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One is adjusting to a new system under a new coach, while the other is preparing for it’s first ever varsity football season. However, both the Tomball Memorial Wildcats and Tomball Cougars are readying themselves for a move to District 22-4A.

The Tribune talked to both schools head coaches about the upcoming season and what fans can expect from both teams.

Tomball Cougars

Tomball High School welcomed Danny Ramsey as its new head coach earlier this year. Ramsey replaced Tommy Kaiser, who retired.

Ramsey comes to Tomball from Waco High, where he led them to the 4A playoffs the past two seasons.

“I’m from this area,” Ramsey said. “I graduated from Westfield High School and I have family all around this area. It was a family decision to come home.”

While the Cougars return several lettermen, Ramsey’s squad won’t be that experienced, as Tomball returns just three starters on both sides of the ball. That won’t stop the team from having some lofty goals, however.

“A lot of kids will be playing varsity for the first time,” he said. “Our goals will still be the same. I’d like to see us contend for a district championship, but that all depends on how much the kids are willing to sacrifice.”

“The kids are hungry and their motivation level is pretty high.”

Ramsey will run a number of formations on offense, while sticking to a spread option style of play. On defense Ramsey said the Cougars will look to attack out of a 3-4 set.

“We will run a lot of different looks at teams though,” he said.

Ramsey said that Drew Reynolds will be a top target at wide receiver, while Xavier Powell will once again handle the backfield duties at tailback.

Ramsey said he can’t wait for the season to start.

“We are really excited about this season,” he said. “Hopefully at the very least we can prepare our kids to become good and honest citizens along the way.”

Tomball Memorial Wildcats

Tomball Memorial head coach Finis Vanover is ready for the season to start. One year after the new school played a sub-varsity schedule in preparation for this season, the Wildcats are also ready for the lights of Friday nights.

“The deal last year was just to get them on the field and playing and it worked out well,” Vanover said. “But we’re ready to get out there and do it because Thursday nights just aren’t the same. We are ready for them to experience the crowds, the lights and the bands on a Friday night.”

The Wildcats, who went 7-3 at their top sub-varsity level last season, have two starting position battles still raging, according to Vanover.

Quarterback candidates Jared Seinkiewich and Jordan Peterson are battling for the starting position. The runner-up will still play at receiver this season, however.

“It’s a tremendous battle going on there between two great young men,” Vanover said.

At tailback Josh Williams and Payton Logan are fighting for the starting nod, though both will see time at the position.

“Those two are way ahead of others at that position,” Vanover said.

Vanover plans to run multiple offensive formations, but will still employ a run-first mentality where the pass plays off the run.

On defense Tomball Memorial will play an attacking, blitzing style.

“We will play man-to-man coverage and make things happen up front,” Vanover said.

He is looking to sophomore linebacker B.J. Catherman to lead the way on defense, along with defensive end Clay Jacobs.

Vanover said the teams goals are to win, bottom line.

“We expect to win and will play to win every time,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with our effort. It’s been a total buy-in by the kids and their parents and we are laying a great foundation here.”

It was a difficult foray into the world of Friday nights for the Tomball Memorial Wildcats, as they were hammered 37-0 by Magnolia West, Aug. 31.

The game started off with a bang for the Mustangs as they opened the game with a touchdown on the first play. The rest of the first quarter was a struggle for both teams, however and Magnolia West held a 6-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Mustangs put 13 more points on the board in the second quarter, before coming alive in the second half. Magnolia West head coach Shawn Bell said his team showed the early season rust after the big bang opening the game.

"Overall it took us a little while to get going after that first play," Bell said. "The kids adjusted and started playing well in the second half."

Magnolia West racked up 477 yards on total offense in the contest.

Mustang quarterback Brandon O'Neil was 3-4 passing for 110 yards and a touchdown, while Brady Bynum totaled 181 rushing yards on 22 carries. Kyle Crawford added 77 yards on eight carries, while scoring twice and Chris Nicholson ran for 72 yards and a score on just two carries. Receiver Zeke Bronson led the way with 117 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.

The Mustang defense stifled the Wildcat offense all night, holding them to 53 total yards.

Junior running back Josh Williams led Tomball Memorial with 46 yards on 11 carries.

Next up Magnolia West will host Stratford Sept. 7, at 7 p.m., while Tomball Memorial will travel to Galena Park for a 7 p.m. contest.

The Waller Bulldogs (1-1) ran over and around the Tomball Memorial Wildcats Sept. 14, rushing for 290 yards in the 42-22 victory.

Waller had an extra week to prepare for the Wildcats and it showed, as Colten Frisby ran for 125 yards on just eight carries, while Joeseth McDade added 90 yards on four carries.

Elijah Morrow was a duel threat rushing and receiving as he ran for 43 yards on four carries and had two catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

Tomball Memorial (0-3) continues to show their inexperience during their first year of varsity play, but have shown improvement every week. The Wildcats gained 278 yards of total offense, their best showing of the young season.

The Wildcats had a bye week, while the Bulldogs hosted Brenham Sept. 21. Results were not available at press time.

Magnolia           17

Bryan Rudder  20

Magnolia suffered another close defeat to a Brazos County opponent, falling 20-17 in a road contest at Bryan Rudder Sept. 14.

The Bulldogs watched in agony as Rudder hit a 22-yard field goal as the clock wound down to win the game.

Magnolia had raced out to a 17 point advantage by the end of the third period, thanks to some stout defense and a balanced offensive attack. Then the game fell apart in the final quarter.

Rudder kicker Colton Bayer hit a 25-yard field goal with just over seven minutes to play, cutting the Magnolia lead to 17-10. Rudder then tied it on a rushing score with a little more than three minutes to play.

The Bulldogs then tried to drive down the field, but quarterback Noah McGowan threw an interception with 27 seconds left to play, which Rudder returned 60 yards to set up the game winning field goal.

The Bulldogs (1-2) had a bye week before they host Huntsville Sept. 28 in their first district contest.

Magnolia West   7

Brenham           29

The Magnolia West Mustangs met a stifling defense in Brenham Sept. 14, falling to the state ranked Cubs 29-7.

The Mustangs could only muster 66 total yards of offense in the contest, while the defense allowed 155 yards rushing and 130 yards in the air

West’s only score came when Jeremy Jordan took a punt and weaved 68-yards for a touchdown.

The Mustangs (1-2) hosted Willis in their first district contest of the season Sept. 21. Results were not available at press time.

Tomball                      21

Katy Mayde Creek   31

A dreadful second quarter spelled doom for the Tomball Cougars Sept. 14, as they dropped their third straight game, this time to Katy Mayde Creek.

The Cougars fell behind 24-7 at halftime, allowing Katy Mayde Creek to score all 24 of their points in the second quarter. Mayde Creek added another touchdown early in the third quarter to go up 31-7.

Tomball’s defense tightened up after that, keeping Mayde Creek from the end zone and the Cougar offense came to light, scoring twice to make the game interesting.

The Cougar’s final score, a 48-yard strike from Drew Reynolds to Xavier Powell, cut the Mayde Creek lead to 10 points, with just more than nine minutes to play.

Tomball’s defense immediately forced a three-and-out from Mayde Creek, giving the ball back to their offense with 7:15 to play.

The Cougars then spent seven plays traveling into Mayde Creek territory, before penalties and an interception killed their hopes of clawing back into the game.

Tomball (0-3) had a bye week before they traveled to Ft. Bend Marshall for their first district contest Sept. 28.

After a 0-3 start in district play, the Waller Bulldogs headed into their contest against Bryan Rudder with a chip on their shoulder.

After a Rudder turnover to open the game, the Bulldogs quickly mounted a drive, topped off by quarterback Rhett Loewe's five-yard run for the score. Denny Garcia tacked on the extra point to go up 7-0.

After a Bulldog field goal on their next possession, Waller forced a three-and-out from the Ranger offense. The Bulldogs proceeded to march downfield, scoring on Colten Frisby's one-yard run to go up 17-0.

The defense held up and forced another punt by the Rangers. A booming punt took Race Mellman all the way back to his own 19-yard line as he caught the ball. After breaking a couple of tackles, a wall of blockers were set up for Mellman to get behind and he promptly raced down the sideline for an 81-yard return for a score.

A  Rudder score cut the lead to 23 -7, with just under two minutes to play in the half. The Bulldogs quickly answered the score with one of their own. Chris Wilkerson and Cole Geigley were opening up some nice running lanes while Colten Frisby ran for a 35-yard gain and Josh Cunningham powered his way for 26 more.  Loewe punched it in from there to cap the scoring for the first half with 28 seconds left and the score 30-7.

Rudder scored again with 1:03 left in the third quarter and Waller's Joeseth McDade scored twice in the fourth quarter, on runs of three and 17 yards respectively, to complete the scoring and a final score of 44-1, in favor of Waller.

The Waller Bulldogs hosted the Magnolia Bulldogs on Oct. 19, for Homecoming. Results were not available at press time.

Tomball             56
Spring Woods    0   
The Cougars rolled for their third straight win, blanking Spring Woods 56-0 Oct. 18.

Tomball running back Xavier Powell opened up the scoring with a 52-yard touchdown run and the Cougars never looked back. They raced to a 42-0 halftime lead before letting the backups play much of the second half.

Powell ended the night with 153 yards on just seven rushes and two scores.

Demetri Scott added 163 yards on the ground, while only running the ball three times. He also had two scores. Scott added 48 yards receiving and another touchdown to close out his dominant night.

The Cougars improved to 3-4 on the season and 3-1 in District 22-4A.

Tomball hosts Ft. Bend Ridge Point Oct. 26 in their homecoming contest.

Tomball Memorial   36
Spring Woods          33
The Tomball Memorial Wildcats grabbed their first varsity win in school history Oct. 12, defeating Spring Woods 36-33.

The Wildcats had a balanced offensive attack, with 253 yards rushing and 264 yards through the air. Running back Payton logan paced the rushing attack with two touchdown runs, while quarterback Jordan Peterson was 14-21 passing for 264 yards and two touchdown tosses.

The win gave Tomball Memorial its first win in history, improving to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in District 22-4A.

The Wildcats traveled to Ft. Bend Marshall Oct. 19. Results were not available at press time.

The Waller Bulldogs hosted Magnolia Oct. 19 in the annual Battle of the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs from Waller came out on top 31-21 in an important district battle.

Magnolia scored first as Damian Edwards found Jordan Turnbow from 27 yards out with a  little more than four minutes left in the first quarter.

Waller returned the favor and started a drive to get the ball down to the 1-yard line, before the end of the first quarter. After switching ends of the field, Rhett Loewe took the ball over the right side of the line to score. The extra point was good and the score was tied at 7-7.

Waller struck again with 5:20 left in the half on a well-executed throw and catch from Loewe to Christian Sowell for a 14-7 lead.

The defense played hard and kept Magnolia in check on the next possession and got the ball back to the offense with a little over three minutes to play. After a couple of plays, Joeseth McDade got the ball and broke free to score from 55 yards out with about a minute to play. The extra point was good and Waller claimed a 21-7 lead going into the locker room.

Magnolia came out in the third quarter and sustained a long drive that concluded with a 5-yard pass and score cutting their deficit to 21- 14.

Waller quickly answered with a drive that fell short of the goaline but came away with a Garcia 40-yard field goal to widen the margin to ten.

McDade then scored on a 23-yard run with 10:36 left in the game to go up 31-14.

Magnolia showed some fight, as they scored on their next possession for the final 31-21 margin.

Tomball Memorial    10
Ft. Bend Marshall    56
Tomball Memorial's rough introduction into the varsity world continued Oct. 19, just a week after earning their first victory in school history. The Wildcats fell to District 22-4A and undefeated Ft. Bend Marshall by a score of 56-10.

Tomball Memorial fell behind 28-7 in the first quarter, while Marshall never looked back.

Jordan Peterson led the Wildcat offense, going 5-11 passing for 72 yards and a 16-yard touchdown toss to running back Josh Williams.
Williams added 40 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Tomball Memorial traveled to Northbrook Oct. 25. The Wildcats fell 37-10. Stats were not available as of press time. The loss dropped Tomball Memorial to 1-7 on the year.

Magnolia Bulldogs    20
Willis                              6
The Magnolia Bulldogs secured their second win of the season, defeating Willis 20-6 Nov. 2 in a District 18-4A showdown.

The Bulldogs were paced by Sheyrome Harris, who ran 25 times for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Harris put the Bulldogs up late in the second half, on a 1-yard touchdown run with a little more than two minutes to play. The Woodman Nigh extra-point made in 7-0, in favor of Magnolia.

The Bulldogs added to their lead early in the third quarter, as Matt Hebert caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Darrian Edwards. The extra-point was missed, keeping the Bulldog lead at 13-0.

Willis drove down the field and scored, cutting the lead to 13-7, but Magnolia answered on their next drive.

The drive, which extended into the first few seconds of the fourth quarter, was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run from Noah McGowan, sealing the Bulldogs (2-7, 1-6 in district play) win.

The Bulldogs hosted Montgomery Nov. 9, in the final football contest of the season. Results were not available as of press time.

TB Memorial Wildcats     30
Ft. Bend Willowridge      27
The Tomball Memorial Wildcats squeaked out their second win in school history in dramatic fashion, scoring on a last second field goal by Christian Jugg to win 30-27 over Ft. Bend Willowridge Nov. 2.

The Wildcats raced to a big lead, before a small meltdown led to a deficit by the start of the fourth quarter.

Running back Josh Williams opened the scoring for Tomball Memorial, with a 3-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter. Williams followed that with a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Brandon Shoemaker then intercepted a Willowridge pass and returned it 72 yards for the score, putting Tomball Memorial up 21-0.

Willowridge began their comeback with a 73-yard kickoff return. They added three more scores in a row to take a 27-21 lead, headed into the final period.

Williams scored his third touchdown of the night, giving the Wildcats the chance to take the lead on the extra-point. Jugg's kick was blocked, however, keeping the score tied at 27.

After stopping Willow-ridge on their last possession of the game, Tomball Memorial began a wild final drive to get them inside the red zone with a few seconds remaining.
Jugg kicked the game winner from 21 yards out as time expired, giving the Wildcats an amazing come-from-behind victory.

Williams led the Wildcats with 258 yard rushing on an amazing 46 carries.

The win improved Tomball Memorial to 2-7 on the season and 2-4 in District 22-4A. The Wildcats played in-town rival Tomball Nov. 9. They fell 49-6 to their crosstown rivals. A full game recap will be in the next issue.

The Tomball Memorial Wildcats recently upended crosstown rival Tomball in basketball play. The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-2 lead and held on for the 50-48 overtime win. Pictured is Wildcat guard D.J. Thomas defending a shot by Tomball's Marqueese Grayson.

Memorial High School junior Josh Williams (left) and Head Football Coach Finis Vanover (second from left) represented the Wildcats as they received a second place trophy and plaque from the Touchdown Club of Houston for good sportsmanship on the playing field in the Class 4A division. A total of fifteen 4A football teams were announced as finalists, including the Tomball High School Cougars. The finalists were selected by area referees. They considered the actions of the players, coaches and extracurricular groups participating at the football game, as well as personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.  Pam Lovett (second from right), vice president of Comerica Bank and Eric Anderson (right), Fellowship of Christian Athletes, presented the award to Williams and Vanover.  

After defeating Spring Woods in an extra game to squeak into the playoffs for the first time in school history, the Tomball Memorial Wildcats shocked high school baseball fans by defeating Milby in the bi-district round of the Texas 4A playoff recently.

Behind some timely hitting and defense, the Wildcats eeked out a 6-5 win to open the best-of-three series against Milby.

Milby was able to get on the board first, plating two runs against Tomball Memorial starting pitcher Jared Sienkiewich. Sienkiewich was able to battle while not having his best stuff, as the Wildcat bats were able to keep pace with Milby.

Sienkiewich left the game with the Wildcats up 6-5 and Dylan Murrell was able to close the door, sealing the win with a 1-2-3 inning.

Milby traveled to Tomball for the second and what would be final game of the series.

Both teams could not push across a run in the first two innings, but Milby broke through after Wildcats starter Kyle Larson drilled their leadoff hitter, who eventually advanced and scored on a two-out single.

The Wildcats answered in the bottom half of the third, however, by loading the bases. They would tie the game on a wild pitch and eventually broke it open with a two-run single by Brady Kainer. Kainer later scored on an error, giving Tomball Memorial a 4-1 lead.

The Wildcats were able to extend the margin to 9-1 by the last inning, before Milby attempted a furious comeback.

A couple of base hits forced Larson out of the game and reliever Brandon Shoemaker was tagged with three quick runs. Some steller defense helped the Wildcats end the rally, as Sienkiewich made a great throw from center field to home plate, catching the runner off guard, who was eventually tagged out in a rundown.

Lefty pitcher Michael Cugini entered the game and promptly struck out the Milby batter to secure the win for Tomball Memorial.

The series win pushes the Wildcats to the area round of the playoffs, where they faced Galveston Ball in a best-of-three games series. The Wildcats were downed in two straight and were eliminated from the playoffs. Look for a full recap in the May 20 edition.

Tomball Memorial High School Silver Stars drill team practiced their routines in preparation for the upcoming football season. During the summer, the Stars officers attended a dance camp where they learned new choreography and leadership skills. A total of 41 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors participate on the Silver Stars drill team.