By Michael Sudhalter
msudhalter@fortbendstar.com
One of the most exciting developments for The Star was the implementation of a sports section in August.
We did our best to cover local sports through The Star, as well as our Twitter account, ftbendathletics, and our Facebook page, “Fort Bend Star.”
With the help of local coaches, we were able to determine some of the athletic highlights from January through July.
The Star is looking forward to another great year of sports coverage.
1. Clements wins state boys soccer title
Winning a regional or district championship is difficult enough, but becoming a state championship equals an exceptional performance.
In April, the Clements High boys soccer team defeated Coppell, from the Dallas area, 3-0, to claim the Class 5A Championship – the program’s first state championship in just its second state appearance.
Santiago Padruno was named the game’s Most Valuable Player and is now a freshman on the Central Methodist University men’s soccer team in Fayette, Mo. Clements finished 23-2-3 on the season.
The Fort Bend Christian Volleyball and Softball teams, and the Fort Bend Homeschool Chargers Six-Man football team finished second in their respective bids for a state championship.
2. The Rise of Ridge Point
Ridge Point dominated football and volleyball in Fort Bend ISD during the fall of 2014.
The Sienna Plantation-based school, which opened in the fall of 2010, had the Houston area’s Top Class 5A football team.
The Panthers had a dominant defense and defeated Elkins, 30-21, in a battle of undefeated 5A-23 teams.
They advanced to the regional semifinals last month where they lost to Temple High, 38-35, on a field goal with four seconds remaining. Temple lost to Aledo, 49-45, in the state championship game on Dec. 21.
Like the RP football team, the Ridge Point volleyball team also made school history by reaching the regional semifinals.
The Panthers went undefeated in 5A-23 competition but fell to A&M Consolidated in the regional semifinals.
3. Sugar Land Skeeters – on and off the field
Two thousand and fourteen was an eventful year for the Sugar Land Skeeters.
The third-year franchise began the season with seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady as a member of its pitching staff.
McGrady retired from baseball after registering his first career strikeout in the Skeeter’s “Y’All Star Game” – the city’s first professional baseball All-Star Game, which was played before a sold-out crowd at Constellation Field.
The Skeeters led the Atlantic League in attendance and finished in the Top 10 in attendance for all of minor league baseball.
They reached the Atlantic League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history, falling to Lancaster in three games.
After all of that, local businessman Bob Zlotnik, who owned approximately a third of the franchise from when it started, purchased it outright from Maryland-based Opening Day Partners. Zlotnik promised to boost an already-strong product in 2015.
4. Stafford’s right on track
The Stafford High boys track team repeated as area champions after winning its first-ever district championship. The Spartans finished third (out of 53 schools) at the regional championships and had freshman Hezekiah Jones finish third in the 200 meter dash (21.53) at the state meet. The Spartans’ 4×200 boys and 4×400 girls also qualified for state.
Jones, a sophomore by the football season, helped lead the Spartans to an 8-4 record and a trip to the second round of the UIL Class 4A playoffs.
5. Football stars rise
From Thurman Thomas to Bralon Addison, Fort Bend ISD is known for some of the best football talent in the Houston area.
The 2014 spotlight focused on Marshall High cornerback Kendall Sheffield and Elkins High quarterback Jonathan Giles.
Sheffield, who overcame early season injuries to lead the Buffaloes to the 5A playoffs, will compete in the ESPN Under-Armour All-American Game on Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla. at which point he’ll announce his college choice to the world. Sheffield, ESPN’s top-rated prep cornerback, has received scholarship offers from nearly every major college football program.
Giles led Elkins to the third round of the playoffs as a junior in 2013 and committed to Texas Tech in 2014.
He led the Knights to a 10-2 record and the first round of the playoffs. His highlights included thrilling come-from-behind victories over A&M Consolidated and Marshall, respectively.
Giles said he plans to play wide receiver at Tech, because it gives him a better chance of reaching the NFL.
6. More Volleyball Success…
Ridge Point may have been the most visible prep volleyball team in the area, but they weren’t the only teams to enjoy success on the court last season.
Austin High was the undefeated champion of the newly-created 6A-23, and the Bulldogs advanced to the regional quarterfinals for the first time in more than a decade. They lost to Clear Creek in a hard-fought five game match.
Bush High qualified for the volleyball playoffs for the first time in the school’s 14-year-history. They competed well, but fell to George Ranch, 3-0, in a first round match.
7. Turnaround stories
Sports fans love a good underdog story, but a turnaround story is even better.
The newly-created 6A-23 district had two such stories on the football field this season.
The Hightower High football team – a perennial power for much of its existence, was rebuilding from the ground up.
The Hurricanes opened the season at 0-3, with shutout losses in two of its first three games.
Against most predictions, Hightower won its last seven games to claim a district championship, before dropping a thriller to Friendswood in the opening round of the 6A playoffs.
Travis High, two years removed from a trip to the third round of the playoffs, finished 3-6 in 2013 and few outside the Tigers locker room expected them to reach the postseason.
Travis opened with an 0-2 record but bounced back to finish third in district. They were significant underdogs in a playoff opener against Clear Creek but overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat the Wildcats. They lost to Manvel in the second round.
8. Rise of local sports brands
The arrival of the Sugar Land Skeeters in 2012 signaled the beginning of a trend.
The Sugar Land Legends of the American Basketball Association (ABA) debuted in 2013 but played their home games across the county line at Houston Baptist University.
This season, the Legends settled in at Fort Bend ISD’s Wheeler Fieldhouse, and the team coached by Calvin Murphy Jr., was undefeated at press time.
Just across the parking lot from the Legends is the home of the top hockey team in the Houston area.
The Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center served as the training center for the Houston Aeros, a top level affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
When the Aeros moved to Iowa, the rink’s owners decided to start an amateur junior hockey team – the Sugar Land Imperials made up of hockey players, ages 16-to-21.
Imperials coach Jarod Palmer is a former player for the Wild and Aeros, and the team represents the highest level of hockey played in Greater Houston.
Both franchises have made an effort to engage local residents and businesses.
9. Houston Homecomings
Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes (Austin) and Cincinnati Bengals safety George Iloka (Kempner) returned to the Houston area to face the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
Hughes’ Bills fell short and will miss the playoffs, but Iloka’s Bengals won in Houston. Iloka hopes to lead Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl appearance in 26 years this winter.
10. Elkins grad goes back to NLCS
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter, an Elkins High alum, went back to the National League Championship Series, but this time, the Cardinals lost to eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants.
Carpenter, who played on the Cardinals’ World Series Championship team in 2011, was selected to the National League All-Star Team for the second straight season.
