Langham Creek 31, Cy Woods 24: Welp

2017 Record: 2-2

Photo by Tom Dendy

Jackson Jones prepares for impact as Langham Creek linebacker Chase Hanks closes in

Photo gallery for this week's game; no sub-varsity photos this week, unfortunately.

Please take a little time to donate to hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. Carmelo Anthony and Carlos Beltran have set up separate relief funds to aid the rebuilding efforts. These are just two of the many funds set up by Puerto Rican professional athletes that you can donate to. In addition, Carlos Correa has teamed up with the Salvation Army for hurricane relief.

The Cypress Woods Wildcats hung tough with the undefeated Langham Creek Lobos for 48 minutes and mounted a nice response after it looked as though the Lobos were on the verge of running them out of the Berry Center. But alas, the rally came up short and Langham Creek prevailed 31-24 to remain unbeaten on the year. The Cats, meanwhile, fall back to .500 as we have now reached the midway point of the season.

Cy Woods came out on top in most of the stats; they outgained Langham Creek 337-269 and held the ball for nearly 30 minutes. However, the Lobos ultimately came out on top in the statistic that matters most: points.

I'm still bothered by that fake punt deep in their own territory, which the Lobos converted into a touchdown. Believe me, I'm just as perplexed as you are. Two key moments stand out in this game, and they all went the Lobos' way: the botched fake punt, and when Darion Morgan got stripped and the Lobos got a scoop and score out of it.

Let's be real here, this is a pretty annoying way to lose. Now, this loss is not a death knell with regard to playoff hopes, but the Cats' margin for error has shrunk significantly.

Scoring Summary

Chris Mehn opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run, which was the only scoring play in the first 12 minutes.

End of 1st quarter: Langham 7, Woods 0

Jared Swonke put Cy Woods on the board with a 27-yard field goal. The Cats forced a three-and-out on their next defensive series, but as they were looking to drive, Darion Morgan was stripped of the ball. Corien Azema scooped it up and raced 59 yards the other way for a Lobo touchdown. Morgan atoned for that mistake by scoring from a yard out and Kevin Marks kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Langham three more points heading into the half.

Halftime: Langham 17, Woods 9

The Cats did not have a very good start to the second half as Langham wasted little time in getting down the field. Chris Herron capped off the opening drive of the third quarter with a 23-yard touchdown run. The aforementioned ill-advised fake punt was an invitation for the Lobos to score again and Mehn obliged by scoring on a 2-yard run. Jackson Jones reclaimed some momentum for the Cats with a one-yard touchdown run.

End of 3rd Quarter: Langham 31, Woods 15

Jackson connected with Jack Barrientez for a 6-yard touchdown pass and the Cats recovered the ensuing onside kick. Unfortunately, they squandered that opportunity by turning the ball over on downs. Fortunately, on the next Langham Creek drive, Herron botched a handoff to Mehn and Tobi Orundami bulldozed his way through to recover the loose ball. Unfortunately, the Cats had to settle for a 28-yard field goal from Swonke on their next drive. On the ensuing onside kick, the Lobos came out with the ball after a mad scramble.

Final: Langham 31, Woods 24

Ground

Jackson was solid again, but there were a few plays where he was probably better off pitching the ball. He's got plenty of time to learn, though. Bobby Dodson went down with an injury early, so Darion Morgan took over as the primary running back the rest of the way.

The Cats racked up a bunch of yards on the ground, but they also needed a bunch of rushing attempts to do so, as well.

As always, all statistics are from Varsity Wires and are unofficial.

Jackson Jones: 24 carries, 100 yards, TD
Darion Morgan: 18 carries, 80 yards, TD; fumble lost
Arkievrick Vitatoe: 5 carries, 29 yards
Christian Scott: 4 carries, 18 yards
Dallas Caldwell: 3 carries, 14 yards
Jack Barrientez: 4 carries, 14 yards
Bobby Dodson: 2 carries, 9 yards
Greg Blaser: 1 carry, -4 yards

Air

Not much to say here; Jackson continues to make the throws he's supposed to make. His 24-yard completion to Christian Scott was the Wildcats' longest offensive play of the game.

Jackson Jones: 7-10, 77 yards, TD

Christian Scott: 4 catches, 46 yards
Jack Barrientez: 2 catches, 21 yards, TD
Arkievrick Vitatoe: 1 catch, 10 yards

Defense

Mac Bird is halfway to 100 tackles through the first four games.

Once again, however, the Cats simply couldn't find a way to get the opposing offense off the field on third down. Langham Creek went 9-13 on third down and converted their only fourth-down situation. Both defenses did well in limiting the big plays; the longest offensive play in this game was a 26-yard pass from Chris Herron to Devin Lawrence. Chris Mehn, who entered the game averaging almost 9 yards per carry, had an off night by his standards; the Cats held him to 77 yards on 16 carries.

Tobi Orundami left the Cats after one game last season and then made the decision to rejoin the team for his senior year in the offseason. He's been working his way back into the fold behind the scenes and successfully fulfilled the conditions that were set for him in order to play again.

Tobi only had one tackle in his first game back, but he had a crucial fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. He's not quite in shape, but he infused some energy into the defensive line and got some pressure on Chris Herron.

Tackles

Mac Bird - 16  (1 for loss)
Ryan Gilcrease - 8
Matt Roberts, Clancey Hall, and Jackson Turnbow - 4 each
Derrick Brooks - 3 (1 for loss)
Collin Fewox, Jack Barrientez, Colin Paterson, and Max Sweet - 2 each
Trevor Reed, Austin Kennedy, Tyler Redgrave, and Tobi Orundami - 1 each

As mentioned above, Tobi recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.

Special Teams

Jared Swonke hit both of his field goals. I think this is the first time that a Wildcat kicker has made more than one field goal since Chase McLaughlin did so against Cy Ranch back in 2012.

Greg Blaser's one punt of the night went 35 yards.

Christian Scott: 2 kicks returned, 26 yards
Tevis Adams: 2 kicks returned, 13 yards

Man of the Match

Mac Bird put up 16 tackles despite having to miss part of the second quarter due to a.... nail in his leg? I probably didn't hear this correctly. When he was being attended to, it definitely looked like he was in real distress, which led me to believe that he suffered a more serious injury.

Mac shook it off and wound up posting double-digit tackles yet again, so I suppose he's alright.

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats will tussle with the Cy Falls Golden Eagles to kick off Week 5 in District 17-6A at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium on Thursday, October 12. Kickoff is at 6:30 and Cy Woods will be the visitors once again.