Cy Woods 59, Cy Ridge 28: Rebounding, or Sophomores' Night

2014 Record: 1-1, 1-0 in District 17-6A

After getting smashed in their 2014 debut, the Cats began their district slate on a winning note and entered the win column for the first time this season as they rolled past Cy Ridge 59-28. The Cats led 21-14 after 1 quarter, but they ended up outscoring the Rams 48-14 over the next 2 frames (there was no scoring in the 4th quarter). This was the first time that the Cats have ever won a district opener; they had dropped the previous 6 due to circumstances that ranged from Russell Shepard in 2008 to a 1-point loss on Homecoming in 2012.

This game turned out to be just like all the other Woods-Ridge affairs: either a tightly-contested game, or a blowout. This encounter turned out to be the latter in the Cats' favor, and with this win, they re-took the lead in the all-time series. 

So........ still worried about this team?

This team sought to atone for their poor showing against Klein Collins to open the season, and I felt there was a heightened sense of urgency with this team. They were extremely eager to get back on the field once again. Yes, it's just one game, but one game can truly make a difference in how a team fares for the rest of their season. This one game for the Cats could be the start of something truly special, and I feel that as this season progresses, we will get to see the Cats' true colors: the most explosive offense in the district, and a punishing, resilient defense. 

One of the intriguing stories that unfolded in this game was the emergence of the super sophomores. It seems like they come in pairs for the Cats. First, there was Cody Small and Daylan Skidmore in 2009, Alfred "Bama" Pullom and Marquise White in 2010, and then Mason Roberts and Sam Stewart in 2011. Nick, Zac, and Justyn came in 2012 (OK, that was a trio), then there was R.J. and Jared last year, and now, this year, the Cats have two pairs, one on each side of the ball: C.J. Jones and Bryson Powers on the offense, and Kason Franklin and Myles Wilson on defense. 

On this night, the sophs on offense took center stage. More on that in a moment.

Turning Point

After Ridge scored on a 3rd and 20 pass play from the Woods 22 to cut the Cats lead to 28-21 with 4:28 to go in the 2nd quarter, the Cats closed out the game on a 31-7 run, which was sparked by a pair of 1-play scoring drives. 20 seconds later, C.J. Jones caught a 70-yard TD pass to answer that Ridge TD, and then on their next drive, which followed a Ridge punt, R.J. Harmon followed suit with a 52-yard scoring catch. As a result, the Cats took a 42-21 lead into the break.

And then, they proceeded to score the first 17 points of the 2nd half, extending their lead to 59-21.

Ground

C.J. Jones reaffirmed his top prospect status by announcing his arrival in the big leagues. He scored 4 touchdowns; his first was a 5-yard run in the 1st, and then 2 minutes later, he had a 64-yard scoring run. He touched the ball 6 times in the first half and scored on 4 of them. R.J. Harmon also joined in on the charge with 125 yards on 16 carries. He didn't find the endzone in the running game, but this was a fine showing for him nonetheless.

All stats are from the Chronicle. Well, for once, all the numbers seem to be in order from them.

R.J. Harmon: 16 carries, 125 yards
C.J. Jones: 8 carries, 107 yards, 2 TD
Nick Hooper: 8 carries, 14 yards
Slade Ortiz: 3 carries, -4 yards
Reece Clark: 2 carries, 2 yards
Zac Duncan: 1 carry, 3 yards
Jacobi Boudreaux: 1 carry, 1 yard

Air

The tandem of Nick Hooper and Reece Clark tore apart the Ridge secondary, throwing for 400 yards and 6 touchdowns. Hooper accounted for 321 of those, and Clark engineered a scoring drive in the 3rd. This was the that 3rd time a Wildcat QB threw for 5 TDs; the last time that occurred was October 30, 2010, when Colton Huntsman threw 5 against... Cy Ridge.

Nick Hooper: 11-14, 321 yards, 5 TD
Reece Clark: 6-9, 79 yards, TD

In the air portion of the C.J. Jones Show, he scored on a 17-yard catch with a minute to go in the 1st and then struck for a 70-yard reception 20 seconds after Ridge cut the Woods lead to 28-21. Fellow sophomore Bryson Powers played a more prominent role in the offense this week, and he delivered in the form of 2 receiving touchdowns: an 18-yarder in the 2nd from Nick, and a 37-yarder in the 3rd from Reece. I hate acting like a know-it-all (no really, I hate it), but sometimes it has to be done. I said it after the Klein Collins game... keep an eye on Bryson Powers. He will be a true impact player for the Cats in the future. On the other hand, R.J. was able to find the endzone in the passing game as he scored on a 52-yard catch in the 2nd, which pushed the Woods lead to 42-21 in the 2nd. He led the way with 6 catches for 132 yards. And finally, Zac Duncan opened up the scoring with a 29-yard grab in the 3rd quarter.

R.J. Harmon: 6 rec, 132 yards, TD
Jared Taylor: 3 rec, 46 yards
C.J. Jones: 2 rec, 87 yards, 2 TD
Bryson Powers: 2 rec, 55 yards, 2 TD
Zac Duncan: 2 rec, 40 yards, TD
Tre Hart: 1 rec, 32 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 rec, 8 yards

Defense

The defense did a fine job neutralizing Ridge's game-changer, Kemah Siverand. He did have an 80-yard touchdown catch and a 25-yard run, but his impact on the proceedings was marginal, at best. Against Klein Collins, I'm not sure if the defense had a single tackle that resulted in a loss of yards. Well, as was the case with the offense, this game was radically different for the defense.

The Cats dropped about 4 or 5 potential picks. The Outlaw Shane Lawless very nearly had a 1-handed pick that would have been reminiscent of the one he returned for a touchdown against Ranch last year. He just couldn't complete the catch. He did leave the game with an ankle injury in the 2nd half; his right ankle was taped up pretty good. Injury aside, he turned in another solid performance from his linebacker spot.

Randall Medlin and Justyn Johnson were quiet in the season opener, but they had good rebound performances against the Rams. The front 3 rotation of Randall, Justyn, Morgan Tosten, and Isiah Clay were solid in this one. Medlin had 3 tackles that resulted in a loss of yards, which led the Cats in that category.

After 4 (or 5) dropped interceptions, the Cats finally got their pick when Brandon DePrato, a receiver-turned-linebacker, snared one as Woods was pinned deep in their territory to kill Ridge's final drive in the closing seconds of the game. Tyler Greaves, another receiver-turned-linebacker, was in on 15 tackles, setting a new season's best mark in the early going.

Tackles: Tyler Greaves 15 (6 assisted, 2 tackles for loss), Danny Malone 8 (3 assisted, 1 TFL), Randall Medlin 7 (3 assisted, 3 TFL) Brandon DePrato 6 (3 assisted, 2 TFL), Justyn Johnson 6 (4 assisted, 1 TFL), Morgan Tosten 6 (3 assisted, 2 TFL), Myles Wilson 5 (3 assisted), Michael Wirt 5 (2 assisted), Kason Franklin 5 (2 assisted), Jake Jones 4 (1 assisted), Shane Lawless 4 (1 assisted, 1 TFL), Wade Carson 3 (1 assisted), Isiah Clay 3 (2 assisted, 2 TFL), Elijah Pierson 3 (3 assisted), Elijah Kinnison 3 (2 assisted), Matt Swalm 2 (2 assisted), Caleb Smith 1, Justin Lawson 1 (assisted), Zac Duncan 1 (assisted), Bryson Powers 1 (assisted)

Interceptions: Brandon DePrato 1

Special Teams

Danny Malone, a linebacker, was the ace in this game. He had 4 tackles (2 assisted) on kickoffs and 8 overall.

Luis Reyes, the kicker whose name I did not know until this game, nailed all of his extra points and converted on a 22-yard field goal in the 3rd for what turned out to be Woods' final points of the night.

Jordan Johnson punted the ball 4 times and averaged 42 yards per kick. He also returned the opening kickoff 25 yards.

Powers was the primary punt returner; he had 3 for 4 yards and returned a kickoff 10 yards.

Bryson Powers: 3 punts, 4 yards; 1 kick, 10 yards
C.J. Jones: 1 kick, 13 yards
Taylor Tesch: 1 kick, 14 yards
Zac Duncan: 1 kick, 22 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 kick, 25 yards

Luis Reyes: 1-1 FG (made 22), 8-8 XP
Jordan Johnson: 4 punts, 168 yards (42 average)

Other Happenings in This Game

On the very first Woods drive of the game, Ridge had one of their starting corners get tossed after he mugged Tre Hart in full view of the Woods sideline. The guy couldn't shake his block, so he threw Tre to the ground and then threw at least 5 punches at him while he was on the ground. Unsurprisingly, he was given the boot.

The Cats scored on their first drive of the game despite committing 7 penalties in the process.

The offensive line play was solid, but they took a bit of a hit as tackle Brian Biddy left the game with a knee injury.

C.J. Jones was just 13 receiving yards shy of having a 100-100 game. That would have marked the first time in Woods history that two players logged 100 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing in the same game. R.J. had 132 yards receiving and 125 rushing. Dual threats.

The scoreboard operator did a pretty not-good job in terms of keeping down and distance. Probably an uncharacteristically poor night in that respect, though.

The Cats had 3 1-play scoring drives. I've already talked about 2 of them ad nauseam; the other was C.J.'s 64-yard TD run in the 1st. I think that might be a record for 1-play scoring drives.

Man of the Match

Not an overly tough decision... C.J. Jones. As a sophomore, he's only beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.

Honorable mentions go out to R.J. Harmon, Bryson Powers, Tyler Greaves, Randall Medlin, Danny Malone and Luis Reyes, who hit all of his kicks.

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats will face Cy Falls next Saturday at Pridgeon. They'll be the home team, and kickoff is at 6:00.