Andy Dalton is so old that he looks like your ex-girlfriends father.
He didn’t play like it last Sunday.
Taking the reins of the Carolina Panthers offense from the struggling Bryce Young, Dalton had a vintage performance we haven’t seen since his early years calling snaps for the Cincinnati Bengals.
In a rare Panthers victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-37 passing. The Red Rifle’s triumph was a bright spot in a pro season dictated by poor NFL quarterback performances. He is the first quarterback this year to toss for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in a game.
Dalton’s efforts proves that the 36-year-old vet remains one of the best athletes Katy ever produced.
Before graduating TCU, back in the late ‘90s, the Dalton moved from Spring Branch to Katy when he was in 1st grade. Fast forward a few years later and Dalton took his first snaps when he was 12, later learning the X’s and O’s at Katy Junior High.
Later in high school, Dalton posted the district’s highest quarterback rating as a junior and senior. As a junior, he got Katy to 678 yards as a junior when Katy went 12-2 and advanced to the Texas 5A quarterfinals. The next year, the Tigers earned a 14-1 record and a trip to the Texas 5A finals, the senior quarterback completing 2,877 yards for 42 touchdowns.
“Its great to see what some of the players from the program have gone on to accomplish,” former coach Mike Johnston told the Houston Chronicle. “Andy Dalton has become a role model for all the young players in the Katy program. He represents the program really well on the national level. He makes a lot of us in Katy very proud.”
A self-described Katy fan, Dalton still follows the team for updates on social media. The Tigers are 3-1, bouncing back with a win streak since they lost their second contest of the season against Atascocita.
Tigers student athletes will have a chance to watch Dalton, likely through the rest of the season as Carolina’s starter… even if he is starting to look like their dads.
