As the Wolverines head to Texas for a clash against Katy High School, we know fans are eager to find out just who these Tigers are.

So we phoned down to the Lone Star State to get the skinny on all things Katy football.

Nick Georgandis is the sports editor at the Katy Times. He’s covered the team in some capacity since 1997, with the exception of a short stint as a news editor with the paper.

Having recently completed a 36-page magazine about all 70 years of Katy football, perhaps no one in Texas knows more about the Tigers at the moment.

With that in mind, we decided to pick his brain about all things Katy. What follows are his opinions on the school, its history and the upcoming game.

JW: Tell me a little bit about the recent history and success of Katy football.

NG: Katy didn’t make the playoffs between 1964-1985, but has made it 21 of the past 23 years, including every year since 1991. In 1995, they qualified for the 5A title game by destroying defending-champion Converse Judson in the semi-finals (42-18), before losing in the final. They won their first 5A title in 1997, defeating Longview, ranked No.3 in the nation.

In 1999, the Tigers made the state title game and lost, then won it all in 2000 with their first 16-0 season. Since then they have won three more titles (2003, 2007, 2008), lost another title game (2005) and failed to win 10 games in a season only once (2001, when they were defeated in the area round by Houston Madison, quarterbacked by Vince Young).

In 2007, Katy went 16-0 again and scored 701 points, a school record.

In 2008, the team started 0-2 for the first time in 20 years, absorbing a humiliating 47-0 loss to The Woodlands. They won their next seven games before losing the district to Katy Cinco Ranch, a school which is 10 years old and is in a very affluent area. Finishing the regular season 7-3, Katy went on to win six-straight playoff games including the state title game, 17-3, over Wylie, in a game played in front of 25,000 people at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

JW: Tell me a bit about Katy coach Gary Joseph.

NG: Coach Joseph came to Katy in 1982 and served as defensive coordinator as the Tigers won their first three state titles – 1997, 2000 and 2003. When Katy coaching legend Mike Johnston (200-75-0 career record) retired from the public school system in 2004, Joseph was confirmed within a few days as the new coach.

Since then, he has led Katy to a 68-7 record, four district titles, two state titles and another title-game appearance.

Coach Joseph is hailed as a defensive genius, and has two great passions in life – football and family.

JW: Who are Katy’s standout, “impact” players? Which players are Division I athletes or have scholarships?

NG: Katy’s had three players verbally commit to D-1 schools which is a real rarity. Offensive lineman Shep Klinke (#78) is 6-6, 290-pounds and is committed to Texas A&M. He is physically massive and has developed a mean streak this year that he didn’t have before.

Tight end Zach Swanson (#88) is 6-6, 225 pounds and is committed to Stanford. Obviously, he’s a real smart kid and he has a real mean streak, which you can see when he plays basketball.

Defensive back Sam Holl (#25) is 6-1, 205-pounds and is Katy’s strong safety. He’s committed to Baylor.

Another guy to watch is senior running back Will Jeffery (#4), who’s about 5-8, 160-pounds. He’ll be seen a lot against Bellevue because the other running back, junior Donovonn Young, broke his foot vs. North Shore and will miss six weeks.

JW: Tell me about the Katy offense and quarterback Michael Stojkovic.

NG: Katy runs a classic I-formation offense that uses the run to set up the play-action pass. They use a tight end and fullback on almost every play, and 90 percent of the time those two are blockers.

They like to hit the fullback and tight end in play-action and like to do a wrap-around draw to the fullback that often ends up being a huge gainer.

JW: And the defense?

NG: Katy runs a containment, reading defense that runs to the ball in numbers, cuts off angles and is the bend-but-don’t-break sort. They will give up long plays to athletic players, but in general, they are very solid.

JW: What can you tell me about Rhodes Stadium? How much of a home field advantage will they have?

NG: Rhodes Stadium opened in 1980. The official capacity is 10,000, but the North end zone has a grassy hill where they can squeeze another 2,000. At this point, Katy travels so well that they have at least 5000-7,000 [fans] wherever they play, and refer to at least three other stadiums (including Rice Stadium and The Alamodome) as their “own”.

JW: What’s the buzz around town for this game? Do people think Bellevue has a chance in this Texas football vs. Washington football matchup?

NG: From a general feel, I don’t think people give Bellevue a chance. Last year, Cy-Bay from Florida came in with a lot of hype and their own Wing-T and got demolished, 31-6. Texans have a pretty lofty view of our version of high school football and the relative size of the two schools probably has a lot to do with it as well.

JW: Expectations are high every year for Bellevue – what are the expectations for Katy this season?

NG: Win the state title (third in a row).