Every day in practice, Katy players get a script with 20 plays. Before they can move on and try anything else, they run those same plays over and over again until they can run them effortlessly. 

There’s nothing flashy. It’s just repetition, repetition, repetition. 

“It’s not earth science what they’re doing offensively,” Cedar Hill coach Carlos Lynn said. “It’s a mentality. It’s a grind mentality and they do it well. It’s hard to simulate.” 

When the bright lights came on at AT&T Stadium in the Class 6A Division II state championship game against highly-rated Cedar Hill, that ruthless consistency took center stage in a dominant 51-14 win to capture the state title. 

Katy played a virtually perfect football game to win their ninth state championship, and fifth under Gary Joseph. The Tigers averaged 7.0 yards per play while throwing the ball just nine times. Over and over again, they handed the ball to star running back duo Jalen and Seth Davis and let the offensive line do their job. 

The Tigers held an explosive Cedar Hill offensive quarterbacked by Tennessee commit Kaiden Salter out of the end zone until halfway through the third quarter, when the game was already 34-0. The Longhorns didn’t put together a drive longer than five plays until the game was well out of hand. Katy’s front seven simply filled every gap. 

Even the special teams game was on point, recovering multiple onsides kick attempts and tying a state title game record with a 49-yard field goal. 

“It comes from our coaching staff,” defensive lineman Cal Varner said. “Every day, they’re harping on us about doing the right thing.” 

Especially in a year dominated by COVID-19, that stable, buy-in culture instituted at Katy helped make all the difference. Even in a year where Katy lost a district game for the first time in years, the Tigers came together and left no doubt. 

“It’s the culture as much as anything else,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “Expectations. If they want to be successful, they know the formula and know they have to follow the formula and buy in. It isn’t easy, but nothing’s easy.

“It’s very special. It’s one of those years that you’ll always remember because of what you went through to get to this point.”