Chapter 12 of Cy Woods Football, starring the Class of 2020.
All photos in this post are courtesy of Phlox Photography unless stated otherwise.
Summary
District 14-6A Co-Champions
Record: 8-4, 7-1 (t-1st) in District 14-6A
Playoffs: Lost 34-28 to The Woodlands in Class 6A Division I, Region II area round
Points scored: 360 (30 per game)
Points allowed: 332 (27.7 per game)
Largest margin of victory: 21 (49-28 vs. Cypress Park)
Largest margin of defeat: 48 (55-7 vs. Cypress Ranch)
Most points scored: 49 vs. Cypress Park
Most points allowed: 55 vs. Cypress Ranch
Fewest points scored: 7 vs. Cypress Ranch
Fewest points allowed: 7 vs. Bridgeland
2019 Final District 14-6A Standings
1. Cypress Woods (8-4, 7-1)
2. Tomball Memorial (11-2, 7-1)
3. Bridgeland (8-3, 6-2)
4. Cypress Ranch (8-4, 6-2)
5. Cypress Lakes (5-5, 4-4)
6. Cypress Park (3-7, 3-5)
7. Langham Creek (2-8, 2-6)
8. Bryan (2-8, 1-7)
9. Cypress Springs (0-10, 0-8)
Team Records Set or Tied
Largest margin of defeat: 48 (55-7 vs. Cypress Ranch)
Individual Records Set or Tied
Most wins for a Cy Woods head coach: Trent Faith, 46 (and counting)
Schedule and Results
Week 1: L 31-14 @ Cypress Ridge (Pridgeon)
Week 2: L 47-43 vs. Spring (Pridgeon)
Week 3: W 31-28 vs. Tomball Memorial (Pridgeon)
Week 4: W 31-14 @ Langham Creek (Cy-Fair FCU Stadium)
Week 5: W 20-7 vs. Bridgeland (CF-FCU)
Week 6: W 31-28 @ Cypress Lakes (CF-FCU)
Week 7: W 49-28 vs. Cypress Park (Homecoming XII at CF-FCU)
Week 8: W 31-15 @ Cypress Springs (CF-FCU)
Week 9: L 55-7 vs. Cypress Ranch (Pridgeon)
Week 10: Bye
Week 11: W 33-17 @ Bryan (Merrill Green)
Bi-District: W 42-28 vs. Cedar Ridge (CF-FCU)
Area: L 34-28 (3OT) vs. The Woodlands (CF-FCU)
The Rundown
In 2018, the Cypress Woods Wildcats advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2014, but their journey to Arlington ended before it really had a chance to begin when Round Rock came to the Berry Center and left with a 56-49 victory in the first round.
Certain members of the Class of 2020 like Chase Richter, Reagan Simmons, Austyn Cohrs, Garrett Poor, and Jason Christenson (among others) played key roles in helping the Cats end that playoff drought. They assumed the reins of the program in 2019 and completed the rebuilding process that began when they were sophomores in 2017. Optimism abounded during the summer and the Cats built upon that promise with a strong showing during 7-on-7 season, in which they advanced to the state tournament in College Station and made it to the Championship bracket Round of 16.
Would an excellent off-season coupled with key players returning at just about every position group equal a deep playoff run? Well, the pundits were less than enthused with Woods during the pre-season.
Dave Campbell's (no hate here, they're just doing their jobs) had the Cats at fourth place in District 14-6A. They also picked Cy Woods to finish fourth in their pool at the state 7-on-7 tournament, so they were certainly skeptical about this team. Varsity Wires, however, tabbed the Cats to finish second, so not everyone was feeling pessimistic.
After Carson Danner's emergence relegated him to a backup role in 2018, Jackson Jones reassumed the role of starting quarterback and he picked up right where he left off two years ago. Trayse Holmes became the lead back following Darion Morgan's graduation and Jeshurun Williams, who was a midseason call-up last year, was expected to step in to form a potent 1-2 punch with Trayse.
Jake Tesch's graduation left a significant void in terms of offensive production among the A-backs. Christian Scott would pick up much of the load and he received help from Rudy Mejia, Konner Sabrsula, and Ja'Varian Stewart, who made his mark on special teams by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. Cam Sowell reprised his role as the home run threat as he averaged nearly 30 yards per reception. Amari McDonald shined when he got his opportunities, averaging nearly 24 yards a catch himself. Garrett Poor assumed the leadership role on the offensive line and he'd be joined by Braden Barrett, Ty Van Atta, Zach Bubenik, Niko Thompson, David Bonilla, and Ryne Sterns.
The defense fell under new management as Brad Beerwinkel became the Wildcats' new defensive coordinator. Coach Beerwinkel spent over a decade at Cy Ridge as both a position coach and the defensive coordinator before he moved over to Woods. The Rams consistently churned out not just solid defensive units, but excellent individual talent as well. What could Coach Beerwinkel get out of the Wildcat defense in his first season?
Jason Christenson, Jakob Jones, and Chris Agnew all played prominent roles on the defensive line in 2018 and that set themselves up to lead the unit in 2019. The Cats also got some new blood in the trenches with Tyler Sherrill, Jace Williams, and Duke Leonard joining the fold. Tylan Foster and Colton Morris emerged as the leaders for the linebackers. Gavin Snow also came on strong after being inserted into the starting lineup.
And finally... we move on to the secondary. Although Woods certainly boasted more talented secondaries in the past, this group of safeties and corners were solid performers all around and they made the plays that needed to be made all season long. Chase Richter entered his third and final season as... well, if the 2019 Wildcat defense had a face entering the year, he was certainly it. In addition, Chase also made a huge impact in the punt return game. He almost broke loose on a couple of occasions, but the real impact was him consistently putting the offense in scoring position.
Reagan Simmons returned both of his interceptions for touchdowns. Kahlil Robinson found himself covering the opposing team's top receivers and more often than not, he'd end up getting the better of his man. Although he only intercepted two passes, Kahlil led District 14-6A in pass breakups. Taber Tofte delivered some big hits from the other safety spot and Trajan Armstrong provided solid coverage when he was summoned as the extra defensive back.
Regular Season
Chapter 12 of Cy Woods Football began on August 29, 2019, as the Wildcats faced off against the Cypress Ridge Rams at Pridgeon Stadium.
Week 1: L 31-14 @ Cypress Ridge
Chase Richter brings down Tristian Fletcher
And unfortunately, the Cats began their season the same way the did for the last five years: with a loss. They couldn't find an answer for an imposing Ram defense led by Vernon Broughton and Jay Dabon. Rudy Mejia scored the first points of the new season when he caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Jones. Ridge responded by rattling off 24 unanswered points and suffocating the Wildcat offense, holding them to a paltry 200 yards on opening night.
Week 2: L 47-43 vs. Spring
Colton Morris for two!
Well, this loss also stung, albeit in a different fashion from the Ridge game. Despite clawing back from a 40-20 deficit in the fourth quarter, Woods couldn't close out the game as Aldyn Bradley snatched the win for the Lions with a one-yard touchdown run with just over a minute to go. Jackson Jones threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns in the losing effort.
As a result, the Wildcats stumbled into District 14-6A play with an 0-2 record... and first up was a team that flat-out humiliated them the year before.
Week 3: W 31-28 vs. Tomball Memorial
Trayse Holmes opens the scoring against Tomball Memorial
The Navy and Grey Wildcats probably came into this game thinking that they'd be able to run Woods off the field much like they did on their home turf. With Colton Marwill making TMHS fans forget about Chandler Galban, Carbrey Barnes running wild, and Logan Kyle and Joseph Manjack terrorizing Tomball's and Klein's secondaries, they certainly had the ingredients to blast Cy Woods once again.
The Crimson and Gold Wildcats obviously had other plans. Woods opened the scoring and although this turned into a game in which both teams traded scores, Tomball Memorial never led. That didn't mean that this game was devoid of any tension, however. Oh no, we had plenty of that.
Ultimately, Michael Fernandez, who had a 34-yard field goal sail wide left and then had a chip-shot field goal attempt blocked, found out that the third time really is the charm as his 24-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in regulation gave Cy Woods a breathtaking victory. Cameron Sowell had 124 yards on five receptions; the fifth catch, which came on the game-winning drive, was one of the most spectacular grabs I've seen from a Cy Woods receiver. The pass appeared to be overthrown, but somehow, Cam got his right hand to the ball, trapped the ball against his helmet, and maintained possession as he fell to the turf.
In a game as tight as this one, every play had that "play of the game" feeling. With Tomball Memorial taking over on downs and threatening to take the lead for the first time in the third quarter, Reagan Simmons intercepted a Marwill pass and took it all the way to put Woods back in front. With another opportunity to take the lead in the fourth, Marwill fired another pass to Manjack in the end zone, but at the last possible second, Kahlil Robinson intervened and jarred the ball loose from Manjack's grasp to keep the game tied. We all know about Cam's catch, but it wouldn't have been possible without a nice punt return from Chase Richter to set the offense up for the winning drive. Everyone contributed to this win in some form or fashion. This was the definition of a total team win.
This victory also made Coach Faith the winningest head coach in Cy Woods history.
Week 4: W 31-14 @ Langham Creek
A familiar sight: Christian Scott making a would-be tackler miss
Well, this game against Langham Creek certainly won't rank among the most memorable games in Cy Woods football history, but they still won. This game was originally scheduled to be played on a Thursday, but Tropical Storm Imelda forced this game to be rescheduled for the following Saturday morning.
It didn't look like the Cats wanted to be at the stadium, especially in the first half, but they managed to overcome that lethargy and got the victory over what turned out to be a rebuilding Langham Creek squad.
Week 5: W 20-7 vs. Bridgeland
Dylan Goffney dropped something
The Bridgeland Bears entered this game with plenty of bravado and a hype train rolling at full speed. After beating the brakes off Cy Ranch, that sentiment was totally understandable. The Bears vaulted into the state rankings and looked primed and ready to seize the District 14-6A crown.
This game carried significant implications in the standings as the winner would take sole possession of first place in 14-6A. Also, both teams came entered undefeated in district play. Who would end up with a 1 in the loss column?
Unfortunately for the Bears, Cy Woods exposed them as... well, not frauds, but certainly not all that.
The Cats looked to knock down a vaunted Bridgeland team that scored 210 points in their first five games down a few notches and the effort they displayed in this game certainly showed that they prepared themselves for everything that the Bears would be throwing their way.
Entering this game, Bridgeland quarterback Conner Weigman threw 113 passes and completed 85. That's 28 incompletions. He nearly matched that total as Cy Woods harassed him all night and forced him to turn in his worst performance of the season: he finished 16-41 for a paltry 110 yards and one interception that he threw right to Kahlil Robinson. Bridgeland narrowly avoided the shutout with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Offensively... the Cats couldn't have done any worse. Four turnovers, two in the red zone. Four attempts to score from the one-yard line, but they couldn't punch the ball into the end zone. Fortunately, despite such a woeful outing, they did just enough to win. The real story of this game was the Wildcat defense turning in a memorable performance.
Week 6: W 31-28 @ Cypress Lakes
6'3" Jackson Jones uses every inch of himself to get into the end zone
The Wildcats, now all alone at the top of District 14-6A, had a vastly improved Lakes squad searching for that elusive signature victory up next and they had yet another outstanding quarterback to tussle with: Sofian Massoud, a New Yorker who would take the Houston area by storm on his way to winning the district's Offensive MVP award.
Although Woods was the lone undefeated team in the district, losing this game would have resulted in a four-way tie at the top and utter chaos. Much like the Tomball Memorial game, this encounter with Lakes had quite a bit of tension, even though Woods never lost the lead. Massoud, as good as advertised, did his damage with three rushing touchdowns and 263 yards passing with another touchdown through the air, but the Cats kept themselves just out of reach. They had to fend off one final Lakes drive after failing to convert a fourth down, however. The Spartans got to Woods' 31-yard-line and after a couple of heaves to the end zone failed, they summoned Axel Espinal to attempt a 48-yard field goal that would have forced overtime. However, Espinal's kick fell just short and Cy Woods escaped with another thrilling victory.
Jackson matched Massoud's four total touchdowns with four of his own; he ran for three and threw another one to Ja'Varian Stewart. Colton Morris came up huge on defense as he put up 14 total tackles, one of which was a sack. The 14 tackles were the most recorded by a Cy Woods player in a single game during the 2019 season.
Week 7: W 49-28 vs. Cypress Park (Homecoming XII)
Tyler Sherrill in the trenches
Woods took down Cy Park to ensure themselves a happy Homecoming. The Tigers proved to be a tough out, especially with their constant misdirection on offense, but the Cats jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and really weren't seriously threatened in this one.
Christian Scott ran for a couple of touchdowns, while Ja'Varian Stewart caught a 30-yard touchdown pass and also returned a kickoff 85 yards for another score after Park got on the board late in the second quarter. He would have become the first player in Cy Woods history to score a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a special teams touchdown in the same game... but a penalty wiped out the rushing touchdown. Sam Myers, a freshman who was called up the week of the Bridgeland game, scored his first touchdown at the varsity level with a two-yard run late in the fourth quarter. With that score, he was the second Cy Woods freshman to find the end zone in a varsity football game; Nick Hooper scored against Cy Springs in the 2011 regular-season finale.
Speaking of Cy Springs...
Week 8: W 31-15 @ Cypress Springs
"Pick six for number 6... Reagan Simmons!"
The Cats topped a winless Springs squad, but unfortunately, it came at the cost of Jackson Jones going down with an injury. With Jackson out of the picture, Woods scrapped the passing game and just ran the ball to their heart's content. Before Jackson left, he threw a 53-yard touchdown to Amari McDonald. But... losing the QB1 the week before a huge rivalry game wound up haunting the Cats.
Week 9: L 55-7 vs. Cypress Ranch
Did this really happen? I don't remember this game.
Week 10: Bye
The best part of losing a game to a team you can't stand is having to stew over it for another week!
Week 11: W 33-17 @ Bryan
Tylan Foster wrestles down Bryan's Jalen Davis
On the final week of the regular season, the Cats traveled up to Bryan and blitzed the Vikings early, jumping out to a 33-0 halftime lead. Although they were shut out in the second half, the 33-point lead held up in the end and as a result, Cy Woods secured their first district championship since 2010. But, like in 2010, they had to share the crown with someone else. That someone else turned out to be Tomball Memorial, who they beat all the way back in September. Well, at least they didn't have to share it with Cy Ranch.
Dylan Cormier threw three touchdown passes in his first career start; two went to Cam Sowell and the other went to Jeshurun Williams. Trayse Holmes ran for 109 yards and a score. The defense held Bryan to just 127 yards on the night; 77 of those came on a touchdown run by Christian Richardson in the fourth quarter.
Postseason
For the first time since 2010, the Cypress Woods Wildcats entered the Texas High School Football playoffs as a district champion. By virtue of their win over Bryan and Tomball Memorial's victory over Ranch, the Cats clinched District 14-6A's #1 seed in the Division I bracket.
Bi-District: W 42-28 vs. Cedar Ridge
Chase Richter looks for space on a punt return
The Cedar Ridge Raiders made the trip to Cypress and they were led by their all-world running back, Chris "Deuce" Vaughn. However, the Raiders weren't nearly as loaded as Round Rock was last year and it showed as Vaughn was really the only guy who caused issues for the Cats' defense.
Meanwhile, the Cats were bolstered by the return of Jackson Jones. After the Raiders opened the scoring, they mounted the perfect response as Jackson launched one up for Cam Sowell, who outran everyone for an 80-yard touchdown. And just like that, the Cats got on the board with one play.
Cy Woods seized control of this game when they took the lead right before halftime when Jackson hit a wide-open J.J. Williams for a 21-yard touchdown. They got the ball to start the second half and also scored a touchdown to get that crucial two-score lead. The defense tightened the screws on the Raiders' high-flying attack and Jackson salted away the Cats' first playoff win since 2014 with a four-yard touchdown run with a little less than five minutes to go.
This game also featured an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Cedar Ridge's head coach and the referee pointed in Woods' direction for some reason while he announced the penalty. He also charged a timeout to "Cedar Woods" for some reason.
Area: L 34-28 (3OT) vs. The Woodlands
The Wildcat special teams devours The Woodlands' Carter Doucet
The Cypress Woods Wildcats bowed out of the playoffs by taking one of the toughest losses in program history. The Highlanders certainly did everything they could to hand this game to Cy Woods, but the Cats just didn't finish. They forced a fumble to end the first half to prevent The Woodlands from taking the lead and then pounced on another Woodlands fumble to start the second half, but they couldn't turn that miscue into points.
They got a gift when Woodlands punter Fabrizio Pinton couldn't get a punt off and then for some reason, threw the ball up for grabs and that gave the Cats the ball at the Highlanders' ten-yard line. Jackson put Woods in front with less than four minutes to go, but the defense couldn't get the stop they needed and then the Highlanders got themselves in position to steal it at the buzzer with Pinton, who nailed a 53-yard field goal in this round in 2018, lining up for a 45-yard attempt. Fortunately, that kick sailed wide right. Pinton tried again from 49 in the first overtime and the Cats blocked that attempt. Unfortunately, with a chance to win it in the bottom half of the overtime period, Michael Fernandez missed from 35. Both teams scored touchdowns in the second overtime, but in the end, it was The Woodlands that moved on as they scored in the top of the third overtime and their defense stifled the Cats in the bottom of the third.
The Cats had the advantage in the box score. They played their style of football and that's usually good enough for them to get victories. Unfortunately, the final score of this game ended up in favor of The Woodlands. In a game where they never led until the third overtime. Sports sure can be cruel. It's a hard lesson to learn: sometimes, life doesn't give you that storybook ending, no matter how hard you try and how much effort you put in towards achieving a goal. As Mrs. McGown always said, "it is what it is."
At the end of the day, football is just a game and there will always be a winner and a loser. Unfortunately, Cy Woods came out of this game as the losers. It is a tough lesson to learn, but this loss doesn't somehow negate all of the time and effort that these seniors have invested in this program over the last four years.
Superlatives
Coach of the Year: Coach Faith
All-District Players
1st Team
OL Ty Van Atta
OL Garrett Poor
DL Chris Agnew
DL Jason Christenson
DB/Return Specialist Chase Richter
2nd Team
OL Braden Barrett
WR Amari McDonald
WR Cam Sowell
FB Trayse Holmes
QB Jackson Jones
DL Austyn "Buster" Cohrs
DL Jakob Jones
DL Tyler Sherrill
LB Colton Morris
LB Tylan Foster
DB Taber Tofte
DB Reagan Simmons
DB Khalil Robinson
Honorable Mention
OL Zach Bubenik
OL David Bonilla
RB Rudy Mejia
FB Jeshurun Williams
LB Gavin Snow
DB Trajan Armstrong
K Michael Fernandez
Academic All-State
Of course, these kids are students first.
1st Team
OL Ehiguese Obiomon
QB Jackson Jones
DL Mason Rickmers
DB Reagan Simmons
2nd Team
OL David Bonilla
OL Zach Bubenik
LB Ryan Colwell
DB Chase Richter
Honorable Mention
OL Cody Oetken
LB Colton Morris
LB Gavin Snow
DB Ethan Bryant
Final Season Statistics
As always, all statistics are provided by Varsity Wires.
In Conclusion
When the Class of 2020 entered Cy Woods, little did they know that they would have to participate in a rebuilding phase. Coming off the worst season in school history, they needed to grow up in a hurry if Cy Woods football was to ever return to prominence.
Jackson Jones was the first player in the class to assume a prominent role in the process when he took over as the starting quarterback in 2017. Chase Richter emerged to seize a starting role in the secondary later that year, and Christian Scott, Cam Sowell, and Tevis Adams also played bit parts in a year where the Cats nearly finished the rebuild ahead of schedule.
2018 saw Tylan Foster (who was called up late in 2017), Reagan Simmons, Jason Christenson, Garrett Poor, Jakob Jones, Taber Tofte, Kahlil Robinson, and Colton Morris join the fold. Christian and Cam took on more prominent roles in the offense. As juniors, they helped the Cats end a playoff drought.
In 2019, they officially completed the rebuilding process by delivering the first district championship to Cypress Woods in nine years and won their first playoff game in five years. They deserved a better ending than what they were given, though. That's for sure.
Once again, although they deserved a better ending to their stories as Wildcats, the Class of 2020 absolutely left the Cy Woods football program in significantly better shape than when they entered. To me, they'll be remembered as the class that endured the first significant rebuilding phase at Cy Woods and thanks to their investment in the program, finished it off with style by winning a district championship and a playoff game.
