High School

Cardae Mack, Atascocita rout Katy in ranked Texas high school football shootout

Mack, 4-star running back-converted QB, shines in back-and-forth tilt between Houston area powers

Andy Buhler

Atascocita running back Cardae Mack runs against North Shore during a Texas high school football showdown in 2023.
Atascocita running back Cardae Mack runs against North Shore during a Texas high school football showdown in 2023. / Photo by Tom Dendy, SBLive

Cardae Mack, a four-star running back, moved under center to play quarterback for Atascocita for the 2024 season, which formed one of the most dangerous Texas high school football's most explosive backfields.

Two weeks in, they've been nothing short of that.

Mack, the nation's No. 19 running back in 2026 (Rivals) who rushed for 1,370 yards and 21 TDs as a sophomore, threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another along with 119 yards on the ground as No. 7 Atascocita pulled away from No. 12 Katy, 41-24, on Friday night.

The Eagles (2-0) held Katy junior Traymayne Hill to under 100 yards on 22 carries. Hill, who ran for 1,386 yards as a sophomore, opened the season with a 121-yard, four-touchdown debut at Dickinson.

Katy jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 17-yard rushing TD by Hill and Gunner Nelson's 27-yard pass to Cade McCall.

Mack responded in the second by connecting with CJ Toney for consecutive touchdown passes of 33 and 27 yards. Giovanni Moreno booted a 25-yard field goal to give Katy a 17-14 lead at half.

Atasocita struck back early in the third quarter. Mack found 6-foot-6 receiver Broderick Malone over the top of the defense for an 80-yard touchdown and Atascocita reclaimed a 20-17 lead.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mack rushed for another score and Oklahoma commit Tory Blaylock ran in two more touchdowns to help the Eagles pull away.

Atascocita hits the road to Austin to face No. 4 Westlake in Week 3. Katy plays Morton Ranch.

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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx

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Andy Buhler
ANDY BUHLER

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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