Big plays and turnovers did the Tomball Cougars in during their 32-17 loss to Katy Morton Ranch on Aug. 26.

Senior quarterback Justin Dvorak was 30 for 50 passing for 255 yards and two touchdowns, but the Cougars struggled to convert on third down, going just five for 17.

“We saw a lot of positives on both sides of the ball,” Tomball Head Coach Tommy Kaiser said. “The concerns we have are that we gave up a couple of long plays and stalled on some drives.”

Photo: Tomball’s Jameson Johnson goes up for a touchdown catch during the Cougars 32-17 loss to Katy Morton Ranch.

The bad news started immediately for the Cougars, as senior returner Terrence Johnson lost a fumble on the opening kickoff. Five plays later Morton Ranch quarterback Terrion Poitier found Justin Paige for an 18-yard touchdown pass putting Morton Ranch ahead 6-0.

 After drives by both teams stalled, Tomball showed some offensive light by driving 38 yards in nine plays, capped off by a four-yard touchdown throw from Dvorak to senior receiver Jameson Johnson. Chadd Brown kicked the extra-point giving Tomball a 7-6 advantage.

The second quarter started slow as both teams ended up punting after short drives. Morton Ranch then retook the lead on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Deion Williams. That enabled Morton Ranch to take a 12-7 lead into the half.

The Cougars defense forced Morton Ranch into a three-and-out situation to begin the third quarter. The Cougar offense then found some rhythm as they went on a nine-play, 42-yard drive. Tomball was forced to go for the field goal when Dvorak’s throw on third and goal was imcomplete. Brown’s kick cut the deficit to 12-10 with just over seven minutes left in the third.

Then the wheels fell off for the Cougars.

Morton Ranch’s Eli Hall took a third quarter carry 75 yards to the house to put the Mavericks up 18-10.

Dvorak then led Tomball on an 11-play drive to within striking distance of a score. Kaiser decided to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the Morton Ranch two yard line. Dvorak’s pass sailed high and the Mavericks regained possession.

With 5:20 left to play in the game Morton Ranch seemed to seal the game with a 49-yard touchdown run by E.J. Achelus, but the Cougars still had some fight.

Dvorak led the team downfield 55 yards in just over two minutes, firing a 20-yard touchdown to senior receiver Chad Strange, cutting the deficit to 25-17.

With one-minute to play and the defense needing to come up big, it was the Mavericks Achelus who sealed the Cougars fate with another big run. Achelus sprinted downfield for a 53-yard touchdown, giving the Mavericks a 32-17 victory over Tomball.

Johnson led Tomball with 79 yards receiving on seven catches, including a touchdown. Ishmael Edwards added 58 yards on 10 catches.

Tomball traveled to Jersey Village on Sept. 2. Results were not available as of press time.

Photo by Caleb Harris

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