Photo by Tom Dendy
Jack Barrientez scampers his way into Cy Woods' record books.
Click here for photos from this week's games. The JV and freshman A teams were featured in this week's collection.
No one told the Cats they should've done that, however. They fought the Mustangs tooth and nail for all 48 minutes before ultimately succumbing 21-17 to close out the 2017 season.
The Cats outperformed the Mustangs on offense, but the difference here was two interceptions that Ranch converted into touchdowns. In what was unfortunately a running theme for the Wildcats this season, they dropped a game that was theirs for the taking. It didn't look like the Mustangs wanted to nail the coffin shut either, but they did just enough to win.
Well, with the loss, Cy Woods has posted back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in program history. They also scored the fewest points in a season in team history with 259, although by allowing 270 points, they gave up fewer than 400 points for the first time since 2013.
On the other hand, they were also in the playoff picture up until the final two days of the regular season, so they have certainly shown progress as they try to return to prominence. With that being said, it should not be unreasonable to expect the 2018 Cypress Woods Wildcats to seriously contend for a playoff spot.
Scoring Summary
Dallas Caldwell committed a massive blunder on the opening kickoff when he took a knee and was ruled down at the 1-yard line. That didn't seem to bother the Cats because on the first play of the day, Jacob Kainer took a reverse and fired a pass to Jack Barrientez, who took it 99 yards to open the scoring. The Wildcats had a 12-play drive going on their next possession, but on the 13th play, Jackson Jones got picked off. Ranch converted that turnover into a 1-yard touchdown run by Fred Brooks.
End of 1st Quarter: Woods 7, Ranch 7
Jared Swonke hit a 25-yard field goal for the only points of the second quarter. He also had a 32-yard attempt that was blocked. The Mustangs managed to get a little drive going after the blocked kick, but Chase Richter put a stop to that by intercepting Brooks just before halftime.
Halftime: Woods 10, Ranch 7
Brooks got the hook and in stepped Logan McDougald, who threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Hardy for the only points of the third quarter. Derrick Brooks could have made a play... had he turned around to look for the ball.
End of 3rd Quarter: Ranch 14, Woods 10
Jack scored on a 6-yard run to put Woods back in front, but the deciding score was a 19-yard touchdown pass from McDougald to Drew Glenn. The Mustangs had a chance to make it a one-touchdown game with 1:17 left, but Mateo Pritzklau's 42-yard field goal clanged off the left upright. Unfortunately, the Cats couldn't convert a fourth down.
Final: Ranch 21, Woods 17
Ground
The Wildcats put up 240 yards on the ground but needed 58 rushing attempts to reach that number. Jacob Kainer's 34-yard run on a reverse was the longest of the day.
Jackson Jones: 29 carries, 100 yards
Jack Barrientez: 12 carries, 72 yards, TD
Jacob Kainer: 1 carry, 34 yards
Bobby Dodson: 10 carries, 30 yards
Jake Tesch: 5 carries, 8 yards
Dallas Caldwell: 1 carry, -4 yards
Air
Jackson looked like a sophomore in the passing game. His two picks were forced throws that really did not need to be made. It's fine. Fortunately, he didn't have too many of these moments, but with a year of varsity football under his belt, the expectations for him will be magnified significantly from here on out.
Jacob's 99-yard pass to Jack is now the longest play in Cy Woods football history. Only fitting that those two would connect on a pass one last time.
Jackson Jones: 3-10, 41 yards, 2 INT
Jacob Kainer: 1-1, 99 yards, TD
Jack Barrientez: 2 catches, 105 yards, TD
Jake Tesch: 1 catch, 25 yards
Bobby Dodson: 1 catch, 10 yards
Defense
The good news is that a once-vaunted Mustang rushing attack was completely stifled by the Cats. The bad news is that they let a backup quarterback throw two touchdown passes on plays that they could have made. The 252 yards allowed was a season-low.
Mac Bird will somehow finish the season as the Wildcats' leading tackler despite playing only four games.
Tackles
Tyler Redgrave and Chase Richter - 6 each
Austin Kennedy - 5
Matt Roberts, Zach Harris, and Jackson Hosemann - 4 each
Ryan Gilcrease - 3
Collin Fewox, Tobi Orundami, and Derrick Brooks - 2 each
Christian Jones and Clancey Hall - 1 each
Zach Harris had a sack for 6 yards, while Chase Richter had an interception in the second quarter.
Special Teams
Jared Swonke made a 25-yard field goal and had a 32-yard attempt get blocked... it wasn't the best snap. Greg Blaser had a really ugly punt but got a really nice roll and had it downed at Ranch's 13-yard line.
Men of the Match
Class of 2018, thank you. All the best for everything you do in the future.
Looking Ahead
It's the offseason.
Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the inaugural season of the Cypress Woods High School football program. I'll have a couple of series during the offseason highlighting the ten best players and the ten most significant games in the first decade of Cy Woods football.
