday at Falcon Stadium, and almost as many mosquitoes.

        Both Seven Lakes and Morton Ranch have both been playing under the shadows of the Houston-area high school football scene for the last couple years.

    Woody Hayes would have been proud Thursday night.

  Hurricane Ike largely spared Katy. Perhaps not surprisingly, it couldn’t take football away from the town, either. Four Katy ISD schools will play intradistrict games Thursday and Friday at Rhodes Stadium in the wake of having games canceled last weekend. Cinco Ranch coach Don Clayton on Wednesday afternoon confirmed the scenario, which was first reported by the Katy Times.   Seven Lakes will play Morton Ranch at 7 p.m.