Quick take
SHENANDOAH — Few teams in the Greater Houston area are playing better all-around football at the moment than Willis.
Willis, ranked No. 17 in Class 6A in the state, bolstered its 2023 résumé Thursday evening with a 56-17 rout of College Park at Woodforest Bank Stadium.
The Wildkats are 7-0 overall, 5-0 in 13-6A. More important: Willis handed College Park (3-3, 3-1 13-6A) its first loss in district play and now stands alone as one of only two undefeated teams left in 13-6A along with The Woodlands.
“I love everything about the way our guys are playing,” Willis coach Trent Miller said. “We came out a bit flat in the first quarter. I think that was the first time all season we did not score on our opening drive offensively. But I was proud of the way they responded. We needed a game where we got hit a bit in the mouth early because we haven’t been battle-tested all year.
“I was proud with how we responded. They didn’t get down, didn’t get negative. We answered offensively, got some big stops and then we didn’t let our foot off the gas.”
Coming off a win against Cleveland in which it set a program single-game record with 75 points, Willis, which leads 13-6A in total offense, defense, sacks and turnover margin, scored on special teams, offense and defense in the game’s first 16 minutes and outgained College Park 492-286 in total yards.
A feisty College Park team played admirably. But trailing by 14 with 2:05 left in the first half, Cavs first-year head coach Kyle Coats elected to go for it on 4th-and-2 from his own 41-yard line.
College Park fell short. Willis took advantage on a Daylion Robinson pitch from senior five-star quarterback and Florida commit D.J. Lagway for an 8-yard scamper and a three-score lead with 38 seconds left.
“That was a pivotal moment for us to go in (to halftime) with a three-score lead,” Miller said. “It gave us a chance to run our two-minute drill offensively for the first time all year. What was awesome was how our defense bowed their neck and got that stop. We executed and went into halftime feeling good.”
Highlights
Willis sophomore defensive back/receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr., the nephew of College Football Hall of Famer Michael Bishop, took the opening kickoff 92 yards for a score.
College Park quickly answered on a Jayden Ogoli 3-yard run before Willis gained separation it would never let up.
The Wildkats scored three times in about seven minutes of game time spanning the first and second quarters. Senior receiver DeBraun Hampton took in a 52-yard bomb from Lagway. Bishop caught an easy 3-yard strike in the left corner of the end zone. Junior linebacker De’Quentin Willis contributed a 33-yard interception return for a score.
The Cavaliers broke their drought with an Ogoli 1-yard run on a pitch from junior Kam Montgomery with 4:09 left in the second quarter. After a Lagway fumble on the following Willis drive recovered by junior linebacker Aidan Endicott, College Park chose to go for it on fourth down in its own territory to sustain momentum.
Instead, it flipped it.
Willis had the late score in the first half and opened the second half with game-sealing plays.
Bishop intercepted Montgomery on the Cavaliers’ first possession of the third quarter and Lagway capitalized by finding Hampton on a tight 10-yard strike and a 42-14 lead before the third quarter was even three minutes old.
“I feel like we haven’t touched our full potential yet,” Lagway said of a team winning by an average of 41.4 points per game. “I feel like we haven’t played our complete football yet but I do feel it’s going to happen at the right time. It’s coming. The offense is clicking and the defense is clicking.”
What it means
Willis is off to its third-best start ever. The Wildkats went 8-0-2 in 1971 and started 8-0 in 1962.
Willis is 2-2 all-time versus College Park and has won the last two meetings. The Wildkats won last year, 49-24.
Quotable
“Just keep a straight mind, keep a straight head and stay humble,” Bishop Jr. said on how Willis builds on yet another big win.
Game balls
Lagway was Lagway, completing 22 of 27 passes for 391 yards and five touchdowns to one interception.
Bishop scored on special teams and offense and collected an interception. He caught seven balls for 93 yards and a score.
Hampton had six receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior receiver Jalen Mickens had three catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Terri Lawrence III had seven carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Ogoli had 12 carries for 50 yards and two touchdowns for College Park. Montgomery completed 12 of 22 passes for 140 yards with two interceptions.
Sophomore defensive back Marco Beltran had an interception of Lagway in the first half. In all, College Park forced three Willis turnovers.
Up next
Willis hosts Caney Creek at 7 p.m. next Friday at Yates Stadium.
College Park plays The Woodlands at 7 p.m. next Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium.
