How the Tigers advanced through the playoffs:

Bi-district: Katy 77, Westside 0

Deondrick Glass rushed for four first-half touchdowns as Katy breezed to a 77-0 bi-district win. The Tigers held Westside to just 87 total yards, intercepting four passes – returning one for a touchdown - and also returning a fumble for a score.

The shutout win was Katy’s fifth straight and eighth on the season. Glass finished with 149 yards rushing on just nine carries. Katy attempted just eight passes in the game.

Area: Katy 59, Cypress Ranch 20

A huge second half carried Katy past Cypress Ranch in an area playoff game. After falling behind 10-0, Cy Ranch scored twice to take a 13-10 lead before Katy settled down and regained control.

Cy Ranch cut Katy’s lead to 24-20 early in the third quarter, but the Tigers scored the game’s final 35 points and coasted home despite allowing a season-high in points. Cy Ranch became the first team to score more than eight points against the Tigers’ vaunted defense.

The Tigers got second half scores from Deondrick Glass (twice), Kyle Porter, Tony Mullins and JC Angulo to pull away. Glass and Porter combined for 358 of Katy’s 413 rushing yards on the night.

Regional Semifinal: Katy 66, Friendswood 0

Katy’s defense gets its ninth shutout of the season, holding Friendswood to just 89 total yards and six first downs while cruising to a 66-0 win.

Kyle Porter rushed for three scores and the Tigers had three scoring plays of at least 68 yards in the win, which drew great scrutiny after the fact.

UIL decision

Katy's most tense playoff moment came in a Round Rock meeting room, not a football field.

Late in Katy’s win over Friendswood, the Tigers administration realized that a player who had recently transferred – legally – to the school participated in the game before waiting the mandatory 15 days from his enrollment date. Katy self-reported the violation to the University Interscholastic League, which held an emergency hearing the following Thursday. In an hour-long hearing, Katy officials outlined the error and asked that the UIL not disqualify the team from the playoffs for the administration’s oversight. In acknowledging Katy’s violation, the UIL Executive Committee exercised a mercy rule, keeping the Tigers in the playoffs by a 3-0 vote after ruling that the violation was accidental and without intent. Katy was placed on a year’s probation.

Regional final: Katy 35, Manvel 17

High-scoring Manvel proved no match for the Tigers’ defense and Katy cruised into the state semifinals for the fourth straight year. Kyle Porter scored three of his five touchdowns in the opening quarter as Katy jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back.

Manvel closed to within 28-17 on an 80-yard touchdown pass from D’Eriq King to Sean Dykes but never got closer despite intercepting Katy quarterback Garrett Doiron twice. Porter rushed for 212 yards to lead the Tigers.

Semifinal: Katy 38, Steele 0

Katy registers its 10th shutout in 15 games, blanking Steele 38-0 to reach the state championship game for the fourth straight year.

Playing without injured quarterback Xavier Martin, Steele doesn’t gain a second-half first down against the Tigers’ suffocating defense, which also came up with a touchdown when JoVanni Stewart forced a fumble and returned it 21 yards.