Three defending champs fall on opening night

It was a wild opening night of Texas High School Football on Thursday as a pair of state champions fell on national TV. The defending 6A-Division I state champions, Galena Park North Shore, raced out to a 21-7 halftime lead on Katy, but the Tiger defense dominated in the second half to take down the Mustangs 24-21. North Shore had several key players missing and it showed, especially on offense. But the real story was Katy’s defense which contained the Mustang’ speed in the second half. Katy’s offense wasn’t great and had several mistakes, but in crunch time, the Tigers showed why year in and year out they are one of the state’s top programs making big plays on both sides of the ball. While down in Mason, Fox Sports Southwest brought the magic of the Puncherdome to the entire country as defending 2A-Division I state champion Mason hosted 3A-Division I powerhouse Wall. A year ago, Mason went to Wall and knocked the Hawks off in a close one, but this year a veteran team from Wall had no problems with the defending champions rolling past Mason, 47-7, and ending the Punchers 38-game home winning streak. We almost had five defending champions go down as both Highland Park and Longview needed late heroics to escape with wins on Friday night.

Richmond Foster makes a statement

After a crushing loss to district rival Alvin Shadow Creek in the regional finals, it was evident that No. 3 Richmond Foster was ready to get the season started as the Falcons obliterated College Station, 52-14, to open the season. Foster raced out to a 28-0 halftime lead on the strength of three first-half touchdown passes from QB Ryan Stubblefield and a defense that didn’t allow a single first down in the first two quarters. It’s only Week 1, but there’s no question Shaun McDowell’s squad validated their high ranking with an impressive win and are certainly on the short list of state title contenders.