By Todd Hveem
Chronicle correspondent

A year from now, the Kingwood Mustangs and The Woodlands Highlanders will meet twice in district play.

But on Tuesday night, the two teams will meet in what amounts to one of the best non-district games of the year.

That’s right, the highly touted Mustangs will travel to meet the highly touted Highlanders at 6 p.m. at Scotland Yard on the campus of McCullough Junior High.

The Woodlands comes into the game ranked No. 2 in the state by the Texas Coaches Association and among the top 25 teams in the country by Rivals.com.

This will be Kingwood’s final non-district game of the season before it opens District 19-5A play at home against Eisenhower on March 16.

ABOUT THE GAME
Matchup: Kingwood vs. The Woodlands

When: 6 p.m., Tuesday

Where: Scotland Yard (McCullough Junior High in The Woodlands)

At stake: Pride. Next year, these two teams will be in the same district. This should set the stage for many entertaining battles over the next few years.

Kingwood players to watch: P Cody Wise, P Kyle Finnegan, C Cody Perkins, P/OF Blake Whitter

The Woodlands players to watch: P Jameson Taillon, P Ryan Belitz, IF/OF Perry Cooper, IR/P Nick Frey, SS/P Spencer Davis

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
Kingwood: The Mustangs (4-2) suffered a 10-2 loss to high-powered Houston Christian, but they still expect to have one of the top clubs in the Houston area. Kingwood has relied on great pitching for the past two decades and this year should be no exception. The Mustangs, however, are going to have to prove they can hit great pitching if they want to snatch the district title away from Atascocita.

The Woodlands: Jameson Taillon, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 220 pounds, has been projected as a first-round draft pick in May’s Major League Baseball amateur draft. He throws in the mid-90s and is the most decorated pitcher to come out of The Woodlands since Kyle Drabek (Phillies). The Highlanders have about four other pitchers who could be the No. 1 starter on most teams. They also have a ton of power in the middle of the lineup. This team might rival the the Highlanders’ state-championship team of a couple years ago.