Austin Vandegrift 38, Katy 35

Class 6A Division II State Semifinals

December 10, 2022

Alamodome, San Antonio

Upstart Austin Vandegrift, playing in just their second state semifinal in school history and first as a 6A program didn’t have history on their side taking on historical powerhouse Katy, but head coach Drew Sanders and his Vipers didn’t care about history as they went toe to toe and prevailed in a classic state semifinal matchup.

Vandegrift opened the game with the football and wasted little time establishing that they came to play taking a 7-0 lead on a trick play as WR Miles Coleman tossed a fourteen-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Oliver to give the Vipers the lead with 8:12 left in the first quarter. Katy would push towards the red zone on their opening drive of the game, but the Tigers missed a field goal keeping the VHS lead at 7-0.

The Katy defense would force a Vandegrift three and out and early in the second quarter, the Tigers would tie the game at 7-7 as Chase Johnsey barreled in for an eleven yard touchdown run with 10:50 left in the second quarter. Vandegrift didn’t waste much time striking back to a lead as QB Brayden Buchanan found speedy WR Coleman behind the Katy defense for a 75-yard touchdown and a 14-7 Vipers lead with 7:52 left in the second quarter. The big plays in the second quarter continued as typically run oriented Katy would take to the air as QB Caleb Koger connected with Micah Koening for a 74-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14 with just under five minutes left in the first half. Vandegrift would take the lead back with just nine seconds left in the half as Buchanan found Jake Skoglund for a seven-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-14 VHS. It appeared Katy had stopped Vandegrift and would force a field goal try, but a roughing the passer penalty on Katy gave Vandy a first a goal at the seven and the Vipers would capitalize just one play later.

Katy would tie the game up in the third quarter as RB Seth Davis, who had been somewhat contained in the first half got loose for a 49-yard touchdown run with 9:11 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 21-21.  The two defenses would settle in for the rest of the third quarter and the early part of the fourth quarter until Katy would take their first lead of the game as Koger connected with Koening on a screen pass and Koening did the rest on a 91-yard catch and run to give the Tigers a 28-21 edge with 7:30 left in the game.

Vandegrift would need less than a minute to respond as after a big pass from Buchanan to Ray Jean Middleton, the Vipers signal caller would score on a QB sneak to make it 28-28 with 6:28 left in the ball game. VHS would stop Katy on the next series and once again the Vipers trickeration worked to perfection on the ensuing drive as Coleman tossed his second touchdown pass of the day, this one to Alex Witt from seventeen-yards out and with 3:08 left in the game, Vandegrift had re-taken a 35-28 lead. Katy would answer not long after as Davis ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run to send the large Katy crowd into a frenzy and tying the game at 35-35 with 1:59 left.

Vandegrift would get one last shot to win the game and after the drive got off to a rough start, the Vipers would get going after a Katy roughing the passing call and they’ve move to the Katy twenty-yard line. That would set up Hayden Arnold for a 37-yard game winning field goal as time expired to send Vandegrift to their first ever state championship game with a 38-35 win.