Teams to watch: The Woodlands is staking claim to the top of 6A this season

[caption id="attachment_26257" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Jay Stevens Photo by Jay Stevens[/caption] Great teams earn respect. The Woodlands entered the season ranked outside the top 15 in Class 6A. Seven weeks into the season, The Woodlands is now a top five team threatening to claim a state championship. And the bad news for Region II and beyond is head coach Mark Schmid still sees room for improvement despite a 6-0 start where the Highlanders are outscoring opponents 252-93. “The secondary is still new. Those guys are now veterans of multiple weeks this season and getting better. We need them to get better,” Schmid said. “Our offense is a work in progress. Eric (Schmid), our quarterback, is in his second year as the starter. He understands more and more of the offense and we can still get better and improve on that side of the ball.” The Woodlands is steadily improving and building the best resumé in Class 6A. The Highlanders began the year with a three-point win over Cy Fair before blowing out Spring, Katy, George Ranch and Lufkin. Schmid’s squad beat George Ranch and Katy – two defending state champions – by a total of 66-17. In the district opener against Lufkin, The Woodlands scored 63 points. “I’m pleasantly surprised with how well we’ve played. There have been moments this year that have surprised and impressed me with this team. We’ve played really good opponents and our guys have taken each one seriously and head on,” Schmid said. “We were not very clean against Cy Fair, but we showed resiliency. We played like a veteran team against Katy.” The Katy win woke up the state. The Tigers might not be the historic power they were en route to a 2015 Class 6A Division II championship, but it is still Katy. Holding the Tigers to three points was more impressive than scoring 26 on the Katy defense. It also sparked belief in the locker room. “We have history with Katy so I was happy we came away with a home win. We play those guys every year. Our players know what it means to beat them, but it won’t define our season. It is a great barometer to see where you’re at and where you need to improve,” Schmid said. “Katy’s success makes it a big deal to beat them and that’s a credit to that program. We know we defeated a good football team and I think, for us, it really confirmed we’re a good football team.” Any remaining doubt was ushered away by a 28-point road win against George Ranch and a district win over Lufkin. The Woodlands scored 63 and 72 points in those wins, respectfully. A blowout 72-7 win over Beaumont West Brook seemed to intensify the staggering run of results. The Woodlands faces Oak Ridge this week. A win would make the Highlanders 3-0 in district play with three games remaining in District 12-6A, but it's what they could do in the playoffs that has their stock rising more and more each week.

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