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Cougar football off to a promising start
By Alexandria Brewer
One yard down with a flashing zero on the clock, the crowd was yelling at for the Cougars to finish the game, which had gone into overtime 35-35 against the Clear Lake Knights. The win was in sight….but was soon out of view in the span of one yard.
The game started out with a Cougar touchdown on the first play. Colby Usher Bryant scored on a 98 yard kickoff return. Michael Betancur nailed the extra point and later added a field goal to end the first quarter with Kempner, leading 10-7. The second quarter was less thrilling with many short plays and very little movement between the two teams. However, each team gave great effort and scored points for their school. Kempner ended the second quarter on a knee with the score 19-14 with the Cougars still leading the charge.
After a beautiful half-time show by Brigade and the Cougar Marching Band performing Heroes, the third quarter started with a yellow flag to Kempner, allowing the Knights to score a touchdown. However, the Cougars pushed back and scored three more points to bring the end of the third quarter to a score of Cougars 22- Knights 20.
The big play came at the start of the fourth quarter as Kempner ran over 70 yards to score a touchdown. The Knights kept pushing to tie the game (35-35) sending the game to overtime.
This is where we began with the score tied and Kempner one small yard from victory and the whistle is blown with a Kempner touchdown by Nic Anderson, however with a missed extra point the Knights got the ball and capitalized to steal the victory.
However, the players fought with all they had, making runs, plays and touchdowns until the last possible second. The Cougars have a 1-1 record after opening the season with a 34-14 victory over Pasadena Rayburn last Saturday. The Cougars dominated against Rayburn with six different players scoring touchdowns including an opening 75 yard touchdown run by Brendan Nagel.
The team will seek another win this Thursday at 6 p.m. as they face off with Clements at Mercer Stadium.
Cougars Fall One Touchdown Short against Travis Tigers
Anderson notches second five touchdown game in a week
By Alexandria Brewer
Winning the previous game against Clements, 47-41 gave the Cougars hope as the faced off the Travis Tigers this past Thursday, September 18th. However, the Tigers pulled off a trick play to steal the victory 50-43.
The team started off in high spirits as many students, parents and teachers showed up to watch, despite the rainy weather. That motivation quickly resulted in a touchdown two plays in by Jalin Bolden Scott.
The game just got better as Brendan Nagel caught a beautiful pass, allowing Kempner to advance over 40 yards. Travis fought back to tie things up but the Nic Anderson attack unleashed-his first touchdown of five for the night to give Kempner a 14 -7 lead to end the first quarter.
The Cougars started the second quarter off strong, stopping Travis’ extra point and scoring two more touchdowns, both by Anderson the last with 59 seconds on the clock. But Travis clawed back with a kickoff return for a 28-28 half-time tie.
The half-time show gave us a peek of the future Cougar band as the our band joined with the Sugar Land Middle School band and played their hearts out. The dance team’s showcased their talents and the band ended with the fight song to get everyone pumped for the second half of the game.
The Cougs fought hard in the third quarter, as the boys kicked off and worked their way to two more touchdowns by Anderson to complete his second five touchdown game in a row. However, the Tigers pushed back and tied the third quarter, 43-43.
The final quarter was a hard run as the rain picked up and the Cougs fought to win the game. However the Tigers seem to take the lead with 50 to Kempner 43, ending with a block by the Tigers with 20 seconds on the clock allowing Travis to win the game.
KHS record is now 2-2.
The game was full of ups and down as the pushed their limits. While they didn’t win, they showed team work and perseverance on the field and also served as an example on how to embrace our school motto, “I am KHS.”
The Cougars will face off with Alief Elsik this Saturday at 6 p.m. at Mercer Stadium. The Rams enter the contest undefeated and their attack is a running game lead by junior EJ Davis.
Workhorse (above) Nic Anderson picks up yardage. He has been the go to man for the Cougars all season and he has notched ten touchdowns in last two games.
Kempner Tennis Produces a Racket of Success
By Priya Pai
Kempner’s tennis team is no stranger to victory, but this fall season has surpassed any of their previous achievements. The team contained a host of exceptional players this season, who have certainly helped the team reach immense success.
The fall season is played in a team format with the teams playing each school in the district with a total of 19 matches. Kempner ended this season with a record of 8 and 1 overall and 6 and 1 in the district.
On October 7th and 8th, the Kempner tennis team made history winning the District Championship against Austin High School.
“We are enjoying the sweet taste of victory for the first time because of their hard work, and it feels really good,” Coach Alexander said.
Since Austin had no losses and Kempner had one, Kempner had to defeat them in order to win the district title. The match was extremely close with Kempner winning 10 matches to 9. The match was tied at nine matches a piece when they had to stop playing due to the sunset. The next day, sophomore Jennifer Duong clinched the match with a three set victory.
“It felt really amazing to win because for once I felt like I actually accomplished something in my life that everyone was proud of,” freshman Jennifer Duong said. “I am so grateful to have met and be a part of the Kempner tennis team family.”
After the district championship, the Kempner tennis team advanced to Area where they beat Friendswood 10-5 on Thursday, October 23rd. The next morning, Kempner lost a tough match to Clear Brook by 10-6 and thus missed the opportunity to advance to the regional round of playoffs.
Although facing the defeat at Area, the team displayed camaraderie and teamwork that earned them their other successes this season. The team also has a strong group of players who put in a lot of work and sport unfaltering determination.
“A lot of us have worked pretty hard and we had an opportunity that is pretty hard to come across, and our coaches pushed us through,” junior Akhil Jonnalagadda said.
Ankur Patel lead the senior boys at #1 this season, combined with Julian Chiu to make an unbeatable team, who went undefeated in district in Boys doubles. Preethi Srinivasan and Lucy Li also went undefeated in Girls Singles.
Senior Himani Patel finished her 4th season of team tennis winning both matches against Austin at #2. Another player to look out for is Sneha Karnam who Coach Alexander expects good things from in the spring season.
“It’s nice to see that all of our hard work has paid off, and especially for the seniors, the district championship was like the final cherry on top,” senior Dinda Aryaputri said. “Being part of it and cheering the whole team on was a memory I will never forget.”
Cougars primed for playoffs
contunied from front page
In game two against Austin, Tanner Schuetz propled his team to victory with two doubles. He has been an offensive leader all season and in March was named D-BAT 6A Hitter of the week.
Clements defeated Travis in the first playoff game to determine places Saturday and the Cougars original game time was pushed back over an hour adding to their desire to get things done with prom starting at 8 p.m. A Cougar loss would have meant they have to play again but no worries the Cougars took care of business wrapping things up at 7:30.
The senior laden squad returns to the playoffs after a year absence and hopes to continue the rich playoff history of Kempner baseball. Prior to last season the Cougars had made six straight playoff appearances including Region Semifinalist in 2012.
The Cougars success has hinged on having the best pitching staff in the state according to Coach Folkerts. KHS’ main aces this year have been Oklahoma signee Connor Berry and UTSA signee Patel. Panalez , Tekrouri, Jones and Schuetz have also pitched this season. Offensively, Schuetz (San Jacinto signee), Patel, Anderson (Corpus Christi signee), Gutierrez who graduates next year but has already committed to Texas A&M and Hancock have been consistent leaders at the plate.
“This is a very cohesive group, they have fun and will work,” Coach Folkerts said, “I expect us to be in the final game of the year.”
Clements Game One – 13-10 WIN
The Cougars scored early and often to hold a 10-3 lead into the sixth over the Rangers in their first District game of the season. Clements tried to mount a comeback scoring seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings but the Cougars add three more runs of their own in the sixth and they prevailed with the win. Cougars bats were hot with 11 hits lead by Hancock with three hits, Schuetz with two RBIs and Gutierrez with 3RBIs. Patel was a force on mound with 14 K’s and added two key hits at the plate.
Clements Game Two- 3-2 LOSS
After being down three runs in the first inning the Cougars settled down matching the Rangers inning for inning. In the fifth inning, Anderson and Desoto walks and a Bailey Alcorn hit resulted in two runs but that all the Cougars could muster falling just short.
Travis Game One- 15-4 WIN
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning but that did not last long as the Cougars broke out the sticks and notched 12 hits and scored runs in every inning- capped by four runs in the seventh to dominate the game. Patel and Schuetz both had big games with two RBIs each and shutdown the Tigers from the mound as well.
Travis Game Two-3-2 WIN
The Cougars took a 3-0 lead into sixth before Travis started to claw back with a run in both the sixth and seventh innings but they fell just short. Hancock aided the victory with two hits while Desoto had two key walks and Schuetz added an RBI.
Elsik Game One- 13-3 WIN
The Cougars jump out to a quick 8-0 lead with a three run first and a five run second inning before Elsik scored three runs. But the KHS bats continued to explode with 15 hits and Panalez shined on the mound. KHS coasted to victory with Jones having a big day at the plate with three hits and three RBIs while Gutierrez and Schuetz also had three RBIs. Desoto also connected for three hits and Bailey Alcorn drew two key walks.
Elsik Game Two-13-0 WIN
KHS had Elsik’s number again three days later as Patel and Tekrouri combined for the shutout and only allow one hit the entire game. The Cougar’s offensive barrage consisted of 12 hits and was led by Anderson’s two hits and three RBIs. Gutierrez also knocked in three runs while Desoto and Schuetz had two hits each.
Hastings Game One-6-1 WIN
Behind the commanding 14 K performance of Berry on the mound the Cougars added another victory. Patel, Jones, Desoto and Deleon all had two hits to lead the offense.
Hastings Game Two-17-0 WIN
Three days later the Cougars unleashed their offensive prowess in full strength for a dominating 17-0 shutout win over Hastings. Panalez only allowed Hastings two hits and the Cougar bats exploded for a 15 run second inning. The offensive explosion included 3 RBIs from Anderson and Gutierrez while Patel had two RBIs and Hancock connected for two hits.
Dulles Game One- 3-2 LOSS
The Cougars out hit the Vikings 7-3 but could not bring their runners in leading to the end of their six game winning streak. Patel had 11 K’s from the mound but the Cougars trailed 3-1 headed into the seventh. The Cougars added a run in the seventh but fell short of victory.
Dulles Game Two-3-2 WIN
Both teams came to battle in game two. The first inning saw two runs from each team and they matched each other’s play inning for inning until the seventh. Berry cooled the Vikings bats with 11 strikeouts and Patel came through in the seventh to knock in the winning run.
Taylor Game One-14-2 WIN
The Cougar’s potent offense struck again for a dominating victory over Taylor. A second inning nine run attack gave the Cougars the momentum and they never looked back. Deleon got things rolling with a two run single and Anderson delivered a two run triple. Gutierrez came through with a RBI double and Jones had a sac fly and Patel had a RBI single. The bats unloaded again in the fifth as the Cougars added five runs. Gutierrez’s double highlighted the inning and scored Anderson, Logan Dusek and Schuetz.
On the mound Panalez and Jones limited Taylor to three hits .
Taylor Game Two- 10-0 WIN
KHS pitchers Patel and Tekrouri bought their best stuff to the mound against Taylor the result-a combined no-hitter. The Cougar offense equaled their performance with 12 hits including an explosive six run fourth inning. Jones knocked in the first run of the inning then Schuetz delivered a three run homer and Justice Brown ripped a RBI double. A wild pitch scored the sixth run of the inning. The Cougars entered the fourth with a 4-0 lead.
Hightower Game One-10-0 WIN
The Cougars jumped out to a seven run lead in the first two innings and cruised to a 10-0 shutout victory over Hightower. Early scoring included a 2 run RBI single by Schuetz, a RBI single by Gutierrez, an error, a wild pitch and a RBI single by Jones. Berry left the Hurricanes powerless only allowing two hits , one walk and no earned runs while striking out six in four innings.
Hightower Game Two -11-1 WIN
The Cougars started off scoring in the first and never let up adding one run every inning before closing out the last two innings with seven runs to defeat Hightower 11-1. Homeruns by Schuetz, Deleon and Jones highlighted the action with Schuetz also turning in a perfect day at the plate. Gutierrez also stepped up with four RBIs including a two run single to ignite a five run rally in the sixth inning. Patel notched the win pitching four shutout innings and striking out nine.
Austin Game One-6-4 LOSS
The pressure was on as the Cougars entered the final week of district action they had to win their final two games to claim first place outright. So they went straight to work jumping out a 2-0 lead in the first inning with homeruns from Desoto and Schuetz. In fourth inning the Cougars added two more runs as Hancock homered for a 4-0 lead. But the Bulldogs did not give up scoring one run in the fifth inning before a big five run sixth inning to steal the victory.
Austin Game Two-5-1 WIN
Having loss the first match the Cougars found themselves in position where they could fall from first all the way to fourth place in district if the lost the second game against Austin. But no worries a Schuetz and Anderson doubles equaled a 5-1 victory. Schuetz doubled in both first and second innings. In the first inning a Hancock single scored two runs. Then in the second inning Anderson doubled to plate Deleon and Schuetz doubled to score Anderson to up the Cougar lead 4-0. The Cougars added a run in the third and held off the Bulldogs until seventh when they scored their only run on a solo homer. Patel earned the win with 14 strikeouts. The win advanced the Cougars to Saturday’s playoff game to determine first place.
Playoff Path-14-3
District Action
Ruben Hancock comes through with a two run single in the first inning of the 5-1 victory over Austin.
Cougs defeat Brazoswood
Contunied from front page
Deleon connected with a two run single and Nick Anderson did as well to propel the Cougars to victory.
Karen Patel earned the win with six strikeouts over seven innings alowing three hits and three walks.
The Cougars now face what many claim to be their toughest test on the playoff road to Round Rock. Pearland finished second in district 22-6A with a 13-3 record and were state semi-finalists in 2014.
