Monday, February 1, 2016

Looking Ahead to 2016

The road to the 2016 season for Cy Woods began when their game with Cy Springs ended on November 7. For the first time since 2012, and for only the 2nd time in 8 seasons, the Wildcats did not make the playoffs.

"When you lose, you get to do it all over again. Funny thing is... when you win, you get to do it all over again. That's sports. Renewal is guaranteed."


Considering how the Rockets have been so thoroughly underwhelming, and the Texans are... well, content with being on the treadmill of mediocrity, there isn't much to get amped up about in Houston sports. Spring Training is around the corner, though, so there's that.

Sorry, got off track there. What will the 2016 season have in store for Cy Woods?

2015 record by team

Varsity: 5-5, 5-4 (5th) in District 17-6A
JV Cardinal (A): 5-5, 5-4
JV Gold (B): 2-8, 2-7
Freshman Cardinal (A): 7-3, 7-2
Freshman Gold (B): 4-6, 4-5

Combined record: 23-27, 23-22 in district games

Who's coming back?

 Italics = will be a junior in 2016

 QB Bryson Powers
QB Sean Despres
QB Jacob Kainer
RB C.J. Jones
RB/WR Jack Barrientez
WR Matt Ficalora
OL Chris Salinas
OL Mario Treviño
OL Cameron Howland
OL Ryan Kenny
OL David Heskin
OL Tim Dendy
K Luis Reyes
DL Tobi Orundami
DL Chris Statom
DL Cody Eggleston
LB Neil Chambers
LB Elijah Strang
LB Trent Bird
DB Kason Franklin
DB Collin Fewox
DB Myles Wilson

On the returners

Bryson Powers, C.J. Jones, Kason Franklin, Myles Wilson, and Luis Reyes will enter their senior years as the veterans of this program, as they will be 3-year lettermen. During their time as Wildcat football players, these four guys have seen just about everything, and they have experienced almost every emotion on the spectrum: The ecstasy of making the playoffs and seeing a community rallying to support their teammates and them during a 3-deep run when they were sophomores. Then, as juniors, they endured the agony of missing out on those festivities while 4 rival schools reveled in the occasion at their expense. Now, as seniors, they will be expected to assume leadership roles as they look to make one last playoff run. I'm sure that they, along with the Class of 2017, would like one final playoff run to finish high school. Who knows where that run could take them... of course, they have to get there first.

Having their starting backfield back for one more run will be a huge boost for the Cats. Bryson returning under center will provide some much needed stability to a passing game that will be surrounded by uncertainty (see below).

Neil Chambers was probably the Wildcats' best linebacker in 2015. He showed an outstanding competitive streak and he has a mentality that sort of reminds me of Dominique Robertson, a linebacker who was a teammate of mine back in ancient times. I think Neil has the potential to become one of the district's best defensive players, and I expect that he'll make that leap forward in 2016.

For the returning lettermen, missing the playoffs left a bitter taste in their mouths. This isn't something that occurs on a regular basis at Cy Woods. Hope they do whatever it takes to ensure that it doesn't become the norm.

This program was built on four tenets: Character, Attitude, Trust, and Success. The offseason following a non-playoff season will definitely put the collective character of the returning players in the program to the test, and also raises a couple of burning questions; Do they have the right attitude in order right the ship, and do the kids trust each other to do their part in righting the ship?

Possible contributors in 2016?

 My commitments precluded me from watching any sub-varsity games, so any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 Semaj Trahan (will be a sophomore in 2016) - Dynamic dual-threat quarterback, probably the Wildcats' top prospect in the Class of 2019

Cullen and Tanner Sherrill (sophomores) - Identical twin brothers, wide receivers; both possess excellent size and are also promising baseball players. They should be even stronger, and even better with an offseason under their belts.

Jake Tesch (sophomore) - Running back continuing a family legacy that began with Gary. Jake is built more like Taylor, his other older brother, but I've heard that he's the fastest of the three. Could make the move to wide receiver.

Khari Keaton (junior) - From what I have heard, he is probably the smartest kid in his class. He has played every skill position on offense, so he has upside as a utility player.

Brock Gunderson (sophomore) - Comes from a family of athletes (and giants, in general). His older brother, Cole, was a two-year starter at center for Cy Woods, so he has a great mentor to help him take on the rigors of varsity competition.

Jake and Brock both played in the season finale against Cy Springs, which gave them their first opportunities to audition for roles in 2016.

Issues that need addressing

 1. The defense

Cy Woods' defense will probably never be confused for Katy's defense. Let's just get that out of the way. At the pace they were playing early in the season, they probably would have allowed over 500 points after giving up 455 a year before. The Wildcats ended up allowing 407 points in the 2015 season; among the 10 schools in District 17-6A, only Cy Lakes allowed more points. The Wildcats also allowed the most yards out of any team in the district. Most of that came through the air, where they were the absolute worst in that regard. Against the run, they ranked a paltry 7th.

The last two seasons for Cy Woods has been characterized by a conspicuous (and, at times, appalling) lack of defense. This surely has to be perplexing, especially because Coach Faith was a defensive coordinator prior to becoming the head coach at Cy Woods. I am very much interested in seeing how he will address the woes that have afflicted the Wildcat defense in the spring, and whether the changes (after allowing 400+ points 2 years in a row, there will definitely be changes) he has implemented in the offseason can effectively carry over once the season begins.

2. Wide receivers

 With Tre' Hart, Jared Taylor, and Jordan Johnson all graduating, C.J. Jones is the top returning receiver for the Wildcats. In fact, only two players who caught a pass in the 2015 season for Cy Woods will be returning: C.J., and Jack Barrientez.

Jack is just one of two returning receivers for Cy Woods; the other, Matt Ficalora, was the only wide receiver who was called up during the season. Matt did not catch a pass, but he did score a rushing touchdown against Cy Lakes.

Basically, the Wildcats are going to be breaking in a completely new group of receivers in 2016, which will put the onus on some of these underclassmen to grow up in a hurry. However, Bryson Powers will be back to commandeer the offense, so his presence should provide a huge boost for the passing game. In addition, C.J. is a proven dual-threat out of the backfield, and he'll be a valuable target in the passing game, especially early on.

3. Starting slow/Falling behind early and often

The offense struggling to find its way during the first half of the season really exacerbated the deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball, and this basically meant that the Wildcats constantly had to trudge up a mountain that seemed to get bigger and bigger by the second. They were behind by double digits in the first half in each of their first 5 games, and they only came back to win one of those games (they trailed Ridge 21-7 after the 1st quarter of that game and ultimately won it 59-31).

So, what's the lesson here? Falling behind by multiple scores, especially in the first half, is not a desirable situation.

4. Discipline
Over the last two seasons (23 games total), Cy Woods has had 9 games in which they committed more than 10 penalties. I'm not sure how often that happened in the first 6 seasons, but I don't recall Woods ever getting penalized at such an alarming rate until now.

In the 2015 season, the Wildcats were penalized 107 times for 960 yards. I know there were some downright awful calls, but some of these penalties were completely avoidable, as well. I believe that both of those figures led the district, and those aren't the statistics where Cy Woods should be leading.

In their 74-73 loss to Jersey Village, they were whistled for 16 infractions, and they were flagged 13 times in a 40-35 loss to Cy Creek. This isn't an issue that has bugged them exclusively in losses; they've been flagged regularly, even in their wins. When they beat Langham, they were penalized 19 times. They also beat Cy Falls 48-47 in 2014 in spite of 19 penalties.

What's the root of this problem? This lack of discipline didn't just sprout overnight. I'm not going to expend energy pointing fingers at people behind a computer screen, because that's just petty and unnecessary. The Wildcats have won games in spite of penalties, but more often than not, flags have cost them dearly. Good teams find ways to overcome their miscues, but when they can't... the end result is usually pretty ugly.

On Realignment

 Every two years, the UIL, which is the governing body for public high school athletics in the state of Texas, conducts a process called realignment.

If you want to delve deeper, here is a PDF direct from the UIL on how they will be conducting realignment. Even better... here is a primer provided by The Old Coach.

Given that Cy-Fair ISD is currently a district of 10 high schools, they will not have to be split between districts. Even though Cy Park is opening in 2016, this will not affect the composition of the district, as Park will be playing in Class 5A (2nd-largest classification) and won't have varsity football until 2018. However, when Park and high school #12 both have varsity sports, splitting the district will be required because of UIL regulations.

After much deliberation, the UIL has determined that:

The status quo is good enough for Cy-Fair ISD, as it will remain in District 17-6A and Region III for the next two years. Here are the 10 Cy-Fair ISD high schools, ranked by enrollment.
So... Woods' middle-of-the-pack ranking in terms of enrollment makes them a swing school for football. Given the helter-skelter nature of football this district, it is entirely possible for Woods to be in the Division I bracket, should they make the playoffs. It is also entirely possible for Woods to play in the Division II bracket, given that 3 of the 4 playoff teams in District 17-6A last year are larger than them.

In the playoffs (for all sports), Cy-Fair ISD will be paired up in bi-district with a new-look District 18, which is now occupied by Houston ISD schools. In the previous realignment, 18-6A was shared by Aldine and Spring Branch schools; they have now moved over to Region II. As a result, HISD, which was previously in District 20, has taken their place.

A matchup with Katy is still possible, because Katy ISD and Strake Jesuit remained in District 19. Taking HISD's place in District 20 is Fort Bend ISD.

Here are all 32 Class 6A districts straight from the source itself, the UIL: http://www.utexas.edu/uil/alignments/2016/FB-BB-6A-2016.pdf
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