Katy Wins 7th State Championship
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Updated: December 23, 2012
Katy wins Texas high school football Class 5A Division II State Championship
Two teams that have combined for 3 State Championships in the last 6 years, Katy and Cedar Hill, met in the 2012 Class 5A DII State Championship. The match-up was the first of back-to-back title games pitting a DFW-area school and Houston-area counterpart on the day. The title heavy (6 in 10 appearances) Katy Tigers brought in an unblemished record while the underdog Horns overcame 4 regular season losses to fight their way uphill back to the program’s second championship appearance. In addition to winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008, Katy High School also sandwiched that feat with State Runner up efforts in 2005 and 2009.
The Tigers are no strangers to the championship stage. And it showed. The weight of the Katy football team rested on senior running back Adam Taylor in today’s title game, just as it did most of the season. The Nebraska commit, fittingly playing in the classic Katy uniforms that resemble Nebraska’s, carried the ball 30 times for 276 yards and 5 touchdowns. Yes, that is correct, five TD’s on the ground. In fact, Katy didn’t really find a need to throw the ball, only attempting six passes (3 completed for 44 yards) the entire game. This performance albeit light is amazing because reports have now come out that starting QB Kiley Huddleston was playing on a broken leg, an injury he sustained against Cibolo Steele in the State Semis.
“He [Huddleston] told me there was nothing that was going to keep him from going out there,” Katy Head Coach Gary Joseph was quoted as saying on MaxPreps.
Now that is what Texas High School Football is all about - heart!
Huddleston gutted out for all four quarters and it paid off. He now has a championship ring as a reward. Adam’s five touchdown runs of 1, 17, 10, 56, and 42 yards were good enough for the 35-24 victory and honors of the UIL Offensive Player of the Game. But during the game, it wasn’t always so clear.
A team who had faced little adversity, and had never trailed in the 4th quarter of a game all season, found themselves down 24-21 to Cedar Hill with roughly 9 minutes to play in the game. This was a result of a huge 24 yard TD run on 4th and 7 by Longhorns QB Damion Hobbs, and then a 21-yard TD pass to Brandon Harris on the next consecutive possession. The Horns added a successful two point conversion to extend the gap to a field goal difference.
On Katy’s ensuing offensive drive, the Tiger’s season seemed to hang in the balance. Facing a pivotal fourth and one on its side of the field, momentum suddenly surged back toward Katy as Adam Taylor took a pitch 56 yards to the end zone to regain the lead. Taylor’s final TD of the night, which provided the final margin, came with less than two minutes to play as Katy was attempting to run out the clock. This was the icing on the cake to a spectacular individual and team performance.
Cedar Hill’s Hobbs was 11 of 23 for 200 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 INT passing as well as 21 carries for 83 yards and added another score on the ground in the Arkansas State commit’s final game in a Horns uniform. Matt Dimon, the UIL Defensive Player of the Game, came up with two sacks in a strong performance by Katy’s defensive line.
A crowd of 42,621 was on hand at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington to witness Katy take the Class 5A DII State Championship victory over Cedar Hill, which is good for 9th all time attendance.
By Taylor Brasher
LSG Intern
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