Photo by Tom Dendy
The Cypress Woods Wildcats tasted victory for the first time in the 2018 season as they topped the Spring Lions 49-41 in a thrilling affair at Leonard George Stadium in Spring.
When the triple option works, it's a thing of beauty. Three Wildcats finished with over 100 yards rushing and as a team, they finished with 409 on the night. Asides from letting the Lions score 13 free points, the defense held steady and played some inspired football in the last 24 minutes.
1-1 heading into district play feels a whole lot better than 0-2. Nice rebound victory for the Cats after Cy Ridge handed it to them to start the new season. This opening stretch doesn't get any easier with Tomball Memorial and Langham Creek waiting in the wings, however. Taking both of those games would be a dream start for the Cats, but a split would still put them in a good position for the rest of the season.
What Happened
Dannermania ran wild on the Spring Lions.
Both teams scored in the opening period. Dallas Reid opened the scoring in the Lions' favor when he returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown. Three minutes later, Darion Morgan put Cy Woods on the board by scoring on a 23-yard run.
End of 1st Quarter: Cy Woods 7, Spring 7
Trayse Holmes put the Cats in front with a 13-yard scoring run and Carson Danner scored the first of his four rushing touchdowns on the evening with a one-yard run. Spring tied the game at halftime thanks to a pair of touchdown runs from Clifton McDowell; they successfully converted a two-point conversion following McDowell's second touchdown run.
Halftime: Cy Woods 21, Spring 21
Um... on the first play of the second half, the Wildcats decided not to cover Bailee Davenport and he caught a pass from McDowell and scored from 75 yards out. Fortunately, the Cats went on a drive that culminated in Carson Danner finding a wide-open Jake Tesch for a 31-yard touchdown. Danner scored again on the ground from six yards, but Gustavo Olmedo missed the extra point, his second of the game. Before the end of the third quarter, McDowell hit Davenport for another touchdown, this time from 12 yards.
End of 3rd Quarter: Spring 35, Cy Woods 34
Danner scored on two more runs in the final period. On third and extremely long, the Wildcats forgot how to tackle and that allowed McDowell to score on a 50-yard run. Fortunately, that was the only damage that the Lions inflicted in the final quarter.
Final: Cy Woods 49, Spring 41
Ground
Carson Danner tied a school single-game record with four rushing touchdowns. Darion Morgan and Christian Scott both turned in 100-yard games on the ground. All three broke the 100-yard mark on the ground for the first time in their careers.
I did enjoy watching Carson at the sub-varsity level. Obviously, he's no Michael Vick, but he's tough to bring down once he gets himself going. It just comes from out of nowhere... you think he'd be good for 4-5 yards and then he shifts into gear and gets eight/nine yards just like that. I think he would have made a fine B-back in this offense.
Speaking of B-backs, Darion Morgan had the game this offense needed from him. He chewed up yardage all evening and even busted loose for a couple of 20-yard runs. As long as he gets at least five yards every time he runs, the offense will be fine. Congratulations to Trayse Holmes for scoring his first touchdown at the varsity level. Hopefully there will be more touchdowns in his future.
Christian Scott and Jake Tesch will cause some serious headaches on the edges. Christian got a taste of the varsity game as a sophomore and now he will be expected to handle more responsibilities on offense. He'll essentially assume the same role as Jake.
Stats from MaxPreps
Carson Danner: 18 rush, 122 yards, 4 TD; tied Cy Woods single-game record for rushing touchdowns
Darion Morgan: 13 rush, 110 yards, TD
Jake Tesch: 12 rush, 49 yards
Christian Scott: 10 rush, 100 yards
Trayse Holmes: 7 rush, 28 yards, TD
Air
Carson Danner did most of his damage with his legs but he also found a wide-open Jake Tesch streaking down the middle for a touchdown. They nearly connected for another touchdown but that throw was just out of Jake's reach.
Carson Danner: 3-7, 66 yards, TD
Jake Tesch: 1 catch, 31 yards, TD
Jackson Turnbow: 1 catch, 26 yards
Trayse Holmes: 1 catch, 9 yards
Defense
Colton Morris got a pick in the third quarter and the Wildcats turned it into a touchdown. They could have held Spring to less than 30 points had they not given 13 points away so carelessly.
Tackles in this game were not tracked.
Special Teams
Gustavo Olmedo missed a couple of extra points in this one, which was just about the only thing that went wrong on offense or special teams for the Cats. Cole Gerletti punted once for 26 yards.
Jake Tesch: 2 kicks returned, 47 yards; 1 punt returned, 7 yards
Pearson Chesnutt: 1 kick returned, 22 yards
Man of the Match
Carson Danner.
Looking Ahead
The Cypress Woods Wildcats will open District 14-6A play against the Tomball Memorial Wildcats on Friday, September 14, at 7:00 PM in Tomball.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.