Katy continues to shut down opponents.

The Tigers defense has been the talk of the district lately, shutting down opponents left and right throughout the past month.

The Tigers (8-1, 7-0) had a streak coming into this week that they wanted to continue, not allowing an offensive touchdown in five straight games, and they added onto it on Friday, beating Tompkins 35-0 to secure a District 19-6A championship heading into the final week of the regular season.

“That is our goal and how we want to play every week,” said senior defensive lineman and punter Adam Carter. “We want to come out, not give them any points and don’t give any team anything easy. We want to show that we are the best defense in this district, and I feel like we have proven that so far this year.”

Katy allowed just over 200 total yards in the game and stopped Tompkins at every opportunity, even when the Falcons pushed down to the goal line.

The Tigers took their opening drive of the game all the way down to the Tompkins goal line, but were stuffed on a fourth and short from the Tompkins two. The Katy defense though stepped up and blocked a Tompkins punt and then Tremayne Hill got the scoring started with a 3-yard touchdown run late in the first half. The Tigers added a second score early in the second quarter when Gunner Nelson threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Cade McCall on a deep post and Joshua Smith added a 6-yard run on a fullback dive to make it 21-0 Katy at half.

“The offensive line has grown up a lot this year and they’re doing a good job of leading us and finding a way to keep getting better,” said Katy head coach Gary Joseph. “It’s a process, offensive line is a hard position to play and I’m just thankful to have such great coaches who are in charge of those guys. It’s such an important position for us and their growth has been good this year.”

The Tompkins offense got a strong drive going in the third quarter and nearly stopped Katy’s streak of not allowing an offensive score, driving the ball to the 1-yard-line, but Katy’s defense again came up huge, stuffing a run play on fourth and goal and keeping the shutout alive.

Tremayne Hill scored his second touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run and Tim Ogubanjo capped off the scoring in with just over a minute to play on a 27-yard touchdown run.

“The kids have done a great job of growing up,” Joseph said. “This group has grown a lot since August. You can see the maturity in a lot of them. Tonight, you saw when Tompkins got down to the goal line there was no let up and the kids fought tooth and nail. The guys on offense, they’ve started to get in sync as well. That’s the most rewarding part of this year has been seeing that growth.”

The Tigers clinched the district title for the 15^th time in the past 16 seasons with the win. They will close out the district season against Mayde Creek before heading into playoffs. But the job isn’t done for Katy as they try and secure the outright district championship and head into playoffs on a good note.

“Our coaches remind us before every game that everything is about improving and playing your best game each week,” carter said. “That’s the mindset we are going to bring in to next week. We want to give 100% effort in practice, keep making each other better and find a way to win. That’s the mindset each week and it doesn’t change.”

Katy 35, Tompkins 0

First quarter

K: Tremayne Hill 3 run (Giovanni Moreno kick) 3:36

Second quarter

K: Gunner Nelson 70 pass to Cade McCall (Moreno kick) 8:17

K: Joshua Smith 6 run (Moreno kick) 4:03

Fourth quarter

K: Tremayne Hill 1 run (Moreno kick) 7:27

K: Tim Ogubanjo 27 run (Moreno kick) 1:25

Team Statistics

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Katy: Tony Manuel, 4-80; Tremayne Hill, 17-68-2; Joshua Smith, 4-30; Cade McCall, 1-23; Tim Ogubanjo, 1-27; Aqualis Jordan, 4-11; London Bilbeam, 1-3; Gunner Nelson, 2-(-3); Tompkins: Ethan meadows, 21-80; Robert Bernard, 3-9; Justin Thierheimer, 1-(-2);

Passing – Katy: Gunner Nelson, 10-14-172-1-0; Jackson Franklin, 1-2-14-0-0; Tompkins: Justin Thierheimer, 17-28-156-0-1;

Receiving – Katy: Israel Olotu-Judah, 7-77; Cade McCall, 1-70-1; Ryan Carbone, 1-16; John Ortiz, 1-11; Joshua Smith, 1-9; Tompkins: Bisi Bello, 5-56; KJ Madison, 5-37; James Mayes, 2-25; Ethan Meadows, 2-18; Carter Young, 2-17; Etoro Bassey, 1-3;