Katy takes new route to opening win

Riding Dalton's arm, Tigers down The Woodlands

Katy junior receiver Michael Fuda was in double coverage when Andy Dalton spotted him.

A textbook spiral hit Fuda in the chest just as he jogged inside the 30-yard line. Then he was off. Fuda sprinted, spun and stutter-stepped his way past three defenders and out of two tackles. Into the end zone he went to complete a 40-yard pass play early in the second quarter to give Katy its first points in Saturday's game against The Woodlands at Reliant Stadium.

Tigers fans in the estimated crowd of 10,000 went berserk, Dalton threw his hands in the air and Fuda's closest teammates cheered. Not just to celebrate the perfectly executed play: Katy was watching the next chapter of its storied program unfold, and it felt good.

"I sure hope a passing game is the new face of Katy football," said Dalton, who was 15-of-20 for 241 yards passing and four touchdowns in the Tigers' 30-6 win over The Woodlands. "We've always been a team known for its running game. And I think teams could get used to that. We came out with a passing game that was really successful."

Just 128 of Katy's 369 yards against The Woodlands came on the ground. All four of Katy's touchdowns were on pass plays.

Last season, Katy averaged 97 yards passing compared to 330 on the ground. Over the past four seasons, the Tigers have never averaged more than 130 yards through the air.

Been a long time

"It probably is a little unconventional for us to pass the ball so much," Katy coach Gary Joseph said. "But I'd say we found a lot of success there."

The bulk of Katy's offense usually rests on the shoulders of a workhorse running back. In 2004, it was James Aston, who averaged 180 yards per game. With Aston's graduation, Katy found itself relying on two running backs — senior Brandon King and sophomore Aundre Dean — and looking for another scoring avenue.

"I definitely think The Woodlands expected a run," Joseph said with a laugh. "We had two backs we were working with. But we don't have James Aston here. There won't be another one of those. We have two running backs who are phenomenal athletes, and all we expect is for them to be themselves and help out on offense, and I think they executed that tremendously."

King and Dean combined for 106 yards rushing and converted 10 of Katy's 22 first downs. But it was the passing game that produced the Tigers' first win over The Woodlands.

After Dalton connected with Fuda in the second quarter, he found senior Sam Justus with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 8:27 left in the third quarter to put Katy up 13-6.

His three-yard pass to tight end Logan Madden early in the final period put the Tigers up 23-6, and Dalton found Fuda two minutes later for a 39-yard TD.

"We are lucky to have a quarterback who can throw and kids who can catch," Joseph said. "I am really thankful for that. Andy did a great job getting the ball to them at the right time."

Despite the sparkling aerial attack, Katy wasn't able to get any breathing room in the first half. The Woodlands tied the score just before halftime when quarterback Austin Hutson found receiver Kyle Drabek on a 37-yard touchdown pass to knot the game at 6 with 30 seconds left in the half.

Fortunately for Katy, defensive back Will Thompson blocked the point-after try, and The Woodlands didn't score again and totaled just 58 yards in the second half.

Second-half domination

"They got really physical with us in the first half," Joseph said. "So we challenged our kids to get the running game going and continue to pass the ball. They did that well in the second half. I think we really learned something about ourselves."

Something that could alter the face of Katy football — at least for this season.

"We have a heck of a receiving corps," Thompson said. "And Andy did a great job getting the offense going. The teams know Katy football. And they know we love to run it.

"But I think we are learning to adapt and display other talented areas. We'll probably always be known for our running game, but look what the passing game got us. A great opener against a great team."