HOUSTON, TX (Covering Katy News) - Katy High School Senior running back Seth Davis scored six touchdowns and ran the ball for 301 yards on 23 attempts as the Tigers beat Sheldon ISD’s C.E. King Panthers 56-34 Friday night at Reliant Stadium.
While Davis was the offensive star, the Tigers also made critical defensive stops to secure the victory.
“That’s what having a team is about,” Katy coach Gary Joseph told the Houston Chronicle. “It’s not about an individual or anything. It’s about having a team. That’s something we’ve always prided ourselves on at Katy is that we’re a team.”
Joe Gleason, KTRK, Twitter
The first time Davis touched the ball, he charged up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers the lead just 15 seconds into the first quarter. The Katy defense kept C.E. King from scoring, and Davis struck again with a 42-yard rushing touchdown giving Katy a 14-0 lead just 58 seconds into the game.
C.E. King returned with Denim Johnson scoring on a 9-yard quarterback sneak followed by an 89-yard punt return from Rae’G Dailey.
Katy answered with a 26-yard scoring run from Davis, but C.E. King showed it would not go away easily as the Panthers scored on a touchdown pass to tight end Mekhi Emerenini.
Davis scored again with a 40-yard run, but the Panthers kept pace with a 27-yard touchdown throw from Johnson to Dailey.
At halftime, Katy clung to a one-point lead, 28-27.
Both teams opened the third quarter with touchdowns. Dailey ran 70 yards on the opening play and scored for C.E. King. Then Davis scored from the one-yard-line for Katy.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Katy quarterback Caleb Koger scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak giving the Tigers a 42-34 lead.
Davis ran 49 yards on the following possession to give Katy a two-touchdown lead.
"I was just trusting my whole line. They were creating holes for me and when I saw it, I just hit it," Davis told Vype Houston during a post game interview.
With only 4 minutes remaining in the game, Koger scored another touchdown with a 1-yard quarterback sneak.
Katy plays Austin Vandegrift (13-1) in the state semifinal game at 1 p.m. next Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The Vandegrift Vipers have won 13 consecutive games, only losing their opening game against Dripping Springs.
Katy has never played Vandegrift, which opened in 2009. The winner moves on to the Class 6A Division II state title game in Arlington on Dec. 17.