The Cy Woods Wildcats concluded its Homecoming Week festivities by erasing a 3-game losing streak with a 70-20 victory over the Cy Lakes Spartans on Friday. It's the 3rd time that the Cats have hit the 70-point mark in a single game.
The Cats took the ball to start the game and they proceeded to absolutely run the Spartans out of the Berry Center. I guess taking the ball in the 1st half has its virtues. Yes, this was clearly an inferior opponent, but this was by far the Wildcats' best outing on defense. The 11 kids on that side of the ball played with a true purpose. They saw their offense take the lead, and they fought tooth and nail to preserve that lead. This game was truly a team win. And now, it's time to keep this momentum rolling, because in terms of the playoff picture, they really don't have a choice.
On a more sobering note, my prayers go out to sophomore QB Jacob Kainer for a speedy recovery. Jacob was injured following a scramble in the 4th quarter and had to be stretchered off the field. These are fine young men who happen to be good football players. Here's to a full and speedy recovery for a promising young player. Losing Jacob is definitely a massive blow. This means that Bryson Powers is the only active quarterback on the roster. Jordan Johnson has played quarterback in the past, but he hasn't attempted a pass since he was the JV Cardinal QB in 2013. It'll be interesting to see what the coaches do in order to address this deficiency moving forward.
So, What Happened Was...
The Wildcats broke a 3-game losing streak in emphatic fashion by opening off the 2nd half of the regular season with a huge win on Homecoming.
It would've been nice to see them cut down on the turnovers, but 2 of the interceptions came off of deflections after Wildcat receivers couldn't hold on to the ball.
R.J. Harmon opened the scoring by slashing his way into the endzone from 26 yards out. Following a turnover, C.J. Jones added another score with a 23-yard run. Lakes got on the board as Tyrese Miller took a swing pass and then suddenly fired a strike to a wide-open Nate Green. That was a 52-yard play. It didn't take long for Woods to respond as C.J. added a receiving touchdown to his ledger; he slipped behind the Spartan defense and caught a bomb from Jacob Kainer and scored from 67 yards out. Bryson Powers followed by giving the Cats another possession with an interception, and he ended up finishing it with a 15-yard touchdown run. Keith Watson then picked off Ted Solomon and returned the INT 82 yards for another score, and finally, Jared Taylor caught a pass from Kainer and knifed his way to the endzone for a 49-yard score.
The 42 points scored by Woods in the opening 12 minutes is the most they have ever scored in any single quarter.
End 1st: Woods 42, Lakes 6
Both teams scored a touchdown in the 2nd quarter: Brandon DePrato blocked a punt, and Watson finally scooped up the loose ball and scored. Lakes' score came in the form of a 22-yard run from Ansar Richardson.
Halftime: Woods 49, Lakes 13
Woods got another defensive touchdown to open the half as Adrian Garcia and Brandon DePrato jarred the ball loose, and then Austin Greaves picked it up and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown. Much like he did in the 1st quarter, Jared caught a pass, this time from Bryson, and weaved his way into the endzone.
End 3rd: Woods 63, Lakes 13
Rashad Henry scored from 11 yards out for Lakes, and Matt Ficalora capped off the night with a 45-yard touchdown run.
Final: Woods 70, Lakes 20
Ground
The carries were spread all around, especially since the game was well in hand during the 2nd half. Matt Ficalora had a moment to remember late in the game: his first varsity touchdown was the Wildcats' final points of the evening. I still have no idea how he managed to slip across the congestion at the line of scrimmage, but he did, and he was off to the races.
Jack Barrientez actually finished the night as the leading rusher. The sophomore provided a glimpse into the future for the Cats.
Jack Barrientez: 6 carries, 64 yards
R.J. Harmon: 5 carries, 63 yards, TD
Bryson Powers: 5 carries, 35 yards, TD
Jacob Kainer: 5 carries, 21 yards
Matt Ficalora: 3 carries, 47 yards, TD
C.J. Jones: 3 carries, 40 yards, TD
Jordan Johnson: 1 carry, 2 yards
Air
Jacob Kainer showed off what he can do. Again, please keep him in your thoughts.
Bryson Powers: 3-5, 45 yards, TD, INT
Jacob Kainer: 5-9, 139 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
A couple of those interceptions came off of deflections from C.J. and Jared, two normally sure-handed receivers.
Jared Taylor: 3 catches, 78 yards, 2 TD
C.J. Jones: 2 catches, 76 yards, TD
Jordan Johnson: 2 catches, 18 yards
Jack Barrientez: 1 catch, 14 yards
Defense
I really like Collin Fewox. This sophomore safety plays with a fearlessness about him, which is sort of reminiscent of Clint Taylor. I can't speak to his coverage skills, which do look promising, but he's energetic, a hard hitter, and he's willing to help out against the run.
The defense has had its struggles in getting opposing offenses off the field, so why not try to force some turnovers? It's a pretty solid deal when the defense saves the offense the trouble of having to move the ball by scoring themselves.
Interceptions: Keith Watson 1 (returned 82 yards for a touchdown), Bryson Powers 1
Fumbles forced: Austin Greaves 1, Adrian Garcia 1
Fumbles recovered: Terrell Brown 1, Austin Greaves 1 (returned 67 yards for a touchdown), Keith Watson 1 (blocked punt returned 3 yards for a touchdown)
Sacks: Brandon Love 1 (7 yards lost)
Special Teams
Luis Reyes hit all 10 of his extra points. He's now 15 points away from tying Andrew Klink for the Woods record for most points scored by a kicker.
The return game was rather nondescript.
Kason Franklin blocked the extra point following Lakes' first score, and Brandon DePrato swatted a punt that turned into a Cy Woods touchdown after Keith Watson scooped up the loose ball.
Man of the Match
When you score 70, that means everything worked like a charm. I'll go with the entire team.
Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will return to Pridgeon Stadium on Friday, October 16, to take on the Langham Creek Lobos. They'll be the away team. Kickoff is at 7:00.
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