Cinco Ranch football coach Don Clayton balked earlier this week when asked if his team’s 3-1 district record indicates his team is where he expected it to be three weeks before the playoffs.

If he was measuring the team that started the season, he may have agreed. But …

“We lost our starting quarterback (senior Shane Ros), and he’s a difference maker. We’ve had to adjust to that offensively,” Clayton said. “It’s hard to say whether we’re where I thought we should be. It’s not easy to replace your starting quarterback.”

Not to mention all 11 offensive starters and nine defensive starters – and the two who return weren’t in leadership roles a year ago. But entering Saturday morning’s showdown with undefeated, top-ranked Katy (7-0, 4-0) at Rhodes Stadium, most of the Cougars’ (4-3) goals, including a district championship and the playoffs, are well within reach.

The Cougars’ non-conference losses were to District 17-5A powers Cypress Ridge and Strake Jesuit, both of which are 6-1. Their only returning starters were defensive tackle John Gioffre and defensive back Will Morris. The defense has shored up – it’s allowed 13 points a game in the district – but that came only with experience, Clayton said.

“We had 71 seniors last year,” he said. “Our only problem was having a great junior class without a lot of experience. They didn’t get the playing time they probably would have had in other programs. … They’ve come along. We’ve done a better job of eliminating mistakes lately.”

Ros sustained a knee injury in the season opener against Cy Ridge. He will undergo season-ending surgery Thursday, Clayton said. His replacement has been sophomore Zach Myers.

Saturday’s gametime was changed last week from 2 p.m. to 11 a.m. to accommodate FSN Southwest.

“They (Katy) are in a mode not to get rattled. Experience breeds confidence with them,” Clayton said. “They expect to be in a district race, and they have younger guys who have a lot of experience.”

Loston decommits from A&M

Eisenhower receiver/safety Craig Loston on Friday rescinded his verbal commitment to Texas A&M, citing the recent turmoil sparked by coach Dennis Franchione’s controversial e-mail newsletter to boosters detailing inside information on the team.

Loston, a junior widely considered one of the state’s top recruits at safety, committed to A&M in February.

“I decommitted from Texas A&M because of what going on there with the coaching staff and the controversy with the newsletter,” Loston told Aggie Websider. “My mom has been reading the newspapers about everything and she doesn’t want me to go there.”

Loston now lists his top three choices as Oklahoma, California and Florida and says he won’t reconsider A&M, at least in the immediate future.

Teammate Rod Davis, a senior defensive lineman, remains committed to the Aggies.

No pitfalls for Pratt, Falls

Cypress Falls coach David Raffield is so high on senior Tyler Pratt’s speed and ballhawking ability that he couldn’t keep Pratt at second safety and linebacker.

Pratt’s move to free safety has paid bountiful dividends for the Golden Eagles (5-2 overall, 3-1 District 17-5A), perhaps no more obviously so than in last week’s 49-37 win against Cy-Fair. In that nationally televised game, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior showcased himself early with an interception and long return on the first play of the game. Shane Turner had a 3-yard touchdown run on the next play.

The majority of Pratt’s tackles came against the run and resulted in short gains.

“Our free safety is our leading tackler year-in and year-out,” Raffield said. “He’s been playing so hard and doing such a great job. He’s a big reason why that defense has improved the last couple weeks. …

“In our defense we want the ball funneled to the free (safety) or the mike (middle linebacker). We put him there and he’s done a tremendous job.”

This and that

Cypress Ridge quarterback Russell Shepard is one of Scout.com’s five-star prospects for the Class of 2009. The list was released Tuesday. Shepard, who has at least nine Division I offers, has thrown for 512 yards and rushed for 772 and 10 touchdowns. Cy Ridge (6-1, 4-0 District 17-5A) has scored at least 40 points four times. … Stratford is bucking the defense wins championships trend in District 19-5A. The Spartans have ridden an offense averaging 370 yards a game to a 5-2 record and 3-1 in the district, a game behind Eisenhower. But Stratford is seventh in total defense (338.1 yards a game) and rushing yards allowed (1,417). They’ve scored 205 points, tops in the district. … Memorial (4-3, 2-2) has scored only 79 points but complemented that with the second-best defense in 19-5A (245.9 yards a game).

Ahmard Vital contributed.

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