Photo by Tom Dendy
The first-ever meeting between Cy Woods and Bridgeland turned out to be no contest. If the Cats hadn't committed a couple of pretty bad turnovers in the first quarter, one of which gifted the Bears a touchdown, it's possible that the final score could have been more lopsided than 56-14. They did what was expected of them and they dominated a team playing its first varsity football season without seniors.
After winning a thriller against Langham Creek last week, the big question surrounding Cy Woods was whether they would suffer a letdown following the high of such an emotional victory. After scoring on their opening drive in just under two minutes, it would be clear that the there would be no such thing. Pretty much only two things went wrong in this game: the gift touchdown near the end of the first quarter and the opening drive of the second half, in which the defense forgot that the game resumed.
There was a preview on the Vype website of this game that was written by a kid from Bridgeland and he had predicted a Bridgeland victory, but I'll let that go. I'm too old to bicker with kids about high school football anyway. The Bears have some legit talent, but it's not their time yet. We'll be hearing plenty about them in the coming years.
Congratulations to Dylan Cormier on his varsity debut. Dylan is a sophomore quarterback and he's wearing #34. I don't know why he didn't get to wear 16, 18, or 19, but that's not my decision. I'm just wondering...
And with that, the first half of the season draws to a close. The season literally started on the first day of this month and five games are already in the books. 3-2 in the first half is... fine. The Cats have more wins than losses and with a 2-1 record against district foes, they are most definitely in a favorable position as the playoff race begins to take shape in the district.
Game Summarized by an Image I Found on the Internet
Cy Woods made quick work of Bridgeland.
A couple of big runs from Jake Tesch were the key plays in the opening drive, which was completed when Carson Danner scored from six yards out. After the Bears went three-and-out and then committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave Woods outstanding field position, Tesch had another big run that would have had the Cats in the red zone... but he lost the ball. Fortunately, the Bears went three-and-out on their ensuing offensive possession following the turnover. Danner found Tesch on fourth down to keep Cy Woods' next drive alive, which he capped off with an eight-yard touchdown run.
The Bears had an interesting strategy for their next series: they decided to call a Finn Nicholson arm punt on the very first play and Jackson Hosemann ended up getting his first interception of the night. A couple of big pass plays from Danner put the Cats in the red zone and he finished it off with a two-yard run. Another Bears punt gave the Cats the ball back inside the 20. But on the first play of that series a high snap rolled into the end zone and Danner was forced to scramble for it. Instead of just taking a safety (or even kicking it away!), he scrambled for the ball, put it on the ground in the end zone again, and Connor Motsinger pounced on the loose ball to put Bridgeland on the board. Giving up two... way better than giving up six.
End of 1st Quarter: Woods 21, Bridgeland 7
The Cats decided to end this one early and they did so with four touchdowns in the second quarter. After Hosemann picked Nicholson off for the second time, the Cats marched right back down the field and Jake Tesch finished it off with a 34-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, Trayse Holmes delivered a massive hit that jarred the ball loose. Tylan Foster recovered the ball and should have had a touchdown, but the officials apparently heard a whistle and as a result, they blew the play dead after much conferring. It ultimately didn't matter because Danner found Connor Faulk for a 24-yard touchdown pass on the very next play. After yet another three-and-out for the Bears, the Cats drove once again and Holmes finished it by scoring from eight yards out. Tesch inexplicably decided to try and catch a punt with one hand but fortunately, Hosemann was there to bail him out by recovering the loose ball. Tesch atoned for that mistake by catching a pass from Danner and slashing his way into the end zone from 36 yards out just before halftime.
Halftime: Woods 49, Bridgeland 7
Bridgeland opened the scoring in the second half when Nicholson connected with Atrevion Hunter for a 23-yard touchdown pass on their first drive. This was the only scoring play in the third quarter. The Cats really wanted to get out of this game as quickly as possible.
The Bears recovered a fumble to thwart a Cy Woods threat but could only get one first down on their next possession before they had to punt. The Cats got the ball with 6:21 left in the 3rd and they used up all of that clock. Holmes scored on a four-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to finish that drive and the scoring.
Final: Woods 56, Bridgeland 14
Ground
Carson Danner added three more touchdowns on the ground, giving him 12 on the season. He is now just ten touchdowns away from matching the Cy Woods single-season record for rushing touchdowns, which was set by Nick Hooper in 2014. He has at least five more games to get to 22.
The second half was Trayse Holmes' time to shine. Darion Morgan looked to have been banged up, so if he ends up missing some time, Holmes will be getting a more prominent role in the offense.
Stats from Varsity Wires, which tracked stats on behalf of the Texas Sports Network.
Trayse Holmes: 24 rush, 123 yards, 2 TD
Carson Danner: 14 rush, 83 yards, 3 TD
Jake Tesch: 8 rush, 121 yards, TD
Dylan Cormier: 6 rush, 29 yards
Christian Scott: 5 rush, 55 yards
Tre Mejia: 3 rush, 4 yards
There were also two attempts credited to "TEAM" and the Cats lost 16 yards. 15 of those came on the bad snap that resulted in free points for the Bears and the other yard that was lost came when Dylan Cormier took a knee to end the game.
Air
Danner had his best game in terms of accuracy. His receivers were in position to make plays and he helped them out with some really good throws.
Carson Danner: 8-11, 172 yards, 2 TD
Jake Tesch: 3 catches, 73 yards, TD
Christian Scott: 2 catches, 33 yards
Cameron Sowell: 1 catch, 29 yards
Connor Faulk: 1 catch, 24 yards, TD
Trayse Holmes: 1 catch, 13 yards
Defense
The Cats held the top offense in District 14-6A to 162 yards and seven points (the other seven, as I mentioned earlier, came when Carson Danner decided not to take a safety for some reason).
Cy Woods became extremely well-acquainted with Finn Nicholson by the end of the evening and they held Dylan Goffney, who entered this game as the leading receiver in District 14-6A, to just four catches for 26 yards. Nicholson, the leading passer in the district, finished 10-25 for just 97 yards and Jackson Hosemann intercepted him twice. Gavan Kaspar led the district in all-purpose yards entering the game; he only had 46 rushing yards and returned a kickoff 15 yards.
Nicholson trying to force the issue early with long balls to Goffney ended up working in the Cats' favor because they all ended up being incomplete and as a result, the Bears couldn't really work anyone else into the passing game to take the attention off Goffney.
I'm kind of sure that Bryce Callahan had a game in 2008 or 2009 where he had two interceptions, so Jackson Hosemann may or may not be the first player in Cy Woods history to record two interceptions in one game.
Twenty Wildcats recorded at least one tackle. Mac Bird led the way with nine. For the first time this season, Chase Richter did not finish a game as Cy Woods' leader in this statistic. Tylan Foster had six tackles, two sacks, and what should have been a scoop and score if it hadn't been for the refs hearing things that actually didn't make a noise.
Interceptions: Jackson Hosemann 2
Fumbles recovered: Tylan Foster
Hosemann now has three interceptions on the year.
Sacks: Tylan Foster 2
These were Foster's first sacks of the season and he's jumped into a tie at the top with Mac Bird, who also has two sacks.
Special Teams
Fair catches on kickoffs... work the same way as touchbacks now?
Christian Scott returned two kickoffs for a total of 28 yards. Jake Tesch returned three punts but only netted four yards. Jackson Hosemann was credited with a return for one yard after he recovered a punt that Tesch muffed.
Gustavo Olmedo hit all eight of his extra-point attempts. The Wildcats only punted twice in this game; Danner had a 31-yard punt and Cole Gerletti had a 28-yard punt that hit a Bridgeland player but bounced out of bounds afterward. That was probably a confidence booster for Gerletti; the last time he appeared, he shanked a punt and it only went for nine yards.
Men of the Match
The defense gets this one. This was by far their most complete effort of the season. They've been the target of ire throughout the first half of the year so I'm extremely happy that they responded with this performance.
They'll have to bring it like they did in this game for the rest of the year.
Looking Ahead
It's Homecoming Week at the Woods! It is also the start of the second half of the season.
The 11th Annual Cypress Woods High School Homecoming Football Game and the accompanying pageantry will take place at Pridgeon Stadium on Friday, October 5. The Wildcats will take on the Cypress Lakes Spartans at 7:00 PM.
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