North Shore dominates Westfield with a 47-3 victory

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 13, 2024) In a lopsided game on Friday night, North Shore cruised to a commanding 47-3 victory over Spring Westfield. The Mustangs of North Shore were in control for most of the game, showing off their strong defense and explosive offense.

The game started slow with both teams struggling to find their rhythm on offense. North Shore's quarterback, Kaleb Bailey, completed a long pass early to Deion Deblanc, but the drive eventually stalled, and they had to punt. Westfield’s defense did its part too, forcing punts and keeping the score at 0-0 for most of the first quarter.

But with around four minutes left, North Shore’s special teams sparked the game. Quanell Farrakhan took a punt return 85 yards for a touchdown, putting North Shore on the board first. Jonathan Soto kicked the extra point, making it 7-0.

The second quarter is when North Shore began to take over. Chris Thomas scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown early, pushing the lead to 14-0. Westfield managed to respond with a 25-yard field goal from Davon Smith, but it would be their only points of the game.

Before the half, North Shore’s D’Andre Hardeman broke free for a 32-yard rushing touchdown. After another successful extra point, the score was 21-3. A last-second 20-yard field goal by Jonathan Soto gave North Shore a comfortable 24-3 lead heading into halftime.

Westfield came out of the half hoping to turn things around, but North Shore's defense stayed tough. Kylan Darville had multiple sacks, and Westfield was forced to punt early in the third quarter.

North Shore continued to dominate on offense. Kaleb Bailey connected with Quanell XJr again, this time for a 34-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 31-3. Then, the Mustangs' defense added two more points with a safety, making it 33-3.

Shortly after, Avan Brown ran in an 11-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 40-3.

Westfield had some bright moments in the final quarter but couldn’t find the end zone. North Shore sealed the game with one last touchdown by Terence Blackshure, who scored from the 1-yard line to make it 47-3.

Despite Westfield’s efforts, they turned the ball over on downs late in the game, and North Shore ran out the clock to finish the dominant win.

North Shore’s defense was the star of the game, constantly pressuring Westfield and forcing them to punt on almost every drive. Their offense, led by Kaleb Bailey, made big plays when needed, and their special teams were a difference-maker.

With the win, North Shore improves to 3-0, while Westfield will look to bounce back next week.

Pasadena falls in close match to Splendora to kickoff district action

Submitted Photo, Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

By Chris Price

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (September 13, 2024) The Pasadena Lady Eagles and the Splendora Wildcats kicked off their UIL district schedule with a matchup at Pasadena High School's Bob Barfield Gymnasium. The game feature to two top ranked teams, according to MaxPreps.com, from District 18-5A.

The evenly-matched contest when to the maximum five sets, with Splendora coming out on top over Pasadena by the score of 3-2. The Wildcats took the first set, 25-23. The Lady Eagles bounced back in set two, by the score of 25-17 but dropped set three, 22-25. 

Set four saw Pasadena rebound 25-22, to even the match at 2-2. In the final set, Splendora edged out the Lady Eagles 15-11 to secure the win.

Pasadena pushed their season record to 15-7 and 0-1 in district play. Next up for Pasadena is a Tuesday, September  17 meeting against Kingwood Park (7-17, 0-0 district) on the road with a varsity start at 6:30 p.m. 

Texas 6A High School Football Rankings-Week 3

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (September 8, 2024) Below is listed the Week 3 rankings for UIL División 6A football by TexSport Publications. An updates listed will be posted weekly prior to the first game of each week.

1. Galena Park North Shore (2-0)

2. Duncanville (1-0)

3. Austin Westlake (2-0)

4. Humble Summer Creek (2-0)

5. North Crowley (2-0)

6. DeSoto (1-1)

7. Southlake Carroll (2-0)

8. Humble Atascocita (2-0)

9. Cibolo Steele (2-0)

10. Lake Travis (2-0)

11. Allen (2-0)

12. The Woodlands (2-0)

13. Cypress Bridgeland (2-0)

14. Coppell (2-0)

15. Lamar Fulshear (2-0)

16. Denton Guyer (2-0)

17  Fort Bend Hightower (2-0) 

18. Spring Westfield (1-1)

19. Fort Bend Ridge Point (1-1)

 20. Katy (1-1)

21. Rockwell (1-1)

22 Austin Vandegrift (1-1)

23. Cedar Hill (1-1)

24. San Antonio Reagan (1-1)

25. Willis (2-0)

HCU falls to #20 Tarleton State in home opener

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 7, 2024)  The Houston Christian University football team dropped their home opener to 20th-ranked Tarleton State, 35-18, on Saturday night at Husky Stadium. This was the Huskies' first-ever home game against a ranked non-conference opponent.

The Huskies (0-2) had a strong start, moving the ball 47 yards on their first drive. Quarterback Cutter Stewart (Alice HS, Alice, TX) completed passes to Calvin Wiggins (Byron Nelson HS, Roanoak, TX), and running back Champ Dozier (Royse City HS, Dallas, TX) had a 20-yard run. However, HCU couldn’t score as their fourth-down attempt failed.

Tarleton State (2-1) got on the board early in the second quarter with an 84-yard touchdown drive. Shortly after, Stewart threw an interception, and the Texans quickly scored again, making it 14-0. HCU responded with a 77-yard drive, capped by Dozier’s three-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the lead to 14-7.

Before halftime, Tarleton added another touchdown to take a 21-7 lead into the break.

In the second half, HCU’s defense made a big play when Xavier Toliver (Mansfield Summit HS, Arlington, TX) intercepted a pass and returned it to the Texans’ 15-yard line. However, the Huskies could only manage a field goal, closing the gap to 21-10. Tarleton extended their lead with another long drive, making it 28-10.

HCU’s AJ Wilson (Huntsville HS, Huntsville, TX) caught a 19-yard touchdown from Stewart late in the fourth quarter, followed by a successful two-point conversion, but it wasn’t enough to catch up.

Wilson led HCU with 51 yards receiving and a touchdown. Stewart passed for 201 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Defensively, Taylor Behl (Georgetown HS, Georgetown, TX) had 13 tackles, while D.J. Harris (Langham HS, Houston, TX) added 10.

HCU will host Louisiana Christian next Saturday, September 14, at 6:00 p.m. at Husky Stadium.

Pasadena Lady Eagles Volleyball down Ford Bend Marshall in three sets

Copyrighted Photo 2024 All Rights Reserved

By Chris Price
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (September 6, 2024)  The Pasadena High School varsity volleyball team pushed their season record to 13-6 on Friday evening with a three-set victory over the Fort Bend Marshal Buffalos at Robert Barfield Gymnasium on the campus of Pasadena High School.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 25-16 win in the first set, followed up with a second-set victory by the score of 25-20. In the third set, the Eagle held a large margin early in the set, when Marshall mounted a comeback, cutting the Pasadena lead to two late in the match. The Lady Eagles responded with seven points to clinch the third set 25-17, dropping Marshall's season record to 4-7.

Next up for the Lady Eagles will be a Tuesday, September 10 road match against the Baytown Sterling Rangers. The Rangers possess a 6-10 record going into the match, after losing a two-set tournament match to Humble Atascocita by the scores of 13-25 and 11-25.

The matchup against Sterling will be the final non-district game for Pasadena, as they kickoff their District 18-5A schedule against Splendora (13-5) on Friday, September 13 at home.

Individual season stats, as provided by MaxPreps.com, can be viewed here.

Texas 6A High School Football Rankings-Week 2

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (September 4, 2024) Below is listed the Week 2 rankings for UIL División 6A football by TexSport Publications. An updates listed will be posted weekly prior to the first game of each week.

1. DeSoto (1-0) over Creekside (GA), 70-0 

2. Galena Park North Shore (1-0) over Dallas South Oak Cliff, 38-0 

3. Duncanville (0-0) Idle 

4. Austin Westlake (1-0) over Prosper, 35-14 

5. Humble Summer Creek (1-0) over Alvin Shadow Creek, 42-0 

6. North Crowley (1-0) over Lancaster, 29-21  

7. Southlake Carroll (1-0) over Midland, 48-24 

8. Humble Atascocita (1-0) over Houston Lamar, 35-7

9. Lake Travis (1-0) W: Arlington Martin, 51-12 

10. Katy (1-0) over Dickinson, 41-37 

11. Spring Westfield (1-0) over Sheldon King, 34-28

12. Cibolo Steele (1-0) over Liberty Hill, 49-26 

13. Fort Bend Ridge Point (1-0) over League City Clear Springs, 38-20 

14. Coppell (1-0) over Garland Sachse, 31-10

15. Allen (1-0) over Midland Legacy, 61-0

16. The Woodlands (1-0) over Katy Cinco Ranch, 49-22 

17. Cypress Bridgeland (1-0) over Pearland Dawson, 52-14 

18. Rockwell (1-0) over Richardson Berkner 38-27

19. Austin Vandegrift (1-0) over Dripping Springs, 31-14 

20. Lamar Fulshear (1-0) over Pearland, 19-12 

21. Dickinson (0-1) falls to Katy 37-41

22. Cedar Hill (1-0) over Midlothian 40-7

23. San Antonio Reagan (1-0) over San Antonio Brennan 31-9

24. Denton Guyer (1-0) over Aledo 35-30

25, Fort Bend Hightower (1-0)  over Clear Falls 19-14

Houston Dash Acquire Allocation Money, Intra-League Transfer Funds from Portland Thorns FC for Midfielder Sophie Hirst

Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletics

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 2, 2024) The Houston Dash acquired up to $35,000 from Portland Thorns FC for midfielder Sophie Hirst, both teams announced today. Houston will receive $25,000 in allocation money from Portland plus an additional $10,000 in intra-league transfer funds if certain performance metrics are achieved. 

  

Hirst was drafted by the Dash with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft from Harvard University. The midfielder appeared in 23 games for the team across all competitions. She made her professional debut on April 19 at Shell Energy Stadium against the Kansas City Current in the NWSL Challenge Cup. She scored her first goal for the team on June 3, 2023, in a 2-0 victory over the Orlando Pride at Shell Energy Stadium. 

  

The midfielder finished with 60 career appearances and 56 starts in four seasons at the collegiate level for Harvard. Hirst also tallied 10 goals and recorded 12 assists throughout her collegiate career and earned Academic All-Ivy honors in her final two seasons.