Katy had chances on Friday. 

The Tigers fought tooth and nail, but mistakes mounted in the area round against Cy-Fair. 

A drive where the Tigers couldn’t punch it in from 2-yards out on four straight plays, miscues, penalties and dropped interceptions, Katy was just inches away from pulling away in an area round matchup against Cy-Fair, but little things kept the Tigers from doing that.

In the end those plays came back to haunt the Tigers, as Katy fell just short against Cy-Fair, 28-21 in overtime and the Tigers season came to an end in the area round.

“We had our chances tonight, but that’s football sometimes,” said Katy head coach Gary Joseph. “But our kids put forth the effort. They didn’t give up or surrender or quit and so I’m proud of that. I had no problem with their effort tonight, they fought their butts off but there were just some chances we couldn’t take advantage of.”

It was a defensive battle throughout the first half. Cy-Fair struck first after forcing Katy to punt on its opening drive, with Trey Owens throwing a 51-yard touchdown to Connor Porter, but Katy came back to make things a one-point game just minutes later as Chase Johnsey ran in a 9-yard touchdown but the extra point missed.

Both teams had chances in the second quarter to score but both defenses came up with stops. Jacob Hilton had an interception early in the quarter that stalled a Cy-Fair drive, but Katy turned it over on downs twice in the quarter as the Tigers went into the locker room down 7-6.

“This whole team was special,” said sophomore running back Tremayne Hill. “Everyone helped me from the beginning of the season and I just love all of these guys. All of these guys helped me and made me into a better player and I couldn’t ask for better teammates. I just wish we could have won this for our seniors.”

The great defense from both teams continued into the second half. Neither team got on the board early in the third quarter and it took until the three minute mark in the third for a score, when Katy tied it on an eight-yard pass from Gunner Nelson to Luke Carter and a two-point conversion that Nelson completed to Johnsey. Katy had the chance to take the lead shortly thereafter when Joshua Garcia recovered a fumble from a muffed punt on the Cy-Fair 2-yard line, but Katy couldn’t punch it in on three plays and then fumbled to give the ball back to Cy-Fair on its fourth down play. 

Katy’s defense stepped up to force a punt after that and Katy took the lead when Johnsey ran in a 9-yard touchdown, but Cy-Fair found a way to answer back, tying the game at 21 with just 43 seconds left in the game on a 3-yard pass from Trey Owens to Owen Carter, forcing the game to go to overtime.

Cy-Fair then got the ball in overtime and scored, with Katy dropping an interception that would have given them the ball and Owens converting a third and 14 on a run before throwing a touchdown on a 3-yard pass to Owen Carter. Katy then had to respond to keep its season alive, but the Tigers were forced into a fourth and long, which they were unable to convert and ended Katy’s season.

“We spend a lot of time preparing and we came in and were ready for them,” said Katy senior cornerback Jacob Hinton. “I’m glad we had that fight and we kept it going all the way until the end. I just wish he did a little more.”

It was the earliest loss in the playoffs for Katy since 2001, when they lost to Vince Young led Madison in the area round. The Tigers season ended at 10-2. 

“Everyone in there, we don’t need fuel or motivation but of course we’re going to remember this,” Hill said. “This was a really good team but now we have to focus on getting even better going into next year.”

Cy-Fair 28, Katy 21

First quarter

CF: Trey Owens 51 pass to Connor Porter (Dennis Castello kick) 6:21

K: Chase Johnsey 9 run, 1:18

Second quarter

CF: Owent 18 pass to Porter (Castello kick) 9:09

Third quarter

K: Gunner Nelson 8 pass to Luke Carter (Nelson pass to Johnsey) 3:15

Fourth quarter

K: Johnsey 9 run (Ondrush kick) 7:02

CF: Owens 3 pass to Carter (Castello kick) 0:43

Overtime

CF: Jamel Nickerson 3 run (Castello kick)

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Katy: Tremayne Hill, 30-192; Chase Johnsey, 5-26-2; Oliver Ginn, 1-8; Romel Jordan, 2-7; Gunner Nelson, 6-(-4); Cy-Fair: Jamel Nickerson, 11-32-1; Trey Owns, 7-5; Charun Davis, 3-3;

Passing – Katy: Gunner Nelson, 6-19-56-1-0; Cy-Fair: Trey Owens, 31-45-298-3-1;

Receiving – Katy: Cade McCall, 2-17; Oliver Ginn, 1-14; Chase Johnsey, 1-10; Luke Carter, 1-8; Israel Olotu-Judah, 1-7; Cy-Fair: Connor Porter, 8-110-2;  Owen Carter, 11-89-1; Charun Davis, 8-75; Wyatt Herbel, 3-16; Jamel Nickerson, 1-8;