There was a hunger at Katy this week.

The Tigers were not happy with their performance against Atascocita last week. With a big district game against Tompkins next on the schedule they were motivated and wanted to make a statement about who still stands at the top of District 19-6A.

The Tigers (2-1, 1-0) did just that, following up a strong week of practice by beating the Falcons (1-2, 0-1) 41-7, behind an improved run defense and a balanced offense that excelled both on the ground and through the air.

“Last week wasn’t us, we couldn’t be ok with what happened” said Katy senior tight end and captain Luke Carter. “We came into this week knowing that we had to make a statement across this district. Last week had some people doubting us and that’s not ok. We came out and we executed how we knew we should this week and it got us the victory.”

It was a dominant performance from the Tigers, who outgained Tompkins 454 yards to 184 and scored seven unanswered touchdowns in the win.

The game started on a positive note for Tompkins. The Falcons forced a turnover on downs and then drove down the field, getting a big run from Wyatt Young before scoring on a 1-yard pass from Young to Caleb Blocker. But from that moment on it was all Katy.

The Tigers go the ball back and tied things up early in the first quarter, with Romel Jordan running in a 12-yard score and Gunner Nelson gave Katy the lead on a 4-yard pass to Luke Carter. Nelson added another before halftime, finding Colton Sanders wide open down the seam for a 35-yard score as Katy went into the locker room leading 21-7. Nelson finished the day a perfect 10 for 10, throwing for 192 yards and two touchdown while no Katy quarterback threw an incomplete pass in the win.

“It’s a step by step process with him and he improved this week,” said Katy head coach Gary Joseph. “Hopefully that continues because we can’t afford to  have him not improving. The kids are gaining confidence around Gunner and he’s gaining confidence in him and he’s gaining confidence in what he is doing and in our offense. As long as that’s the case he’s going to keep getting better.”

Katy didn’t let its foot off the gas in the second half. Jordan ran in another touchdown before Tremayne Hill kept things going offensively in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns of his own on two and six yard runs. Jordan ended the day with 111 yards on 22 carries, his second 100 yard game of the season, and Hill had 42 yards on the ground on nine carries.

But the biggest difference on the night was the Tigers defense. In Katy’s loss to Atascocita, the Tigers allowed 249 yards on the ground, but on Friday against a very good Tompkins rushing attack, Katy limited the Falcons to 150 yards with only one run of 20 yards or more.

“We were pumped up for this game,” said senior safety Noah Coughran. “Last week, we felt good, but we didn’t execute the way we could have. This week we maintained the energy throughout, and we tackled the way we should.”

Katy continues district play against Morton Ranch, as the Tigers look to continue an 18 game district win streak.

“We didn’t lose energy after that loss, if anything it fueled us and we came out with more energy this week in practice and for this game,” Nelson said. “This was a statement game for us and we made a statement this week, now we have to keep it going.”

Katy 41, Tompkins 7

First quarter

T: Wyatt Young 1 pass to Caleb Blocker (Erben Birkhoff kick) 2:17

Second quarter

K: Robel Jordan 12 run (Hunter Ondrush kick) 11:22

K: Gunner Nelson 4 pass to Luke Carter (Ondrush kick) 6:45

K: Nelson 35 pass to Colton Sanders (Ondrush kick) 2:04

Third quarter

K: Jordan 3 run (Ondrush kick) 5:00

Fourth quarter

K: Tremayne Hill 2 run (Ondrush kick) 10:38

K: Hill 6 run, 7:15

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Katy: Romel Jordan, 22-111-2; Tremayne Hill, 9-42-2; Tadi Zambe, 5-13; Gunner Nelson, 1-(-4); Tompkins: Caleb Blocker, 20-79; Wyatt Young, 4-64; Ronnie Quinn, 3-7;  

Passing – Katy: Gunner Nelson, 10-10-192-2-0; Jackson Franklin, 3-3-79-0-0; Connor Morales, 1-1-21-0-0; Tompkins: Justin Thierheimer, 3-7-28-0-0; Wyatt Young, 2-10-0-0;

Receiving – Katy: Oliver Ginn, 4-110; Cade McCall, 2-52; Colton Sanders, 2-50; Chase Johnsey, 3-31-1; Luke Carter, 2-28-1; Brody Worster, 1-21; Tompkins: Dylan Rodriguez, 1-19; Etoro Bassey, 1-9; Rhys Phillips, 1-5; Caleb Blocker, 1-1; Adebisi Bello, 1-0;