Looking Ahead to 2018

The Cypress Woods Wildcats finished 4-5 in 2017, which marks the first time in program history that the Wildcats have posted losing records in consecutive seasons. In addition, their playoff drought has now been extended to three years.

Cy Woods football wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination in 2017, but they managed to rebound from the worst season in school history and found themselves on the periphery of the District 17-6A playoff picture until the final week of the season. Aside from getting demolished by Cy-Fair, the Cats were in virtually every game this past season. Who knows... had a few bounces gone their way, they would have been entering 2018 fresh off a playoff berth.

Once again, the Cats just couldn't overcome injuries at key spots, most notably Jacob Kainer, who injured his foot before the season opener against Cy Springs. I couldn't help but feel for him... he didn't have the greatest season in his first shot as the starting quarterback in 2016. Heading into 2017, there was a much more optimistic outlook surrounding Jacob; the catastrophic injury he suffered as a sophomore was well behind him, he was excited to helm a brand-new offense, and most of all, he was getting a fair chance to finish off his high school career on a positive note. Unfortunately, he ended up missing the first month of the season and was largely limited until the final three games.

In Jacob's absence, however, the Wildcats found their quarterback of the present and the future in Jackson Jones, who earned an Honorable Mention All-District selection. Despite a few sophomore moments, Jackson acquitted himself well despite getting thrown into the fire that is Cy-Fair ISD football. Now that he has a full season of starts under his belt, the expectations will be raised significantly. Helping this team end this playoff drought would certainly qualify as an expectation...

Tory Spears hurt himself during the Springs game and ended up missing six weeks if I remember correctly. His absence was a big blow to the Wildcat defense because Jack Barrientez ended up playing both ways and the vast majority of his playing time came on defense. Mac Bird was having an excellent season until his serious health scare as well. Despite this, the defense fought with an intensity that I have not seen in quite some time.

Who's coming back in 2018?

Not all of these players may return. I'm just listing the kids who were underclassmen in 2017.

Italics - player will be a junior

ATH Jake Tesch
QB Jackson Jones
LB Jackson Hosemann
WR Cam Sowell
DB JoJo Guillory
WR Connor Faulk
LB Caleb Rutherford (did not play in 2017)
LB Jackson Turnbow
LB Zach Harris
RB Darion Morgan
DB Tevis Adams
LB Mac Bird
RB Christian Scott
OL Yousef Alzibdeh
OL Ethan Agnew
OL Cody Sanker
OL Chris Sturghill
DL Tyron Lewis
OL Brock Gunderson
WR Tanner Sherrill
WR Cullen Sherrill
DL Tyler Hopmann (did not play in 2017)
DL Trevor Reed

The Cats now have one year under the triple-option attack under their belts. Though Christian Jones graduates, Ethan Agnew, Brock Gunderson, and Chris Sturghill coming back will surely help. Also, they have two more years of Jackson Jones under center, so there's definitely continuity coming for the offense. While Darion Morgan is a returning letterman and should get a fair shot to nail down the starting B-back spot, he'll have some serious competition in Christian Scott and Trayse Holmes.

On the other side of the line, however, Cy Woods will have a completely new rotation on the defensive line and the secondary; Tyron Lewis is the only holdover on the defensive line, while Chase Richter, Cam Sowell, JoJo Guillory, and Tevis Adams will look to nail down prominent roles in the secondary. Mac Bird's recovery appears to be going well and hopefully he'll be back at full strength following his life-threatening ordeal.

Realignment

2017 marked the final season for the all-CFISD district. Heading into the UIL's biennial realignment, Cy-Fair ISD was well aware that they would have to be split with Bridgeland and Cy Park beginning varsity football; UIL rules only permit a maximum of ten teams in one district for athletics.

Well, we can always count on the University Interscholastic League to throw some serious curveballs, and boy, the curve they threw for this realignment was a thing of beauty. Everyone was wondering how the UIL would split up the school district with the most 6A-sized high schools in Texas and it turns out that they'd split them up east-west between Regions II and III, presumably using Queenston Boulevard as the dividing line.

The seven schools west of Queenston were placed in District 14-6A. Yes, you heard that right: 14-6A. Cy Woods, along with Cy Springs, Cy Lakes, Langham Creek, Cy Ranch, Cy Park, and Bridgeland will all compete in Region II with Bryan and Tomball Memorial as their district mates. The five schools east of Queenston (Cy-Fair, Cy Creek, Cy Falls, Jersey Village, and Cy Ridge) remained in District 17-6A and Region III, which they will share with Spring Branch ISD.

Cy Woods turned in 3,547 on Snapshot Day, making them the largest high school in Cy-Fair ISD and the largest in 14-6A. Should they make the playoffs in the next two seasons, they will be locked into the Division I bracket.

The new district seems to have a nice balance at first glance. Langham and Ranch are probably the top two teams at the moment. After them, however, the other two playoff spots look like toss-ups. Springs and Tomball Memorial look like they might be Cy Woods' primary competition for those two spots.

Though the Bryan Vikings are coming off a 3-7 season (and a next-to-last place finish in District 18-5A) as they move back into the state's largest classification, they probably won't miss having to share a district with the likes of A&M Consolidated, Temple, and College Station. Memorial fared slightly better, but they also missed out on the playoffs after having to tussle with the Magnolia schools and Brenham, among others.

Lakes took a step back with their third winless season in eight years as they continue to try to finally get their football program off the ground. Maybe this move will symbolize a fresh start for the Spartans.

A season without seniors could be a harbinger of rough debuts for Park and Bridgeland, but nevertheless, the excitement in these communities as they enter their inaugural seasons is palpable; after all, they are finally getting their opportunity to join the grand stage that is Texas high school football.

With a new district and a return to Region II comes new potential playoff opponents. District 14 will take on District 13 in the first round, which comprises of Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD's three 6A schools (Vandegrift, Vista Ridge, and Leander), and Pflugerville Hendrickson.

Personally, I like this new district alignment. The seven CFISD schools in District 14-6A now have the opportunity to get out of Houston for a little bit to take on schools from other parts of Texas in the most diverse region in Class 6A.

I also enjoy driving, so I certainly wouldn't mind heading to Baylor for a potential playoff game with, say, Rockwall, for example.

In addition to being the 10th anniversary of the inaugural season, 2018 will be a season of firsts for Cy Woods football:

- First meetings with Bridgeland, Cy Park, Bryan, and Tomball Memorial.
- First district games against schools outside Cy-Fair ISD, and with that, the first real road game in district play.
- Cy Woods will even play a non-district game against a Cy-Fair ISD school!

On Cy-Fair winning a state championship

Congratulations to Cy-Fair on winning the first football state championship for Cy-Fair ISD. Truthfully, it's been a long time coming and it just seems fitting that the district's first school would end up winning its first state title in the most popular spectator sport in the state of Texas.

Wildcats... if watching Cy-Fair win it all doesn't motivate you to want to elevate Cy Woods football to that level, then why are you in the program in the first place?

What's in store for the blog for 2018

Now that I am... sort of a productive member of society, I have literally had zero time to update the blog. Plus, it's the offseason. Until spring rolls around, there isn't really anything compelling going on with the Wildcat football program other than realignment. I might head out to a few track meets.

2018 marks the tenth anniversary of the inaugural varsity football season for the Cypress Woods Wildcats. So... "10 Best" lists it is! Then again, the only two off the top of my head are top players and games.