BY DENNIS SILVA II | DENSILVA2@GMAIL.COM

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football ranks Katy High in a tie for 18th overall on its 2020 Texas high school football program rankings released this weekend.

DCTF, in conjunction with PigskinPrep.com’s Jerry Forrest, ranked every high school football program based on relative strength over the course of the last six seasons.

Why six? As DCTF explains: “A six-year sample provides a steady measure of a program as opposed to an individual squad — six years represents one-and-a-half graduation cycles, mitigating the impact of a single transcendent class of athletes. In short: good programs have great teams one or two years, but great programs have great teams spread across a larger swath of time, like six years.”

The rankings are based on criteria ranging from games won to winning percentage to the number of state championships won and the number of state championship game appearances. It also factors in the number of 10-win seasons over that respective period of time; in this case, from the 2014-2019 seasons.

Katy High tied with Mason for 18th; though it ranked fourth overall among Class 6A programs, behind Allen, North Shore and Lake Travis. The Tigers are 75-9 over the last six seasons with six 10-win seasons, two state final appearances and a state title (2015).

During that span, Tigers coach Gary Joseph became the fastest high school coach to win 200 games.

“Our coaches and myself, and my dad (the late great Eddie Joseph), have always talked for a long time that it’s not about me, it’s about our kids,” Joseph said. “We’ll keep our kids first and foremost in everything we do. Hopefully we can give them an opportunity to be successful.”

In all, DCTF ranked 1,189 programs. Those ranked included all classifications and all teams that played varsity football over the last six seasons, which, for instance, means Paetow is not included in the rankings.

Aledo, a Class 5A, Division II, power, is ranked No. 1 overall, with a 90-5 record the last six seasons and four state championships in five state title game appearances to go with six 10-win seasons.

Here’s how DCTF ranks the other six Katy ISD programs.

>> Cinco Ranch (ranked No. 359): 40-28 record, 1 10-win season.

>> Taylor (ranked No. 446): 42-30 record.

>> Tompkins (ranked No. 479): 26-39 record, 2 10-win seasons.

>> Seven Lakes (ranked No. 704): 28-33 record.

>> Morton Ranch (ranked No. 740): 27-34 record.

>> Mayde Creek (ranked No. 1022): 18-43 record.