Entering Tuesday's 5A regional quarterfinal, Katy ISD schools Mayde Creek (16-6-2) and Cinco Ranch (20-0-6) have already faced each other twice during the regular season and both games ended in a tie. It took both teams advancing to the regional quarterfinal match up to settle things once and for all.

In a physical game that was full of injuries and yellow cards, Cinco Ranch advanced to the regional semifinals with a 4-2 win at Rhodes Stadium.

“I told the guys to just keep composure because we knew they had a good attack with Yuri (Flores), who was up top,” Cinco Ranch coach John Crow said. “It was a shame that No. 8 (Ahmed Buazza) got hurt for them, but we knew they were quick as far as countering and pulled the shot. We just needed to keep them in front and force to middle and clear out.”

Early on it seemed the Rams had the edge on momentum. They came out first scoring with captain Richard Delgado getting his team on the board early. But Cinco Ranch responded quickly.

Cougar captain Preston Davis evened the score with a goal. These two in-district rivals know each other well, but Cinco Ranch had a wild card who may not have shown up in previous scouting reports.

“They came out first against us and we knew they had a good team, but we knew we could possess and counter against them. We did and got the tying goal,” Crow said. “We moved one of our sophomores in there (Olie Hill) and he’s been scoring for us. We said let’s try him because they haven’t seen him.”

Obviously, the strategy worked. Hill, a sophomore who has only been playing on varsity for the postseason, ended the game with two goals, one that was scored with about 1 minute remaining in the first half.

The rookie Hill has come into the organization and made quite an impact on the Cougars’ team.

“He (Hill) came in the in the Cy Woods game and got the game-winning goal,” Crow said. “I don’t think he anticipated this (level of success), but we are proud of him and we are going to ride him. He’s doing a great job.”

After halftime, the Cougars extended their lead when Juan Fernando Nino scored a goal to bring the game to a 3-1 advantage. But the aggressive Rams did not roll over.

They attacked the net on several occasions before getting the opportunity to kick a penalty shot. Flores scored to put the Rams back in the game. The Cougars scored on one more possession with Hill to provide an insurance goal.

The Cougars will play Clear Lake in the regional semifinal at either 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. Friday.

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