Katy continues to pass on quality opponents

– Dallas Jackson, NationalHSFootball.com

The more things change the more they stay the same — at least that is the way it appears for the Katy (Texas) High football program.

Realignment was completed Monday by the UIL and schools shifted into new districts with new opportunities for scheduling; after the governing body posted its new classifications came a flood of intriguing, if not impressive, out-of-district contests pitting powerhouse programs.

However it was the wildly successful Houston-area team that continued its neat and tidy path to double-digit wins by announcing it would play its district foes following games against The Woodlands (Texas) High, Richmond (Texas) Fort Bend Travis, as well as Kingwood (Texas) High and pass on numerous, national programs that were looking to take on the Tigers.

Multiple sources linked Katy to discussions with Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, Euless (Texas) Trinity, Hoover (Ala.) High, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco, and River Ridge (La.) John Curtis, among other teams that could not be confirmed.

Katy coach Gary Joseph said that his team had those opportunities of which none come to pass.

“We talked to a lot of them,” he said, “ESPN was trying to hook something up but in the long run we really weren’t too interested.”

Since Joseph took over as the head coach in 2004 the program has never won fewer than 12 games and has claimed three state titles and been runners-up three times.

Using its strong defense and a steady stream of BCS-level running backs the team has achieved national recognition being included in the HSFB100 each year the poll has been in existence. Katy was ranked No. 30 in 2008, No. 23 in 2009, No. 24 in 2010, No. 91 in 2011, No. 3 in 2012, and No. 9 in 2013.

It has also become synonymous with hollow records and not being tested until deep in the playoffs.

The team is 50-2 against its current district foes during the time Joseph has been the coach, winning the games by an average margin of 43-8.

Among programs that have also been nationally relevant within the state very few have appeared on the regular season slate for Katy and as out-of-state clashes have increased only nationally-ranked Bellevue (Wash.) High has appeared on the schedule in 2009. The Tigers also played Weston (Fla.) Cypress Bay in 2008 but the program has never finished a year ranked in the HSFB100.

It is not the fault of Katy for feasting on whichever opponents the UIL puts in its district but the failure to answer the call to arms against major programs in its out-of-district does lie at its doorstep.

Katy had a chance as recently as Friday to agree to a marquee contest when both St. Thomas Aquinas and Euless Trinity were still options.

Sources said that talks did not progress with Aquinas because the proposal was immediately rejected by Katy. Sources said that the 2008 HSFB100 National Champions were informed that Katy had filled their out-of-district schedule already — a rejection that was shown to be untrue.

Trinity had advanced further in their talks but the location of the game became the final stumbling block.

Joseph confirmed both situations.

“We were, we were with both of them, but this is the way it turned out,” he said. “We have had a hard time finding games locally for a long time and so when Kingwood called (on Sunday) we were still talking to Trinity. That game was proposed for Waco Stadium and I just really wasn’t too excited about driving all the way to Dallas for an out-of-district game so when we got the call from Kingwood we went in that direction.

“Kingwood is a good one to get on (the schedule) because it ensures us more than just a varsity game. It’s non-district but it also fills the schedule for our sub-varsity — the JV and sophomores — so we get to take care of those kids, too.”

While Joseph is under no obligation to improve his schedule he acknowledged that it is more than just the national media that would have liked to see his team accept the challenge.

“I think our kids are disappointed to not get those big-deal games because they would enjoy that part of it too,” he said. “You know, to match up with those other schools and see where they’re at, but I think we will get a good test from Kingwood. They have turned their program around in the last three- or four-years and so we will know where we are after that.”

Kingwood has only won eight games in a season once in the last decade and has only won one playoff game in that span.

Fort Bend Travis has only existed for six seasons and has won more than six games in a season only once.

The Woodlands has been the most consistent opponent on the Katy schedule but during the Joseph era it is 2-5 against Katy, losing the last two seasons by a combined 100-24.

Katy returns the majority of its stellar defense and will be paced on offense by four-star running back, Rodney Anderson. The program will be highly ranked in the preseason HSFB100 but it won’t be judged until the final weeks of the season when the playoffs will finally test the Tigers.

With no shortage of suitors the schedule that Katy did get was nothing short of a disappointment.

“We just had to get games,” Joseph said. “That was the thing.”

THOUGHTS: Katy passed on chances to play nearly 10 major OOD foes, why?