Know the Enemy: Cypress Ranch Mustangs

Week 9: Cypress Woods Wildcats (6-2, 5-1) @ Cypress Ranch Mustangs (7-0, 5-0)
1:00 PM Saturday, October 27, 2018
Cy-Fair FCU Stadium

Photo by Tom Dendy

Previously on Cy Woods Football...

The Cypress Woods Wildcats made short work of Cy Springs with a 36-7 victory that secured their first winning season since 2014. Cameron Sowell caught two touchdown passes and Carson Danner ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats won their fifth game in a row.

Next up... the rivalry game.

Alright, Cats. You've had this game circled on the calendar since the schedule came out. You said you wanted Ranch. You've waited a year to get your hands on them.

Well... now it's time. Are you going to be the ones who will write the next chapter in this rivalry? Or are you going to let them write one for the fifth consecutive year? No team has beaten Cy Woods five years in a row. That's one of the things at stake in this game, along with the Wildcats' five-game winning streak.

Before we take a look at the Stangs, here is a current look at the District 14-6A picture, and also, a look at District 13-6A as well.

District 14-6A

Current playoff teams in italics. A team that's been stricken has been eliminated from playoff contention. I think it might be safe to eliminate Springs, Bridgeland, and Park from the picture.

I believe that the winner of this game and Tomball Memorial can clinch playoff spots with wins this week. If Cy Woods continues to occupy a playoff position at season's end, their path will not change: they will be the #1 seed for the district in the Division I bracket as they are (1) the largest school in District 14-6A by enrollment and (2) they own the tiebreakers over Cy Lakes and Langham Creek by winning the head-to-head matchups.

1. Cy Ranch (7-0, 5-0)
2. Cy Woods (6-2, 5-1)
3. Tomball Memorial (6-1, 4-1)
4. Langham Creek (3-4, 3-2)
5. Cy Lakes (4-4, 3-3)
6. Bryan (3-4, 2-3)
7. Cy Springs (1-6, 1-4)
8. Bridgeland (2-6, 1-5)
9. Cy Park (0-7, 0-5)

Last Week in District 14-6A

No shockers here... the teams that were expected to win all won.

Bye: Cy Ranch

Friday
Cy Woods 36, Cy Springs 7
Bryan 42, Cy Park 7
Tomball Memorial 28, Cy Lakes 14

Saturday
Langham Creek 53, Bridgeland 13

This Week in District 14-6A

Bye: Bridgeland

Thursday
Cy Springs vs. Bryan, 7:00 at CF-FCU
Cy Park vs. Tomball Memorial, 7:00 at Pridgeon

Friday
Cy Lakes vs. Langham Creek, 7:00 at CF-FCU

Saturday
Cy Ranch vs. Cy Woods, 1:00 at CF-FCU

Friday's game between Lakes and Langham will essentially decide the final playoff spot in District 14-6A. The math hasn't officially eliminated Bryan yet but taking down Ranch and Woods to finish the season may be too tall of an order.

Now, let's look at the other half of the bi-district pairing in District 13.

District 13-6A

District 13-6A consists of schools from Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, and one Pflugerville school (Hendrickson).

Vandegrift sits atop the district and they have a bye this week. They'll be the #1 seed in the Division II bracket. The other three playoff spots are all up in the air since Cedar Ridge and Round Rock are both tied at 4-1 while Pflugerville Hendrickson and McNeil are both sitting at 3-2. Stony Point finds themselves on the outside looking in and although the math hasn't officially eliminated them yet, they will also need a few miracles to steal a playoff spot.

1. Vandegrift (8-0, 6-0)
2. Cedar Ridge (5-2, 4-1)
3. Round Rock (5-2, 4-1)
4. Hendrickson (4-2, 3-2)
5. McNeil (4-3, 3-2)
6. Stony Point (4-3, 2-3)
7. Westwood (3-4, 1-4)
8. Vista Ridge (1-7, 1-5)
9. Leander (1-7, 0-6)

All Week 9 games in District 13-6A will take place on Friday at 7:00. The Cedar Ridge/Round Rock game is the one to watch as it will most likely determine Cy Woods' first-round opponent.

Bye: Vandegrift

Stony Point vs. McNeil
Hendrickson vs. Vista Ridge
Leander vs. Westwood
Cedar Ridge vs. Round Rock

The Enemy: Cypress Ranch Mustangs

2017 Record: 8-3, 7-2 (2nd) in District 17-6A
Lost 55-7 to Katy in 6A Division I, Region III area round

Cy Ranch season-to-date

W 32-21 vs. Cinco Ranch
W 25-21 @ Austin Westlake
W 31-24 vs. Langham Creek
W 52-10 vs. Bridgeland
W 45-14 @ Cy Lakes
W 51-10 vs. Cy Park
W 56-14 @ Cy Springs

The Mustangs were off last week.

All-Time Series

Ranch leads 5-3.

Previous Meetings

November 11, 2017: Ranch 21, Woods 17
November 4, 2016: Ranch 52, Woods 13
September 26, 2015: Ranch 44, Woods 25
September 27, 2014: Ranch 38, Woods 35
October 19, 2013: Woods 54, Ranch 0
October 20, 2012: Woods 40, Ranch 37 (OT)
September 23, 2011: Woods 68, Ranch 21
September 24, 2010: Ranch 38, Woods 35

Players to Watch

Logan McDougald - JR QB #10
Willie Eldridge - JR RB #5
Elias Pino - JR RB #11
Justin Carmouche - SR RB #1
C.J. Hardy - SR WR #2
Jarred Jones - SR DL #94
Travis Arey - SR LB #33
Christian Richards - JR LB #27
Gerard McKnight - SR LB #16
Rance McInnis - SR DB #7
Grant Saracene - SR DB #15
Keaton Dickey - SR DB #26

2¢ on Ranch

Before I begin...

Although it hasn't been as heated as it was at the beginning of the decade, if you think that the enmity between these two schools has been extinguished... you'd be surprised. In the coming years, however, Bridgeland will definitely be a bigger target for Ranch's ire. Many of the kids on both sides of this rivalry have friends who go to the other school so quite a few friendships will be put on hold for this week...

Cy Ranch has proven that their run to state in 2014 was no fluke because they've legitimately transformed themselves into one of the top programs in Texas.

The Mustangs were favored to challenge for the district championship with Langham Creek entering this season, but they left the Lobos in the dust a long time ago. They managed to escape Austin with a win over Westlake, who lest we forget, was a semifinal team from last year. Then, they proceeded to stun Langham with two touchdowns in the last 45 seconds or something like that to open up district play.

Lucky? Sure. But good teams can manufacture their own luck. Great teams capitalize on every break they get and that's what Ranch has been doing for years. The Mustangs have taken the Cy-Fair formula and have run it as well as, and at times even better, than the Bobcats.

The running game takes center stage for the Mustangs with the tandem of Elias Pino and Willie Eldridge. Pino was the Offensive Newcomer of the year in District 17-6A last season. Justin Carmouche's emergence gives Ranch another weapon in the backfield. Logan McDougald is a dependable quarterback and he's taken full control of the reins in his first full season as a varsity player. C.J. Hardy is the Mustangs' top receiver by far and he can make some big plays out wide. Keep an eye out for Edwin Smith, though. He's a 6-5 sophomore who has huge upside.

The one thing that stands out about Ranch's defense is that they not only have playmakers at all three levels, but they have tremendous depth at each level as well. Anyone who steps in on defense for them can make plays.

Jarred Jones is a disruptor in the trenches. Blane Channel got a taste of the varsity level as a freshman and he's emerged as a starter in his sophomore year. Logan Stiba and Devante Keys have become key role players on the defensive line.

Gerard McKnight has shown a penchant for blowing up plays in the backfield as he leads District 14-6A in tackles for loss and sacks. McKnight has solid support with Travis Arey, Chris Lane, Brett Wilson, and Christian Richards.

Rance McInnis is a three-year starter in the Ranch secondary and is the leader of a deep and talented group that also features Urijah Morrow, Nick Sanchez, Marquis Watson, Grant Saracene, and Keaton Dickey. Saracene is also a serious threat in the return game as he's returned three punts for touchdowns this season.

Dickey, a move-in who has become yet another playmaker for the Ranch defense, has football ingrained in his blood. His grandfather, Eldridge Dickey, was the first African-American quarterback to be selected in the first round of an AFL or an NFL draft when the Raiders, who were in the AFL at the time, selected him 25th overall in 1968.

Last Time These Two Teams Met

A couple of touchdown passes from Logan McDougald in the second half sunk the Wildcats on the final day of the 2017 season as Cy Ranch came away victorious in the series for the fourth straight year, winning this one by a final of 21-17. This was yet another game in 2017 in which Cy Woods emerged victorious in everything... except the final score. A missed field goal in the final 1:30 gave the Wildcats a chance to possibly steal this game, but it was not to be.

Jackson Jones ran for 100 yards on 29 carries. Jacob Kainer fired a 99-yard touchdown pass to Jack Barrientez on the first play of the game.

Forget everything that has happened over the last four years. The only thing that matters is what happens after 1:00 on Saturday. I've said it before and I'll say it again... rivalry history only matters for 364 days a year. The day of the game is different. Who will write the next chapter in this book?

Sub-Varsity Game Information

Freshmen at Ranch, JV at Cy Woods. Game times are 4:30 and 6:30 on Thursday. Cy Ranch has one JV team, so the JV Gold team will play Klein at 4:30.

Location of Cypress Ranch High School

Ten Years, Ten Best Games - #4: Cy Ranch, 2011

Number four is yet another revenge game...

I dunno, I guess I'm just a vengeful person by nature.

September 23, 2011: Cy Woods 68, Cy Ranch 21

The 2011 Cypress Woods Wildcats had a nightmare start to District 17-5A play as they got handcuffed on offense in their first two games, scoring a grand total of 12 points in losses to Cy Falls and Cy-Fair; in the loss against Cy-Fair, the Wildcats let a stellar defensive performance go to waste as were shut out for the first time in team history. They needed to find a way to right the ship before things got hopelessly out of hand.

Their next opponents, Cy Ranch, had stunned them with a game-winning field goal in the first-ever meeting between the two hated rivals in the previous season. The Mustangs entered this contest coming off wins in their first three games and they were definitely relishing the fact that they would get to go up against a reeling Cy Woods squad. Well... they had no idea just how fed up the Cats were.

The Cats realized that their early results fell woefully short of the expectations set by the community, the pundits, and most of all, themselves. They set out to prove that the reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated, and boy, they did that in emphatic fashion.

Cy Woods set out to humiliate Cy Ranch that evening and their intentions were made extremely clear when Josh Holley skied to snatch a pooch kick out of the air from right under a Mustang's nose. Should've called a fair catch... right after that, Trent Holmes left everyone in the dust for a 42-yard touchdown run that put Woods up 21-0. The second quarter only contained more pain and misery for the Mustangs and when halftime arrived, Woods entered with a 48-0 lead. This wasn't even their largest lead of the contest; they led by 54 points at two different points in the second half. They terrorized Keith Ford all evening, holding him to just 54 yards on the ground and forcing him to lose three (or maybe it was four) fumbles. The Cats forced seven fumbles and recovered five of them and if I remember correctly, they converted all of those turnovers into touchdowns.

Whenever I brought up this game with Coach Jones, he'd always say that he should've told the Cats to keep scoring. I honestly think that had he felt like doing so that night, he would've told Cy Woods to score 100 points. He definitely had disdain for Cy Ranch and deep down, he wanted to humiliate them. As it stands, though, the Cats still managed to get their revenge on Cy Ranch... and then some. This win also kick-started an eight-game winning streak that carried them through district play where they absolutely laid waste to everyone in their path. This was also the first game in a stretch where they scored at least 60 points in three straight games.

Safe to say that the 2011 Cy Woods Wildcats turned their season around with this win.

Ten Years, Ten Best Games - #6: Cy Ranch, 2013

#6 in "Ten Years, Ten Best Games" was a particularly satisfying night in the history of the Cypress Woods Wildcats football program...

October 19, 2013: Cy Woods 54, Cy Ranch 0

For an entire offseason, the Cypress Woods Wildcats had to hear about Cy Ranch going four rounds deep in their first-ever playoff appearance while they were missing out on the playoffs for the first time ever. They'd be sure to circle the date of this matchup...

Cy Woods was coming off a 30-23 defeat at the hands of Cy-Fair in which they mounted a furious second-half comeback bid that the Bobcats seemed to have an answer for. Meanwhile, the Mustangs demolished Cy Lakes 45-3 entering this game. Both teams came in to this contest at 3-2 in District 17-5A play, so the winner of this contest would surely receive a huge boost for their playoff hopes.

Well... it turned out that this game was no contest whatsoever. The Cats stormed out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter and pretty much dominated the Mustangs in every facet of the game as they sauntered to a 37-0 halftime lead. The Outlaw, Shane Lawless, started off the second half by compounding Ranch's misery by intercepting a pass with one hand and returning it for a touchdown. Mason Roberts completed the massacre with an 85-yard touchdown run midway through the final period, and in the end, Cy Woods dealt Cy Ranch the worst loss in their program's history in terms of scoring margin. The 54-0 final score still stands today as the Mustangs' heaviest defeat. For Cy Woods' class of 2014, they ended up beating their counterparts from Cy Ranch all four years.

There is no statement more emphatic than blowing out your most hated rival while also shutting them out and handing them their worst loss ever, especially when their fortunes during the previous season turned out to be so much better than yours. It's also particularly sweet when you had to endure the non-stop smack talk for such a long time.

Ten Years, Ten Best Games - #10: Cy Ranch, 2012

2018 marks the tenth anniversary of the inaugural varsity football season for the Cypress Woods Wildcats football program. In the build-up to the 2018 season, I will be taking a look at the games and the players that have shaped this football team.

This series will chronicle the ten best games in Cy Woods football history through the first ten years. First up is a game from 2012: the first overtime game in program history against a hated rival.

The 2012 season proved to be a year of transition for the Cypress Woods Wildcats. A new head coach took over, another outstanding senior class departed, and sadly, the early run of excellence came to a crashing halt. Cy Woods dropped their first three games of the season before rebounding with a couple of blowout victories over Cy Lakes and Cy Springs to rebuild some momentum. Unfortunately for them, the momentum that they built collapsed dramatically when Cy-Fair unleashed a merciless second-half torrent aided by some turnovers to condemn them to a 49-20 loss.

And so... with their playoff hopes on the line, the Cats faced off against their most hated rivals, who were surely out for revenge after Woods hung 68 points on them in the previous year's meeting. The Mustangs were firmly in the playoff hunt after rattling off three consecutive wins after dropping a 42-35 decision to Creek to open district play.

Business picked up in the second quarter when Mason Roberts, in his second start at quarterback for the Cats, kept the ball and got wrapped up but was never whistled down. He had the wherewithal to keep playing and outran everyone to the endzone for an 88-yard touchdown. Ranch managed to respond a minute later when their two professional baseball players, Bryce Johnson and Corbin Martin, connected on a touchdown pass. But, Sam Stewart put the Cats back in front with a 33-yard touchdown catch.

Mason got knocked out of commission by what sort of looked like a late hit right before halftime, so Woods had to throw in Nick Hooper, who had started all season as a wide receiver, behind center. This was the night that Nick Hooper became the Wildcats' quarterback of the present and the future. Trent Holmes helped carry his team to the finish line with an 80-yard touchdown and  Chase McLaughlin, who hadn't really played football until he was recruited to be the JV cardinal team kicker the year before, refused to wilt in the spotlight as he nailed the two biggest kicks of his career.

Ranch may have made it to the fourth round in 2012, but it's all good. Woods got one over on them.

Miles "OG" Ogunyomade saves the game

Cats win.