The Katy Tigers are not close to being the same team that won a state championship last year. But they could be in a week or so.

Katy played tough defense and the offense had a few big plays in a scrimmage against Strake Jesuit Friday night at Rhodes Stadium, where if they were keeping score, Katy would have won 24-13.

“I’m very encouraged and enthused,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “We feel like now they have a chance. We just got to keep improving. We had a good couple of weeks of work.”

The Tigers worked on their trademark way of winning football: play tough defense against the run while using the run to set up the pass on offense. Senior quarterback Parker Ray did well in his first performance as the starter, throwing for two touchdowns.

“Our quarterback did well and kept his composure,” Joseph said. “It’s exciting to see where he’s at. I think he gained some confidence tonight.” 

One of his main targets is sophomore Ryan Jones, who was able to show great skills after making catches by weaving defenders and breaking tackles. On the ground, junior running back Michael Webber started slow, but finally showed that he could make some Katy fans forget Aundre Dean. Webber ran for two scores in the scrimmage, including a 75-yard touchdown run down the sideline.

Meanwhile, the Crusaders had a couple of good plays, mostly coming from quarterback James Scott, who not only ran the option well for a couple of good gains, but also made some great passes against a tough Katy defense.

“James could become a weapon for us at quarterback,” Strake Jesuit coach Ron Counter said. “He’s pretty elusive and athletic. He can make some things happen.”

Strake Jesuit will look at the tape and make adjustments for their season opener against St. Thomas on Saturday night.

“I think we did well,” Counter said. “Obviously, Katy is a great team and a great program. So it was a great challenge for us to scrimmage them, and I think we did OK.”

Meanwhile, Katy will see where its needs improvement before its hyped-up season opener at North Shore a week from now. The game will be a test to see if the Tigers are up to the task of repeating as state champs.

“We’re not anywhere where we need to be, but at least we know where we’re at,” Joseph said. “And we got a big chore ahead of us next week against North Shore, and they’re a very talented football team, very well-coached.

“Our kids know the challenges in front of them. They understand now that if they play their best, we can play with anybody. And that’s what we have to do, play our best.”

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