Convenience Big Store: Paetow's football coach resigns amid police investigation into alleged incident involving student

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A Houston football coach is being investigated for alleged inappropriate conduct with a student.

Paetow head football coach and campus athletic coordinator Lonnie Teagle has resigned from his position after an allegation of inappropriate conduct with a student. Katy ISD Police Chief Henry Gaw confirmed Tuesday there is an active investigation into Teagle's actions.

The district released a statement on the matter, saying, in part, "The Katy ISD Police has investigated an allegation concerning a former head football coach. The individual resigned during the inquiry and the case has since been referred to the Harris County District Attorney's Office."

Paetow is scheduled to play its next game against Cinco Ranch at 7 p.m. Friday at Rhodes Stadium.

For more on this developing situation, read our initial reporting and see how parents are reacting in Claire Goodman's follow-up story.

Three things to watch

Burkes, Pelfrey shine for Kingwood: Kingwood linebackers Cameron Burkes and Joshua Pelfrey have created a brotherhood on the football field. The seniors want to make sure this season is one they will not forget. The Mustangs (4-2, 2-1) are currently fighting for a playoff spot in District 21-6A and will take on No. 25 state-ranked Summer Creek (3-3, 2-1) on Friday night. Read Marcus Gutierrez's feature story on Burkes and Pelfrey here.

Battle for the top spot: One of the biggest games this week features No. 10 state-ranked Foster (6-1, 4-1) making a road trip to play Manvel (4-2, 3-1) tonight at Freedom Field. The winner of this game will remain atop the District 10-5A Division I standings. Foster has one of the most talented running backs in the Houston area with Ashton Ojiaku, who has 1,300-plus yards and 20 touchdowns. Can the Manvel defense slow him down and beat the Falcons for a third straight season? We will soon find out.

Huge Houston ISD showdown: It does not get much bigger than Booker T. Washington vs. Ebbert L. Furr this week. Of course, I'm talking about the high schools and their football teams, which will battle for District 11-4A Division I supremacy Saturday evening at Cowart Stadium. Washington is 6-0 (3-0 in district) and has outscored its opponents 320-46. Furr (5-1, 3-0), meanwhile, is riding a four-game winning streak and beat the Eagles handily last season, 40-19. We will have full coverage of the contest.

Read about all of the big matchups, view the full Houston-area schedule and check out our coverage plan below.

Thursday

Foster (6-1, 4-1) at Manvel (4-2, 3-1)
7 p.m. at Freedom Field – Jason McDaniel

Morton Ranch (5-2, 3-2) at Tompkins (4-2, 2-2)
7 p.m. at Rhodes Stadium – Jack Marrion

Friday

Deer Park (6-0, 2-0) at Pasadena Memorial (4-3, 2-1)
7 p.m., Veterans Memorial Stadium – Jason McDaniel

Brazosport (4-3, 2-1) at Stafford (5-1, 2-0)
7 p.m. at Stafford Municipal Stadium – Jack Marrion

Westside (2-5, 2-1) at Heights (3-3, 1-1)
7 p.m. at Delmar Stadium – Marcus Gutierrez

The Woodlands (6-2, 4-1) at College Park (3-3, 3-1)
7 p.m. at Woodforest Bank Stadium – Rob Tate

Tomball Memorial (3-3, 1-2) at Tomball (4-2, 3-0)
7:30 p.m. at Tomball ISD Stadium – Al Montaño

Saturday

Cypress Woods (4-2, 2-1) at Cypress Falls (4-2, 2-1)
1 p.m. Pridgeon Stadium – Al Montaño

Washington (6-0, 3-0) at Furr (5-1, 3-0)
7 p.m. at Cowart Stadium – Marcus Gutierrez

Magnolia (2-5, 1-4) at Kempner (0-6, 0-4)
6 p.m. at Mercer Stadium – Rob Tate

Follow all our coverage at houstonchronicle.com/highschoolsports.

Jon Poorman
High School Sports Editor
jpoorman@hcnonline.com

Athletes of the Week

Congratulations to Furr cross country runner Wendy Larraga, who was voted our girls Athlete of the Week. Larraga won the District 21-4A individual cross country title at North Forest High School, finishing the race at 14 minutes, 10.90 seconds. That time beat the rest of the field by nearly half a minute, and her victory helped Furr capture the team district title. Larraga and her Furr teammates will now compete at the regional meet.

Congratulations to Klein Collins running back Justin Castillo, who was voted our boys Athlete of the Week. Castillo rushed for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 22 carries during the Tigers' 61-49 victory over Tomball Memorial on Saturday. The senior ball carrier is averaging nearly 10 yards per carry this season and has helped Klein Collins to a 6-0 start.

Check out Monday's newsletter for the next polls. You can nominate athletes here. You can see the past nominees and winners for girls sports here, and you can see the past winners for boys sports here.

Football rankings

North Shore, Lake Creek, Bellville and St. Thomas are all back on top in our weekly staff football rankings. No surprise there. All four teams have been dominant this season and secured victories last week. But there was some movement elsewhere in the rankings.

Here's some of the top movers this week.

Stratford (5-1, 2-1)

The Spartans jumped two spots this week after a 52-7 thumping of Northbrook. Stratford has only lost once this season, falling to No. 8 Cy-Fair. The Spartans should be able to extend their winning streak to three games this week as they take on a winless Spring Woods team Friday.

The Woodlands (5-2, 4-1)

The Highlanders were also bumped up two spots following a 70-0 thrashing of Cleveland. Quarterback Mabrey Mettauer put on a show with six touchdowns before halftime. The Woodlands will take on crosstown rival College Park on Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium.

Dayton (5-1, 3-0)

The Broncos just keep winning, so it was hard to keep them out of the rankings any longer. Dayton rolled to a 49-0 victory over Galena Park last week and have won five consecutive games since dropping its season opener. The team has a big test Friday against Port Neches-Groves.

See the rest of the rankings.

Twitter poll

Washington and Furr have been on a collision course this season with matching 3-0 records in District 11-4A Division I action. The teams will finally meet on the field Saturday. We asked our Twitter followers which team they think will prevail in our Game of the Week poll. Cast your vote here and give us a follow if you haven't already.

Shout out

Keanu Dawes is staying home.

Dawes, a senior forward at Stratford, announced his verbal commitment to Rice, picking the Owls over Texas A&M, Utah and BYU.

The 6-foot-8, 201-pounder is ranked as the No. 23 power forward and No. 115 overall player in the country for the 2023 class, according to 247Sports. He is also the No. 9 overall player in the state of Texas. He holds 18 offers and had also considered Texas and Oklahoma State.

Stat of the day

Tomball senior running back Christian Womack is the leading rusher in District 15-6A with 1,210 yards. That total is more than what five other teams in the district — Waller (1,165), Klein (1,104), Klein Forest (1,066), Tomball Memorial (935) and Klein Oak (896) — have for this season.