No, I wasn't at this game either. I would have gone, had my trip to the airport not been a nightmare. On the flip side, I'm extremely grateful that I got to spend one more day with my aunt before she flies back to Australia. I can't wait to read all of your sky-is-falling comments.
Well, we're at the absolute end of the wire now, and the playoff picture is murkier than ever, as two playoff spots in District 17-6A are still up for grabs. The Cats, with a win in this game, would have clinched a playoff spot. But with this 44-38 loss to Jersey Village, they've now fallen into a 3-way tie for 3rd, and depending on Saturday's Creek-Falls matchup, it could be a 4-way tie....
This was definitely a bitter pill for the Cats to swallow; I'm sure they felt that they let this game get away. That's not taking anything away from the Falcons, though; they won this game because they made the plays that they needed to make, and they made a few more plays than Woods. But, the Cats are still very much in the fight. They're 2-1 against their main competition for a playoff spot (Fair, Creek, and JV).
This loss made the win against Cy-Fair so much more critical in the grand scheme of this regular season. The Cats might have gone 1-2 in this torturous 3-game stretch that pitted them against the district's top offense and top 2 defenses, but one win is ∞ times better than none, obviously. Drop all 3, and this team's playoff hopes would have gone down in flames.
So, What Happened Was...
Man... they really did let this game get away in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
Nick Hooper put the Cats on the board first with his 7-yard TD run in the 1st. The Falcons responded with a nice drive, but the defense held them to a field goal. Jordan Johnson took the ensuing kickoff and ran 93 yards for a score. And finally, a muffed punt from Bryson Powers was recovered by JV and gave them the ball in the Cy Woods red zone to end the 1st quarter.
End 1st: Woods 14, JV 3
Nothing came of that muffed punt, though. But... the tide of this game would soon turn. Jersey Village took a 17-14 lead as Deshun Qualls connected on TD passes to Christian Taylor and Rokeem Paul. Nick responded with a 22-yard touchdown run as the Cats retook the lead, but Qualls had the final say in the period as he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Josh Bland shortly before halftime.
Halftime: JV 24, Woods 21
The only points that the Cats could muster up in the 3rd was a 24-yard field goal from Luis Reyes. Qualls dominated the 2nd and 3rd quarters; he found Christian Taylor for the 2nd time in the game, and he'd punch it in himself from 1 yard out.
End 3rd: JV 38, Woods 24
LaVance Moore seemingly ended the game with his 46-yard TD run that put the Falcons up 44-24. But wait a minute.... the Cats hit back with just one play. Taylor Tesch caught one and took it 75 yards to the house. The defense got a 3-and-out on their next series, and then Jordan Johnson scored for the 2nd time in the game with a 53-yard TD reception to make it a 1-score game. Thanks to a brilliant kickoff from Reyes, the Falcons were pinned at their own 4. Unfortunately.... the Wildcat defense couldn't get that last stop. Brandon Major had a 12-yard catch on 3rd & 7 from the 7, and Qualls converted a 3rd & 4 with a 6-yard run for the final nail.
Final: Jersey Village 44, Cy Woods 38
Turning Point
Jersey Village went on a 35-10 run in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and that attack was spearheaded by their QB, Deshun Qualls, who just shredded the Cats defense.
Get them off the field, please: The Falcons were 13-18 on 3rd down conversions.
Ground
As usual, Nick Hooper was all over the stat sheet; he carried the ball 19 times for 98 yards and scored twice. Or, if we're going by percentages, he accounted for 73% of the carries, 62% of the Cats' rushing yards, and 100% of their rushing touchdowns.
All stats per TSRN.
Nick Hooper: 19 carries, 98 yards, 2 TD
C.J. Jones: 3 carries, 48 yards
Jordan Johnson: 2 carries, 6 yards
R.J. Harmon: 2 carries, 6 yards
Air
Out of all the quarterbacks that tried their luck against the vaunted Falcon secondary, Nick put up the most passing yards against them this season. 128 of those came on his 2 touchdown throws to Taylor Tesch and Jordan Johnson. A pessimist may say that those numbers really puffed up his final line, but those 2 scores through the air could not have come at a more crucial time.
Nick Hooper: 11-22, 225 yards, 2 TD
Taylor Tesch: 3 recs, 93 yards, TD
C.J. Jones: 2 recs, 38 yards
Jared Taylor: 2 recs, 15 yards
Zac Duncan 2 recs, 12 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 rec, 53 yards, TD
Tre' Hart: 1 rec, 14 yards
Defense
The defense just couldn't find an answer for Deshun Qualls, who was responsible for 399 of Jersey Village's 502 yards of offense. They couldn't kick the Falcons off the field on 3rd down, either. That 13-18 figure on 3rd downs for Jersey Village is most likely the key statistic of the game. Plain and simple, the Wildcat defense just didn't get it done. But I know they'll bounce back.
Sacks: Wade Carson 1 (8 yards lost)
Interceptions: Shane Lawless 1 (1st of season)
Special Teams
Luis Reyes converted on a 24-yard field goal in the 3rd and hit all 5 of his extra points. Yet another solid performance for the sophomore, who has firmly established himself as the Cats' kicker of the present and future.
Jordan Johnson punted the ball 3 times for a total of 115 yards. He also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in the 1st.
Zac Duncan: 4 kicks returned, 31 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 kick returned, 93 yards, TD
Bryson Powers: 1 punt returned, 0 yards
Man of the Match
Jordan Johnson dipped into the well and pulled out 2 big plays. Just goes to show that anyone on this offense is capable of really going off.
I think with his kickoff return TD, the Cats broke the team record for most return touchdowns in a season. Michael Wirt had a pick 6 against Falls, Bryson Powers returned a punt for a score against Lakes, C.J. has his 2 kick return TDs, and now Jordan's on the board with that kickoff.
Honorable Mentions go to Nick Hooper, for stuffing the stat sheet as usual, and to Luis Reyes, whose transformation into a special teams weapon is just about complete.
Looking Ahead
In the 2014 regular-season finale, the Cats will head to the Berry Center where they will play host to Cy Springs on Thursday. Kickoff is at 7:00.
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