Photo courtesy of Phlox Photography
Photo galleries for this week's games, including galleries for all sub-varsity games
Well, when you're all alone in first place, there's a target on your back. And the longer you're there, the larger it gets. The Cypress Lakes Spartans got the first crack at a Cy Woods squad that entered Week 6 as the lone undefeated team in District 14-6A. The Spartans certainly gave the Cats a run, but in the end, Woods made just a few more plays and they emerged with a 31-28 victory to remain unbeaten in district play.
Some victories (*cough*Bridgeland*cough*) are more satisfying than others. Other victories are a little more significant. This victory over Lakes means that Woods has successfully avoided the absolute chaos scenario that would have come with four teams tied at the top with 3-1 records in district. Oh, and Tomball Memorial is very much in the picture at 2-1. I'm just glad that Woods has a bit of a head start on everyone instead of having to endure another "playoffs for the playoffs" scenario. Of course, they can't rest on their laurels now... they still have another hurdle to clear in the form of Cy Park.
One of the main questions leading up to this game was whether Cy Woods' defense could turn in another lockdown performance on another stellar quarterback in Sofian Massoud after they completely stymied Bridgeland's Conner Weigman last week. Massoud still managed to post some good numbers, but fortunately, the Cats were able to create just enough separation from him and his team.
There was an eyebrow-raising decision near the end of the game where Woods had a fourth down at Lakes' 17 with a little over a minute to go in regulation. Instead of trying a field goal that would have extended their lead to 34-28, they went for it by attempting a trick play that failed. Lakes made it as far as Woods' 31, but a 48-yard field goal attempt from Axel Espinal fell one yard short as time expired.
Although the kick, which would have been a 34-yard attempt, was well inside Michael Fernandez's range, we've already seen that gimme field goals are not necessarily guaranteed points (See: blocked 20-yard field goal vs. Tomball Memorial). Yes, they probably could have tried a run up the middle. Even if that didn't get them a first down, they could have gained some yards to make Lakes' journey a little longer. On the other hand, they could have gotten stopped for no gain or for a loss. So, they tried the trick play. They didn't get it, but fortunately, it was an incomplete pass, so no loss of yardage. That meant that the Spartans needed to go 83 yards in 73 seconds. On the other hand, had the Cats successfully kicked a field goal, they would have had to kick it back to the Spartans and Xavier Howard had already ripped off a couple of pretty good returns. If he had gotten another chance, Howard could have shortened the field. I would also imagine that they were not too keen on kicking it to Kyree Anderson, either.
Having to make decisions like these just reinforces the notion of how excruciatingly tough coaching can be. If Lakes had forced overtime or won, the entire Cy Woods community would most likely be bombarding Coach Faith with questions about why he didn't kick a field goal. I guess he trusted his defense to get the stop they needed to get this victory. And in a way, they got that stop because they halted the Spartans' advance to the point where they needed to make a long field goal to force overtime and the kick fell just short.
Speaking of Sofian Massoud, this kid is a must-see talent. I've had the chance to see Massoud a few times before tonight and I absolutely believe that he is the best quarterback in all of Cy-Fair ISD. I can't even be a homer here. I like Jackson and he's certainly a fine player in his own right, but Sofian Massoud is just... on another level. There have been some stellar athletes in Cy-Fair ISD who have lined up at quarterback like Chris Herron, Nick Hooper, Taye Barber, and Deshun Qualls. Massoud, however, is a true dual threat. If he leads Lakes into the playoffs, that's a team that could spring an upset.
On to Park! And... on to Homecoming.
What Happened
Jackson Jones opened the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run. This was the only scoring play of the first quarter.
End of 1st Quarter: Woods 7, Lakes 0
Lakes got on the board when Sofian Massoud got in with a quarterback sneak early in the second quarter. Jackson responded with a six-yard touchdown run three minutes later. With about four minutes left, Massoud hit back with an eight-yard run. The Cats quickly regained the lead when JaVarian Stewart sprang loose and Jackson found him for a 53-yard touchdown pass.
Halftime: Woods 21, Lakes 14
Woods got a stop to start the second half and they got points on their first offensive drive with a 27-yard field goal from Michael Fernandez. Lakes responded with an eight-yard touchdown pass by Massoud to Khaliq Mateen. Once again, the two quarterbacks exchanged rushing touchdowns late in the third; Jones scored from 12 and Massoud got in from ten yards.
End of 3rd Quarter: Woods 31, Lakes 28
Both teams had chances to score at the end of the game: Woods to seal the victory and Lakes to at least force overtime. Neither team was successful.
Final: Woods 31, Lakes 28
Ground
Some tough running gave the Cats a season-high 249 yards on the ground. They ran the ball 44 times and that gives them a very respectable 5.7 yards per carry.
Jackson has been running like a man possessed since district play started. I thought there'd be a little re-adjustment needed on his part when he re-assumed his role as the starting quarterback and it felt like he would need the non-district slate to really settle in. He is now showing the ability that allowed the coaching staff to turn the reins over to him when he was a sophomore.
All statistics are from Varsity Wires.
Jackson Jones: 19 rush, 96 yards, 3 TD
Christian Scott: 11 rush, 54 yards
Rudy Mejia: 5 rush, 43 yards
JaVarian Stewart: 3 rush, 39 yards
Jeshurun Williams: 2 rush, 15 yards
Trayse Holmes: 3 rush, 9 yards
Konner Sabrsula: 1 rush, -5 yards
Air
Nothing spectacular other than the touchdown pass to JaVarian Stewart, but Jackson had a solid night throwing the ball. That's really the essence of this offense: get 4/5 yards per carry and then when it's time to take a shot downfield, make the throw that needs to be made. There was one pass that I thought would get intercepted, but fortunately, Christian Scott got there and the Cats got a nice gain out of it.
Jackson Jones: 9-13, 157 yards, TD
Christian Scott: 0-1
Cameron Sowell: 3 rec, 49 yards
JaVarian Stewart: 1 rec, 53 yards, TD
Rudy Mejia: 1 rec, 22 yards
Amari McDonald: 1 rec, 13 yards
Christian Scott: 1 rec, 11 yards
Konner Sabrsula: 1 rec, 5 yards
Trayse Holmes: 1 rec, 3 yards
Defense
Massoud left his mark on this game, but again, the Cats' defense made a few more plays on him than the Spartans' defense did on Jackson. Neither offense committed a turnover so it would all come down to which defense could make more plays. Massoud proved to be a tough out as he consistently extended plays using his feet and he also scored three touchdowns on the ground.
The one thing that Lakes' receivers had excelled at all season was getting yards after the catch. Aside from a heave that was caught by Josh McMillan for 54 yards and a 32-yard catch-and-run from Amir Turner, they didn't have much room to get more yardage, even on the big pass plays. Josh McMillan put up 119 yards on just four catches; that's a season-high in yards for an opposing receiver.
For the most part, however, the Cats came into this game prepared for the deep passes that Massoud likes to uncork. He threw up a few for Khaliq Mateen but they were all broken up. Mateen did catch the one touchdown pass but he was pretty quiet for most of the night, finishing with just 51 yards.
21 Wildcats recorded at least one tackle and Colton Morris was the runaway winner with 14, including the only sack of Massoud on the night. The secondary put up a huge performance in this critical game: Reagan Simmons had seven tackles and three pass breakups. Kahlil Robinson had three tackles and broke up two more passes.
Special Teams
Another solid night for Michael Fernandez as he hit all of his kicks: he had a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter and went 4-4 on extra points.
Lakes made sure to keep Christian Scott and JaVarian Stewart from burning them on kickoffs, so they pooch kicked all night, which doesn't really come as a surprise; this has been their approach on kickoffs for a long time.
Michael Fernandez: 1-1 FG (made 27), 4-4 XP
Trajan Armstrong: 2 punts, 60 yards (30 yards per punt), long of 34
Chase Richter got all the kickoff return opportunities as he got three returns for 26 yards.
Man of the Match
1. Jackson Jones
Massoud put up his usual gaudy numbers, but Jackson more than held his own in this game. And most importantly, he led his team to the victory. His decision-making has gotten more sound as the season has progressed and this was the first clean game that the offense turned in. Every snap decision he needed to make, he made the right one.
2. JaVarian Stewart
JaVarian has really shined when he's gotten opportunities. Again, I expect to see him take on a more prominent role in the offense as the season progresses.
3. Colton Morris
Against probably the best quarterback that Cy Woods will face all year, Colton elevated his game to a Defensive MVP level. He definitely has to be one of the leading candidates for the Defensive MVP of District 14-6A.
4. The secondary
Against another outstanding group of opposing wideouts, the secondary had yet another solid outing. McMillan went off, but he was the only Lakes receiver who did so. Again, Mateen was rather quiet outside of his touchdown catch, Turner only caught one pass, and KeLan Dove didn't catch any. Massoud did some damage through the ground game, but his M.O. has been to sling the ball all over the field to let his receivers make the plays. Only one of them could.
Michael Akita and Tevis Adams had a couple of key pass breakups near the end of the game. Chase Richter had nine tackles and forced a fumble on Kyree Anderson early in the game. Unfortunately, he left the game with a lower-body injury. That's a huge blow to a secondary, a defense, and a football team that will have to play without one of its leaders for an undetermined amount of time.
Well, time to see who's going to step up in his absence.
A Random Tidbit I Found
This is the first time that Cy Woods has won multiple games by the same final score in the same season. The other 31-28 victory, if you've forgotten, came in the district opener against Tomball Memorial. The Cats had two games that finished 35-14 in 2012, but they lost the first one to Klein Collins and beat Jersey Village in the second 35-14 game.
Sub-Varsity Results
Freshman Gold (3-2) - W 20-16 @ Cy Lakes
Freshman Cardinal (5-1) - W 40-20 @ Cy Lakes
JV Gold (2-3) - L 20-14 vs. College Station
JV Cardinal (3-3) - W 27-0 vs. Cy Lakes
Looking Ahead
It's Homecoming Week at the Woods!
Homecoming XII will take place at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium at 7:00 as the Wildcats host the Cypress Park Tigers.
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