The Woodlands Highlander football team overpowers Katy Tigers for monumental win

SHENANDOAH, Texas- Riding back-to-back shutouts and an 86-0 scoring margin coming into the game, the Katy Tigers must have felt confident taking on the Woodlands Highlanders at Woodforest Bank Stadium tonight. The Highlanders didn’t seem phased by the challenge, as running back, Patrick Carr, set the all-time rushing record in Highlander history, and the Woodlands walked away with the 24-7 win over the number two state- ranked Tigers, ending their 50-game winning streak. The last loss for Katy was September 4th, 2009, also to the Highlanders.

The game also saw the return of last year’s starting quarterback, Chris Andritsos. He had given up football to focus on a a baseball career, but returned to the sideline this evening. He didn’t play tonight, and there is no word on whether he starts or plays next week against LaPorte.

Leading the way for the Highlanders was quaterback Matt Bonaguidi with 96 yards passing a touchdown, along with 65 yards rushing and a touchdown. Carr had 81 yards and a touchdown as well. For Katy, Oklahoma running back commit Rodney Anderson had 77 yards on 17 carries, and wide receiver Tony Mullins had six receptions for 72 yards.

“Our defense has done a great job all season,” said Highlander Head Coach Mark Schmid. “Tonight was no exception. Offensively we got better. We took advantage of some opportunities we got from the defense. It was a great team win.”

On the second drive of the game for the Tigers, they found themselves the beneficiary of a call, as a fumble on a catch was ruled down by the official, but the next play saw running back Kyle Porter fumble, and the ball was recovered by Woodlands linebacker, Tristan Horton, at their own 25-yard line with 2:52 left to play in the first quarter.

However, two plays after the turnover, Katy intercepted a Bonaguidi pass and had the ball back at the Highlander 31-yard line with 2:07, giving them a second chance. Facing a 3rd-and-13, quarterback, Garrett Doiron, hit wide receiver, Tony Mullins, over the middle of the field for 14-yards to get the ball to the highlander 20-yard line as the first quarter ended 0-0.

A few plays into the second quarter, Doiron hit Mullins again on a slant that got the ball down to the 4-yard line, and on a 3rd-and-goal from the three yard line, Katy ran a successful bootleg that hit running back, Kyle Porter, in the corner of the endzone to make the score 7-0 Katy, with 9:00 left in the second quarter.

On the Highlander’s next drive, Bonaguidi, looking in rhythm with the offense tonight, hit wide receiver, Hunter Moore, on 3rd down for 15-yards, to get the Highlanders into Katy territory at the 48-yard line. Then on 3rd-and-5 he completed a pass to wide receiver, Reed Barber, for another first down to keep the chains moving. With the defense keying on running back, Patrick Carr, Bonaguidi kept the ball on several zone-reads tonight, and on his second keep he took an 11-yard scamper down to the Katy 19-yard line for another first down, causing Katy to use a timeout. Two plays later, Bonaguidi kept the momentum and hit Hunter Moore on a 15-yard slant pass and tied the game at 7-7 with 4:26 left in the half. The touchdown counted for the first points the Tiger’s have allowed after nine quarters of shutout ball this year.

On the next series, the defensive line for the Woodlands continued to push the Tiger line off the ball and get pressure on the quarterback. That pressure caused a three-and-out and brought the ball and continued momentum, back to the Highlanders at their own 45-yard line with 3:16 left in the half.

With the ball back to the offense, Bonaguidi kept a read on second down for 10 yards and moved the chains to the 45-yard line of Katy. He had 54 rushing yards in the first half to go along with 75 yards passing. A few plays later on 3rd-and-5, Bonaguidi fired a ball in a tight window to wide receiver, Kalif Johnson, for 11 yards to the Tiger 28-yard line. The next play saw Carr get loose, breaking several Tiger tackles on his way to the end zone, making the score 14-7 Highlanders with 1:20 left in the second quarter. Carr ended the half with 52 yards rushing.

“Matt (Bonaguidi) has continued to get better,” relayed Schmid. “He made great decisions tonight, both throwing and running the football. He’s doing the things we knew he could do, and tonight was no exception.”

Before a snap in the second half, Katy drew a false start setting them back five yards, perhaps feeling some pressure for trailing at the half for the first time since a September 4th, 2009, defeat at the hands of the Woodlands. The Highlander defense would force a three-and-out, and a short punt would give the ball back to the Highlanders at Katy’s 44-yard line. The drive for the Highlanders would stall, but Bonaguidi would drop back from his quarterback position to drop-kick the ball all the way to the Tiger 10-yard line with 9:23 left in the third quarter.

The next Tiger drive saw a much improved offense out of Katy. A long run by Rodney Anderson down the far sideline got the ball into Highlander territory; and a catch by Cole Haring saw the ball sitting at the Highlander 29-yard line with 5:42 left in the third quarter. A run by Porter that saw him break two tackles, took the ball to the Highlander 15-yard line, but the Highlander defense stiffened after that. The Tigers would settle for a 28-yard field goal attempt by Alec DaPra, but the ball sailed wide left and the Highlanders maintained their 14-7 lead with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

A three-and-out by the Highlander offense didn’t allot for any rest for their defense, and the Tigers took advantage, moving from their 39-yard line to Highlander territory. However, the first play of the fourth quarter presented the Tigers with a 4th-and-2 opportunity from the Highlander 35-yard line, still trailing 14-7. The quarterback exchange on the pitch was out of sync, and the Highlander defense stopped the play short, giving them possession at their 34-yard line with 11:54 left in the game.

On the Tigers next possession, a third down pass bounced off wide receiver Mullins chest and was intercepted by defensive back, Antoine Winfield Jr, who returned the ball 28 yards to the Katy 18-yard line, leading 14-7 with 8:37 left in the game. The Highlanders would get a 23-yard field goal from Nacho Garcia on the drive, to make the score 17-7 with 6:26 left in contest.

The next possession for Katy saw another interception, this time by Zac Richardson, returning it 28 yards to the Highlander 8-yard line with 5:19 left to play. The next play saw Carr rush for four yards, breaking the all-time Highlander rushing record held by Daniel Lasco in 2010, with 3,901 yards.

Following the record-setting run, Bonaguidi successfully maneuvered the defense on another read option and put the ball in the end zone, making the score 24-7 Highlanders with 4:43 left in the game, effectively ending the contest.

“Our kids have worked hard. We’ve done a lot of growing up over the last two weeks,” said Schmid. “This is a huge confidence builder for our team. The kids were excited. They read the internet, newspapers just like everybody else. They prepared well.”

The Highlanders will look to continue their winning way next Friday, September 19th, 7:30pm, at home against LaPorte. That game will be OnDemand at woodlandsonline.com