Houston high school football: Week 7 takeaways and top performers

Ja’Voris Taylor led North Shore’s dramatic comeback against Summer Creek, while Katy’s David Oluto-Judah continued his climb up the Tigers’ all-time interception list. Elsewhere, Atascocita’s Corbin Smejkal put together a historic passing performance, Yates continued its district dominance and Randle running back Landen Williams-Callis moved higher up the state’s all-time rushing leaderboard. A look at some of the Houston area’s top individual performances from Week 7:

Taylor emerging for North Shore

Strong quarterback play has always been a key element of success for the North Shore football program, and with a standout performance against Summer Creek on Friday, senior Ja’Voris Taylor is continuing that trend. Taylor completed 9-of-14 passes (64.3%) for 159 yards and two second-half touchdowns to help spur the Mustangs (7-0, 4-0) to a dramatic 28-27 victory and keep them unbeaten in District 17-6A. He also made a difference with his legs, rushing for a team-high 117 yards at 6.5 yards per carry. Trailing 21-7 in the third quarter, Taylor connected with Michael Camacho Jr. for a 29-yard touchdown to pull his team within one score. He then connected with Jaden Kendrick for a 60-yard touchdown and later helped orchestrate the game-winning drive in the final minutes.

“Coach always put us in situations like that in practice, so it just came natural,” Taylor said after the game. “We just played together, did everything we practiced and went down the field and scored.”

Oluto-Judah making Katy history

Katy had little trouble dispatching Morton Ranch on Thursday, rolling to a 69-6 victory to bolster its chances of clinching the District 22-6A title. The victory was highlighted, in part, by another standout performance from junior cornerback David Oluto-Judah, who corralled his sixth interception of the season. Oluto-Judah, a 6-foot-1 cornerback rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports, has 13 career interceptions in 18 games since bursting onto the scene as a sophomore last year. His interception against Morton Ranch moved him into a tie for second on the Tigers’ all-time list, alongside Isaiah Brown (2011-12) and Quinn Atwood (2011-12). He needs just two more to match Sy Slater (2012-14) for the program record of 15.

Smejkal shines for Atascocita

For the second time this season, a Houston-area quarterback has thrown eight touchdown passes in a single game. Atascocita junior Corbin Smejkal accomplished that rare feat during the Eagles’ 70-0 district win over winless Channelview on Friday night, completing 18-of-21 passes (85.7%) for 394 yards and averaging 18.7 yards per attempt. Smejkal recorded just the 12th eight-touchdown passing game in Houston high school football history. His total is tied for the third-highest single-game mark. Lake Creek junior Asher Ryan also reached that mark earlier this season, throwing eight touchdown passes against Cleveland. Smejkal is completing 61.3% of his passes and averaging 176.9 yards per game, with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season for the Eagles (4-3, 2-2), who are tied with Crosby for fourth place in District 17-6A.

Yates’ district dominance continues

Yates continued steamrolling through its district competition Friday with a 72-7 victory over North Forest, leaving the Lions as the only remaining unbeaten team in District 11-4A Division II play. Yates (5-1, 3-0) has outscored its district opponents 180-14 in three games under coach Jason Lewis, averaging 60 points per game. The Lions’ defense dominated against North Forest, allowing just 75 total yards and forcing six turnovers. Yates led 21-7 at halftime before scoring 42 points in the third quarter alone. Since the beginning of last season, the Lions are 11-0 in district play and have outscored their opponents 643-63, an average victory margin of 52.7 points. They have recorded five shutouts during that span.

Williams-Callis continues climb

Randle running back Landen Williams-Callis continued his climb through the Texas high school football record book Friday during the Lions’ 49-7 district victory over Iowa Colony. The five-star Texas commit rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries and added two catches for 44 yards and another touchdown. Williams-Callis now has 8,928 career rushing yards, moving past former Calallen standout Wes Danaher (8,855) for seventh place on the all-time list. The next two players in his sights are Seagraves’ Cory Kyle (9,561) and McAllen Memorial’s Trevor Speights (9,868), the last two players ahead of him before the 10,000-yard mark. Williams-Callis has extended his Houston-area career touchdown record to 154, which ranks third all-time behind Aledo’s Johnathan Gray (205) and Mount Enterprise’s Kaegan Ash (175). He needs 2,455 yards to break Ash’s state rushing record. Randle (6-0, 4-0) has games against Pasadena, Freeman, Angleton and Friendswood remaining before the playoffs.

Top performers

Brayden Tuiasosopo, QB, Manvel: Tuiasosopo was lights-out during the Mavericks’ 63-0 district win over Sam Rayburn on Thursday, completing 8-of-9 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 23 yards and two touchdowns on three carries and has now accounted for 15 total touchdowns this season.

Jeremiah Reid, RB, Angleton: Reid didn’t get many touches during the Wildcats’ 52-7 district win over Freeman, but he made the most of them. He finished with 181 yards and three touchdowns on six carries. He had a game-long run of 70 yards and averaged 30.2 yards per carry.

Conrad Bennett, RB, Memorial: Much like Reid, Bennett didn’t need many opportunities to make an impact. He rushed four times for 101 yards and a touchdown and also had a 65-yard touchdown catch during the Mustangs’ 56-0 district win over Westside. Bennett now has 18 touchdowns this season and 27 for his career.

Dustin Thompson, CB, Klein: Thompson played a key role in helping the Bearkats secure a 37-14 district victory over Klein Cain on Thursday, corralling two interceptions.

Sean Riegler, QB, Cy-Fair: Riegler led the Bobcats’ passing attack during a 49-14 district victory over Cypress Creek on Friday. The senior completed 16-of-23 passes for 316 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 19.8 yards per completion.

T.K. Gaines, QB, Waller: Gaines accounted for 386 total yards during the Bulldogs’ 73-48 district victory over Cypress Springs on Friday. The junior completed 12-of-23 passes for 303 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries.

Tavis Coleman, QB, Shadow Creek: Coleman threw five touchdown passes during the Sharks’ 59-13 district win over Pasadena Memorial. He completed 15-of-23 passes for 302 yards without an interception.

Micah Rhodes, RB, Klein Oak: Rhodes rushed for 193 yards and five touchdowns during the Panthers’ 59-3 district win over Klein Forest. He averaged 14.8 yards per carry, with a long run of 45 yards.

Sean Simon, RB, La Porte: Simon powered the Bulldogs to a 51-27 district victory over Port Arthur Memorial on Friday. The junior rushed for 340 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries, averaging nearly 11 yards per carry with a long run of 41 yards.

Drayden Bacon, RB, Huffman-Hargrave: Bacon rushed for 303 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Falcons to a 48-33 district victory over Bridge City on Friday. The senior averaged 11.2 yards per carry on 27 attempts. Dailen Bacon added 154 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Royce Swan, RB, Pearland: Swan helped the Oilers roll to a 59-7 district victory over Alvin on Friday. The junior rushed for 148 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, averaging 12.3 yards per carry with a long run of 47 yards.

Israel Collins, DE, Stafford: Collins helped the Spartans overwhelm Houston Austin during a 62-0 district victory Friday. The junior recorded four of Stafford’s seven sacks. Junior cornerback Denim Steed added two interceptions and two passes defended, while junior Aiden Seales also intercepted a pass.

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This article originally published at Houston high school football: Week 7 takeaways and top performers.