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.

  The University Interscholastic League has set up procedures for district athletic directors to follow for all UIL activities in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

  While most of the area football games canceled were non-district games, the teams do have the option of either making those games up or just not playing them at all.

We’re just two weeks into the season, and it’s a bit early to start breaking down district play for most teams. But not in District 23-5A, where because the district is made up of all 10 Fort Bend ISD teams, district play was scheduled to start this week.

  Your quick study in high school football entering Week Two: BEST OF THE LOT Cypress Ridge (1-1) vs.

  Displaying mutual respect and admiration for other football teams is a tradition with most high school head football coaches, no matter what the win and loss columns say about the team from week-to-week. So it should come as no surprise that Pasadena Memorial head coach John Snelson and his Lamar Consolidated counterpart, Lydell Wilson, traded compliments about each other's programs this week, just days before the two teams square off at Pasadena’s Memorial Stadium in a non-district matchup.   Game time is 7 p.m.

{mosimage} Any of the thousands of fans at The Rig Thursday night had an equally good shot at guessing who was keying the Pearland offensive line’s dominant performance. With three letterwinners back and the Oilers running a new no-huddle offense, they weren’t nitpicking – just tremendously pleased that their team rolled up 486 total yards in a 41-14 rout of Fort Bend Kempner. More than a handful of times, Pearland running backs picked up substantial yards without being touched until the tackle. After the game, coach Tony Heath dissected further. {mosimage}“That big old Ian Gray got a couple clear-throughs,” Heath said of his massive junior right tackle.

  {mp3}Podcast-20080908{/mp3} Depending on where you’re looking, the high school football picture is either clearer or more muddled after two weeks of play (or one for some teams). That’s where we come in. Chad Washington and Dave Purpura chat about Week One, review a few of the big games, cite some surprises and offer some congratulations in today’s podcast.

      Quarterback is known as a star position and Cypress Woods starter Lucas Devilliers showed why Saturday night.   He led the charge to rally his team from a 17-0 halftime deficit for the first varsity win in school history, 28-17 against A&M Consolidated at the Berry Center. Devilliers finished the incredible comeback while passing 19-for-26 with 223 yards and four total touchdowns. Cy Woods head coach David Jones said there was no magic speech to spur the turnaround. "They knew they didn't perform they way they should.

    Klein Oak running back Ossam Cook was ready from the get-go Saturday night.   How ready was he? How about taking his first snap of the game and running 99 yards for a touchdown.

          Photos by Graham Cull   If Memorial is to win District 18-5A, as many pundits expect, its defense will have to stand tall in a district with the sometimes high-scoring likes of Stratford, Strake Jesuit and Hastings. And even though Jersey Village repeatedly shot itself in the foot in Saturday night’s game with the Mustangs at Pridgeon Stadium, the Mustangs blanketed them sufficiently enough to turn some heads. Memorial held Jersey Village to 20 total yards, ate the clock all night and fed off two Nolan Miller rushing touchdowns to post a 13-0 win in its season opener. Falcons running back Jamaal Alfred, who ran for 209 yards in a season-opening loss to Deer Park, was held to 15 yards on 12 carries.

          Eisenhower couldn’t be blamed for stuffing the box and trying to stop the run early in Friday night’s game against North Shore. Problem was for the Eagles, the Mustangs and coach David Aymond read their minds perfectly. Five plays after the Eagles took the early lead, North Shore answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass on play-action from Alex Tillman to tight end Barrett Matthews.

  The Deer Park offense, led by tailback Travis Carter’s 167 yards rushing, dominated Aldine 52-14 Friday night at Abshier Stadium. Carter, who scored from 11 yards to help the Deer climb to a 35-7 lead just before halftime, wasn’t the only bright spot for the Deer(2-0). Deer Park quarterback Hans Cook had an equally impressive night, accounting for four touchdowns, three passing and one running.

  What started out as an old-fashioned Texas shoot-out ended up being a defensive battle in the second half as Second Baptist held off host St. John's, 29-20 Friday night at Skip Lee Field. The action started when Mavericks quarterback Ethan Harry capped a 70-yard drive and finished off with a four yard touchdown run for the 6-0 lead. The Eagles didn't let the Mavericks hold the lead for long.

          Cinco Ranch head coach Don Clayton kept his emotions in check and knows it’s only the second game of the season, but he certainly knows his team could be the real deal this year. Cinco Ranch had its way with Cypress Springs Friday night at the Berry Center, winning 34-15 and improving to 2-0.

  One game into 2008, Seven Lakes already has tied the program’s record for most wins in a season.

      PEARLAND – Tony Heath didn’t want to bury himself in the turf after this one. Thanks to Pearland’s offensive line, the Oilers coach didn’t have to Thursday night at The Rig.   The same couldn’t be said for Fort Bend Kempner, which didn’t have much of a choice. Pearland bulldozed Kempner for 436 total yards, winning a slew of decisions in the trenches on both sides and controlling the game with their no-huddle offense to win 41-14 win in their home opener and Kempner’s season opener. Casey Carrier ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns and Josh Gonzales added another three rushing scores on only five carries for the Oilers, who reeled off 41 unanswered points after trailing 7-0 in the first five minutes. “Last week our line struggled.

{mp3}Podcast-20080904{/mp3}   Mondays are for review, Thursdays are for previews.   Our mid-week podcast debuts as Chad Washington and Dave Purpura preview some of the weekend's matchups and offer their thoughts, guesses and more.

  Your quick study in high school football entering Week One: BEST OF THE LOT Cypress Falls at Westfield, 7 p.m.

    It's back - your chance to vote on your favorite Play of the Week from area football games last weekend.

  Going into Friday night’s game between Eisenhower and Fort Bend Hightower, everyone expected to see two quick and effective offenses go after each other.

  {mp3}Podcast-20080901{/mp3}   So many questions answered, so far to go.   With an exciting and often unpredictable Zero Week of football behind us, Dave Purpura and Chad Washington sit down and discuss the games they saw, their surprises and even offer some congratulations to deserving teams on today's holiday podcast.   And remember, we're back Thursday to preview Week One.

        Cypress Springs put up an impressive showing in its season opener Saturday night, but don’t tell that to head coach Roland Gonzalez.

      What started off as a lackluster game Saturday evening at the Berry Center turned out to be a last-minute nail-biter as Deer Park pulled off a 10-7 victory over Jersey Village.   All the scoring took place in the fourth, capped off by Zach Gonzalez’s 41-yard field goal with two seconds left. "Yeah, I was really nervous, but I've done it before and I knew I could do it again,” Gonzalez said.

        Photos by Graham Cull   Perhaps the biggest problem the Strake Jesuit football team had in its season opener Saturday night was getting out of its own way.   Despite a rash of penalties, the Crusaders overcame their own foibles and broke open a tight game in the third quarter, tripling a seven-point halftime lead and defeating new-look St.

  Cy-Fair's offense never got on track and the Bobcats committed five turnovers in a 42-0 loss at The Woodlands on Friday night in the season opener for both teams. Highlanders (1-0) quarterback Andy McCloud accounted for three touchdowns and 214 total yards.

        MISSOURI CITY — Fort Bend Hightower head coach Shane Hallmark said before Friday night's game against Eisenhower that this would be an indicator in how his team stacked up against the Houston area’s elite. If Friday night’s game at Hall Stadium was an indicator, the other teams in the area need to keep their eye on some more Hurricanes, not just Gustav. Hightower took advantage of four Ike turnovers in a 35-21 win in a matchup in which both teams entered the season opener with realistic dreams of contending for a regional championship and possibly playing at Reliant Stadium in December for a state championship. “I think this was an indicator in how good this team could be,” Hallmark said.

    Defense was the name of the game Friday night at Tully Stadium as Stratford contained MacArthur's aerial and ground attacks in a 31-0 non-district win in the season opener for both teams.

    The opening minutes of the non-conference matchup between Pearland and Madison started so bad for the Oilers Friday evening that Pearland head coach Tony Heath said he wanted to dig a hole in the Reliant Stadium turf and crawl in it.

Photos by Graham Cull   The statistics – and outcome – were decidedly un-Katy-like.

        Like New Caney head coach Russell Roberts said, “This is just a step.”   But what a big step Thursday night was for his program. New Caney won its first game as a 5A team in a defensive struggle, a 10-0 win over Spring Woods in the season opener for both teams at Tully Stadium.

  Texas Southern head coach Johnnie Cole has been at the school for only eight months, but he’s already stoked the flames in the classic rivalry with Prairie View A&M. Cole, in his first season, threw down the gauntlet Wednesday afternoon in the Touchdown Club of Houston’s luncheon that serves as the prelude to the battle between the two historically black colleges Saturday at Reliant Stadium.

  {mp3}Podcast-20080827{/mp3}   We promised twice as many podcasts during the high school football regular-season. Now, we deliver. Chad Washington and Dave Purpura predict some of the top area games in Zero Week, a practice we'll repeat weekly on either Wednesday or Thursday.

  Here's a brief look at two Houston-area private schools looking to do some damage in TAPPS:   HOUSTON CHRISTIAN Nickname: Mustangs Colors: Blue and White 2007 record: 10-4 (TAPPS Division II semifinalist, lost to Dallas Christian, 48-28), 6-1 in district Coach: Mike Johnston Returning lettermen: 20   Houston Christian made another deep run into the playoffs, but fell short of a state title in 2007.

  This is the 28th of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Thursday.

  {mp3}Podcast-20080825{/mp3} After two weeks of predicting the rest of the area, finally we come back “home” in this week’s podcast. Chad Washington and Dave Purpura dissect Districts 17-, 18-, 19- and 20 -5A, in that order, giving our playoff teams for every district and likely ticking off more than a few people in the process.

  This is the 26th of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Thursday.

  A look at the remaining six teams in District 19-5A. For more on Eisenhower, click here: ALDINE Nickname: Mustangs. Colors: Blue and white. Enrollment: 4,007. 2007 record: 4-7 overall (Division I bi-district finalists), 4-3 district. Coach: Bob Jones. Some talent returns at the skill positions but that won’t be enough, at least early, to totally overcome the loss of a boatload of Division I talent – namely QB Darron Thomas (Oregon) and OL Daniel Campbell (Hargrave Military Academy).

    Both Cypress Woods and Seven Lakes entered their scrimmage Saturday night taking a big step forward in the evolution of their respective football programs.

          The Katy Tigers are not close to being the same team that won a state championship last year.

      Cinco Ranch senior running back Adam Hirtz rounded the right corner of his offensive line, took a hard step inside and sprinted for a touchdown as the opposing defense tried feverishly to get its hands on him.

The Memorial Mustangs and the North Shore Mustangs battled to a 7-7 deadlock under game conditions during the first scrimmage of the year for both teams Friday morning at Galena Park ISD Stadium. North Shore scored first when senior quarterback Alex Tillman connected with wide receiver Deandre White for a 27-yard touchdown reception at the 11:18 mark of the second quarter.

  This is the 24th of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Aug. 28. Today, Dave Purpura visits with Stratford coach Eliot Allen and several players to discuss the upcoming season. Terrance Lloyd will be the first to admit much of what he learned as a defensive lineman came from former teammate Jimmy Burge. That’s not to mention the now-senior at Stratford got his first offer from recruiters visiting to see Burge, and Burge’s current home – Missouri – is very interested in snagging Lloyd. Lloyd, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive end, got his first college offer as a sophomore when University of Houston coaches present to see Burge, who is a year older, were impressed with Lloyd but couldn’t even speak to him because he wasn’t old enough. “I was excited but I didn’t really show it.

  This is the 23rd of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Aug.

  This is the 22nd of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Aug.

  This is the 21st of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Aug. 28. Today, Dave Purpura visits Strake Jesuit's preseason practice.   JoJo Williams has made his name at Strake Jesuit as an offensive guard, and that’s where he expects to be slotted starting next year at the University of Connecticut.

    This is the 20th of The Athlete's Connection's 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games Aug.

  {mp3}Podcast-20080818{/mp3}   Judging by the numbers, some of you must care about our predictions of the high school football district races. So we’ll offer two more weeks’ worth. This week, we’ll cover Districts 21-, 22-, 23- and 24-5A, including such teams as North Shore, Pasadena Memorial, Pearland and new 5A member Dickinson.

  This is the 18th of The Athlete’s Connection’s 30 football previews in 30 days leading up to the season-opening games beginning Thursday, Aug.