Monday, February 3, 2020

Looking Ahead to 2020

What will 2020 have in store for the Cypress Woods Wildcats?





Returning Lettermen

Italics - Player will be a junior in 2020
Bold - Player will be a sophomore in 2020

I am compiling this list under the impression that each of these kids will still be playing football for Cy Woods in 2020.

QB Dylan Cormier
QB Samuel Myers
QB Trey Craft
RB Trayse Holmes
RB Jeshurun "JJ" Williams
WR Ja'Varian Stewart
WR Casey Cogdill
WR John Niles
WR/OL Ryne Sterns
WR Ryan Faulk
WR/LB Dylan Rogers
OL Braden Barrett
OL Ty Van Atta
DL Chris Agnew
DL Tyler Sherrill
DL Duke Leonard
LB Ethan Shook
LB Riley Redgrave
LB/RB Juan Rojas
K Michael Fernandez

After spending two seasons as the backup, it's now Dylan Cormier's time to shine. He got some much-needed experience late in the season and he's shown the ability to lead this offense. His skill set fits the offense well, he has a strong arm, and he's shown that he can absorb contact. It will be interesting to see if the passing game will be opened up to better utilize his arm. Trey Craft also got some run in 2019; he's also a good enough athlete to contribute as an A-back.

And then, there's Sam Myers. The general sentiment about Sam is that he's the future of this program and I agree with that assessment. However, he's also a standout baseball player and coming off a significant injury, so his situation is worth monitoring. Will he continue playing football or does his injury sway him towards baseball? He could also contribute as a utility player while he waits for his shot at the starting quarterback spot.

Trayse Holmes and Jeshurun Williams return as the B-backs. Trayse battled inconsistency throughout the year but he really stepped up late and in the playoffs, he played like the Trayse Holmes that I expected to see all year. I hope he can continue to build on that momentum through the offseason.

Braden Barrett and Ty Van Atta are the two returning starters on the offensive line and they will have a brand-new supporting cast surrounding them. Ryne Sterns has worked as a lineman and a tight end but it's time for him to find a permanent spot. No spot is ever a lock on the Wildcat offensive line so as always, expect an open competition.

Cam Sowell's departure leaves a huge void in the receiving department. Someone will need to emerge as a home run threat. It could be Dylan Rogers, who shined on offense at the freshman level and got a taste of varsity football in the playoffs.

Michael Fernandez showed that he has the leg to make kicks from anywhere, but the key for him is finding consistency and improving from a 6-12 showing on field goal attempts. To be fair, a couple of his kicks were blocked, but there were some makeable kicks that he wound up missing.

This was one of the best defensive groups for Cy Woods in years. They finished with the top defense in District 14-6A, which, when I found out, was absolutely mind-blowing. Unfortunately, almost all of the key players from this side of the ball were seniors, including the entire secondary. Expect a very young Cy Woods team in 2020. Only five defensive players who saw any playing time at the varsity level for the Cats will return in 2020 so a full-blown rebuild is likely. I'm confident in Chris Agnew and Tyler Sherrill leading the front line, but I'm really not sure about who will make up the rest of the defense.

This group of freshmen was probably the best that I've seen in quite some time. Sam already got his call-up to the big squad and there could potentially be anywhere between five, maybe even more who could be on varsity next season. Talent-wise, they might be the best class in the program and that... could be cause for concern. A few of these kids also excel in other sports, so I'm just hoping that they'll stay with football for as long as possible.

Ryan Estay and Myles West are two A-backs who could push for spots next year. If they wind up on defense, they could get on a fast track with a potential open competition looming. The two who I feel should definitely make the roster on Opening Night 2020 are Dylan Rogers and Juan Rojas, a pair of linebackers who were called up for the playoffs. Dylan looked like he was too good for the freshman level at times and there were times where I even wondered why he was still there. Juan is a B-back on offense and he's just... for lack of a better term, mean. Even at the freshman level, he plays with a level of aggression that's been missing from some Woods linebackers in the past. It was... pretty refreshing. It wouldn't shock me if they were the two starting inside linebackers to start off the 2020 season.

Another freshman who I think might also feature on the varsity next year is Sawyer Despres. He's a quarterback and a cornerback, but I've been particularly impressed with him on defense. I think he'll get a longer look at cornerback, considering that Sam might have the quarterback spot locked down. Also, like Ryan and Myles, he'll be on the fast track if he remains on defense.

Realignment

The 2019-20 school year marked the final year of the current district alignment, which placed Cy Woods and the western half of Cy-Fair ISD into District 14-6A, which is Region II, with Tomball Memorial and Bryan.

This district no longer exists. Why? Well, two schools in the region that previously competed in Class 5A turned in enrollment numbers that put them in Class 6A: Tomball High and Willis. As a result, Tomball Memorial and Bryan have departed. Tomball Memorial, along with Tomball High, joined District 15-6A with the Klein schools. Bryan is now in 12-6A with Killeen, Temple, and Copperas Cove. The rumors of Cy-Fair possibly moving into Region II have swirled all winter and in the end, it was actually Cy Falls that wound up moving into Region II.

Cy-Fair ISD remains split between Region II and Region III, but this time, it's an 8-4 split with an all-CFISD district in Region II and the other four schools remaining in place with Spring Branch ISD. The Region II district is now District 16-6A. In the bi-district round for playoffs, they'll be matched up with Klein and Tomball out of 15-6A.
At first glance, I like this new district. It certainly beats having to drive to Bryan and then having to drive down Highway 6 in the dead of night to get home. I really feel that this all-CFISD district is going to be significantly more competitive in terms of football; every team, probably except Springs, is certainly capable of beating anyone.

Elsewhere in Region II, Allen has been moved over to Region I. When you look at the map, most of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is now in Region I, except for the southern and eastern parts of the Metroplex. That, however, means that Duncanville is now in Region II. The Panthers, who have finished runners-up in each of the last two seasons, are in District 11-6A with three other really good programs in DeSoto, Cedar Hill, and Hewitt Midway. Mansfield and Mansfield Lake Ridge have also fielded some solid squads in the past as well, so 11-6A may very well be the district to beat. Houston now has four districts in Region II and there's plenty of challenging squads such as Westfield, Spring, Klein Oak, Klein Cain (which might be in Division I this year), and The Woodlands all standing in the way. Getting out of Houston will be a war these next couple of years.

As the largest school in 16-6A in terms of enrollment, the Wildcats are locked into the Division I bracket should they qualify for the playoffs in football. (Why the decimal points? Some schools don't turn in whole numbers on Snapshot Day because those decimal values account for students who don't attend school for the entire day.)

In non-district play, Cy Woods will take on Kingwood, Katy, and Shadow Creek. Yes, you read that correctly. I knew Kingwood would be one of the opponents, but I had to ask Coach Faith to repeat himself when he said that Woods would also play Katy, as in the Katy Tigers. When he re-affirmed that statement, I wondered (to myself) whether he had suffered a moment of insanity. And then when Shadow Creek was revealed as the third and final non-district opponent, I wondered again whether he had suffered another moment of insanity or whether he had legitimately gone nuts.

I will say this: Cy Woods has never backed down from any opponent, no matter their quality. To be honest, getting an opportunity to take on two of the premier programs in the state of Texas should be something that these kids should get excited about. It doesn't matter and it honestly shouldn't matter if they end up getting smacked 55-10 in both of those games. As Ric Flair always says, "to be the man, you gotta beat the man!"

The Wildcats, especially some of the underclassmen who will find themselves on the varsity in 2020, have two chances to see how a longtime power and a third-year program that has instantly become an elite squad conduct their business and hopefully learn some lessons on how to guide Cy Woods towards attaining that elite status.

And finally, if the prospect of getting to play KATY and Shadow Creek (a defending state champion!!!!!) doesn't excite you, then is playing football truly something worth doing to you?

2020 Schedule

 Dates and times to be determined. The 2020 football season will begin in the final week of August, so the first game will take place on August 27, 28, or 29.

Week 4 is a district-wide bye week. After that, Cy Woods will open district play against Falls and Bridgeland. It's a brutal opening stretch for sure. Some of these younger kids are going to have to grow up rapidly.

As Cy Woods does not participate in spring football, they will have two scrimmages. Fall practice begins August 3. Can you believe that we're six months away from the first practice of the year?

Scrimmage 1: A&M Consolidated
Scrimmage 2: @ Willis
Week 1: @ Kingwood
Week 2: Katy
Week 3: @ Shadow Creek
Week 4: Bye
***District 16-6A play begins Week 5***
Week 5: Cypress Falls
Week 6: @ Bridgeland
Week 7: Langham Creek
Week 8: Cypress Ranch
Week 9: @ Cypress Park
Week 10: Cypress Springs
Week 11: @ Cypress Lakes

These next two years will be intriguing for sure and I'm already ready for 2020 to start. The crazy thing is... after 2021, we'll be having this conversation once again with another realignment.

See you during 7-on-7 season!
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