2020 Record: 3-2, 2-1 in District 16-6A
Photo courtesy: Rob August, Phlox Photography/MaxPreps
Plug: Are you a parent of a Cy Woods football player and would like to have some pictures to remember this season by? Phlox Photography has you covered. Photographers will be on-site at every Cy Woods varsity football game, all Cy Woods sub-varsity home games, and depending on availability, most away sub-varsity games.
For more information on how to purchase a spotlight photo gallery for your athlete, please contact Tom Dendy, JoAnn Nowak, or Carmen Agnew, visit the Phlox website for more details, or check out this explainer video on how to order photos. Tom, Mrs. Nowak, and Mrs. Agnew are all certified MaxPreps photographers and you can also view their photos on Cy Woods' MaxPreps page.
After taking a tough loss to a Bridgeland team that is heading full speed ahead to the District 16-6A title, the Cypress Woods Wildcats would have to quickly forget about that defeat because they would be leading off Week 5 with a Thursday night showdown against the Langham Creek Lobos.
This game didn't start off too well as the Lobos raced out to a 21-7 lead on the strength of three Tanner Murray touchdown passes. Chris Agnew was not having any of that, so he went off once he returned to the bench. Chris, if you've forgotten, is a three-year starter and a team captain. This guy has been a part of two playoff teams at Cy Woods and I'm sure that he'd like it if he could be part of a third. And he was right. That effort we saw from Woods to start was appalling.
Following Chris's... catharsis (releasing strong emotions) on the sideline, the Wildcats scored three touchdowns in a row in the second and third quarters to take the lead, but this game still remained tense towards the end. Finally, Woods took control with a touchdown with less than three minutes in regulation to escape with a 42-35 victory.
Honestly, this game shouldn't have finished with a one-score difference. It really felt like Woods was playing down to their competition in this game, much like they did against Falls, and much like they did against a much, much worse Langham team last year.
Sidebar: I've really found myself complaining quite a bit this year. I've got to realize that expecting this team to transform into last year's team is a completely unrealistic expectation. With this year's team, there are a lot of new faces that need to be integrated at every position group. Asking them to successfully defend a district title might have been too big of an ask, but I know they're capable of securing a playoff spot, especially in a district that doesn't look as strong as I initially perceived. For the first time, there is a clear gap between the top four and the non-playoff squads. Fortunately, the Cypress Woods Wildcats find themselves in the first category to close out the first half of the 2020 season and they should be alright.
Well, a win is a win and Woods appears to be safe with regards to their playoff chase. Now on to Ranch, and on to the second half (!!!) of the season. Time sure does fly...
What Happened
Well, I'm not sure what happened, but late in the first quarter, Jaquaize Pettaway managed to get wide open and Tanner Murray just lobbed one over to him for a 55-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. The Wildcats got on the board when Myles Johnson came down with a 27-yard touchdown catch in double coverage.
End of 1st Quarter: Woods 7, Langham 7
Yeah, I'm not sure what happened here either, but another blown coverage allowed Pettaway to slip away and he scored on a 50-yard touchdown reception on what was essentially the same play that he scored his first touchdown. And then the Wildcats muffed the ensuing kickoff, which the Lobos recovered. Yet another busted coverage left Kaelum Dickerson wide open and Murray simply lobbed the ball over to him for a 28-yard touchdown pass. I mean, Dickerson probably didn't have anyone within 15 yards of him. He could have walked into the end zone. Woods got themselves off the canvas with a one-yard touchdown run by Dylan Cormier with two minutes left in the first half.
Halftime: Langham Creek 21, Cypress Woods 14
Cy Woods came out swinging to start the second half and they ended up grabbing the lead in the process. Trey Craft capped off the Wildcats' first drive of the second half with a 16-yard touchdown run and then after a Carson Smith interception, Cy Woods converted that turnover into points when Cormier hit Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown pass. They couldn't shake the Lobos, however, as they responded with a two-yard touchdown run from Murray. Cormier capped off a 13-play, 64-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run, but one play later, Murray hit Pettaway, who broke a tackle and left everyone in the dust for a 61-yard touchdown grab.
End of 3rd Quarter: Cypress Woods 35, Langham Creek 35
It took almost ten minutes, but there was one scoring play and thankfully, it belonged to the Cypress Woods Wildcats as Trayse Holmes rumbled into the end zone with a six-yard run with a little less than three minutes to go in regulation. Langham Creek had one last shot to tie the game, but Christian Faulkner sacked Murray to end it.
Final: Cypress Woods 42, Langham Creek 35
Ground
Well, that's a little more like it. Woods ran the ball 65 times and only one run resulted in a loss of yards. Dylan Cormier set a new Woods season-high with his 170 yards on the ground. It was only a matter of time before he busted out for a big game on the ground. He made quick and decisive cuts upfield when he elected to keep the ball on option plays and made sound decisions on the option all evening.
Air
Not really needed considering how the Wildcats wore down a pretty good Langham front seven, but Myles Johnson has quickly established himself as the #1 receiving option out wide. He almost had a third touchdown grab, but Trey Craft just overthrew him on the double pass.
Defense
Chunk plays are the ultimate equalizer against a ball-control offense, especially if they result in touchdowns. For this Cy Woods team to operate efficiently, the defense must limit the number of chunk plays it allows. Against Bridgeland, that was always going to be an issue since that offense is a flamethrower. Against a clearly less-talented offense in Langham Creek, however, the Wildcats just did not play very good defense. Four of the Lobos' five scoring drives lasted two plays or less; three of them were one-play touchdown drives!
Allowing 31 rushing yards is great! On the other hand, Tanner Murray torched the Cats for 390 yards and four touchdowns through the air. 256 of those yards and three of those touchdowns went to Jaquaize Pettaway, who was probably surprised that he was so wide open on two of his three scores. Murray's other touchdown pass to Kaelum Dickerson in the second quarter was an absolute atrocity from the Cy Woods defense.
Twelve Wildcats recorded at least one tackle in this game and once again, Dylan Rogers led the way with his ten stops. The defense sacked Murray six times in this game; Riley Redgrave dropped him twice, while Chris Agnew, Terrance Green, Tyler Sherrill, and Christian Faulkner, whose sack ended the game, all got to him once. Carson Smith picked Murray off in the third quarter and returned the interception 35 yards into Langham Creek territory to set the Wildcats up for a touchdown.
Special Teams
Hello, long-time watcher of Cypress Woods Wildcats football here. Are you not aware that a kickoff is a live ball? It's been five weeks and you're still not aware of this? This is the third time that Cy Woods' kickoff return unit has allowed the opposing team to recover a pooch kick, which is three times too many for an entire season, much less the first five games of a season. So... what's going on here, guys.
In his first varsity football game, Max Nowak, a sophomore, handled the kicking and the punting duties as Michael Fernandez sat out for [redacted] and Ryan Faulk was nursing an injury. Max hit all six of his extra-point attempts.
Game Summary from Varsity Wires
- I'm pretty sure that Jaquaize Pettaway set a new record for receiving yards by a Cy Woods opponent in this game.
- Allowing four scoring drives of two plays or less is a complete farce.
Man of the Match: Riley Redgrave and Max Nowak
Nowak: 6-6 XP; varsity debut
Redgrave: 6 tackles (3 TFL), 2 sacks, 1 QB hurry
Congratulations to Max Nowak on his varsity debut. Cy Woods' kicker of the future (and the present, it looks like) did a nice job filling in for Michael Fernandez as he hit all six of his extra-point attempts.
Riley Redgrave turned in his best performance as a Wildcat football player for sure. He lost his starting spot midway through last season, but he's always demonstrated that he can be a solid football player and through the first half of this season, he's building a solid case to be included on an All-District team.
Sub-Varsity Results
Freshmen (1-0 as a combined team) 44, Langham Creek 20
JV (2-1 as a combined team) 34, Langham Creek 14
Looking Ahead
The Cypress Woods Wildcats will face the Cypress Ranch Mustangs at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium on Halloween afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM and the Wildcats will be the home team in this contest.
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