2016 record: 1-4, 1-3 in District 17-6A
Photo credit: Billy Schuerman, The Crimson Connection
For a second consecutive year, the Cypress Woods Wildcats are in a mid-season swoon. At times, they have looked excellent. At other times, they've looked completely incapable of keeping pace with the opposition, and unfortunately, there have been more occurrences of the latter. In the first game of Week 6 in District 17-6A, the Wildcats looked as though they were simply unable to match Langham Creek's intensity in a 62-35 loss, dropping them to 1-4 on the season and 1-3 in district play.
This.... this is what growing pains on offense and a defense that still has the inability to keep opposing offenses off the scoreboard, gets you. This is an offense that has nine sophomores seeing playing time. Sounds a lot like the Astros in the second half of this season. They're fighting, and that is commendable, but at 1-3, the Cats are really up against it now. They just haven't been able to put a complete football game in the last two weeks, and now a third consecutive defeat has them at the brink, meaning that the only way for them to salvage any hope for the playoffs is if they win out. Never say never, though.
You may think that I'm the mouthpiece for the coaches, but honestly (seriously), I was not overly optimistic about this team heading into the season. They simply have too many questions, and too few, if any, of them have been answered so far.
If (I won't say when just yet) the Cats are formally out of the playoff picture, I wouldn't be surprised if they shift straight to youth movement mode to see what they have for 2017... then again, they're basically undergoing one on offense right now. As an alum, of course I want this team to do well. I do realize that missing the playoffs isn't the end of the world, either. Regardless of how this season turns out, I'm still very interested in seeing how the youngsters develop. There is hope... maybe not for this year, but surely for the future.
So, What Happened Was...
Toneil Carter opened up the scoring with an eight-yard run, and Jack Barrientez put Cy Woods on the board with a five-yard run to tie the game. However, it only took one play for Langham to regain the advantage, as Reagan Coburn scored on a 56-yard pass from Chris Herron, who scored on a seven-yard run shortly before the end of the first quarter.
End 1st: Langham 20, Woods 7
Cullen Sherrill scored the first points of the second quarter by catching his first touchdown pass of the evening, a 22-yard connection with Jacob Kainer. Herron responded by finding Praise Okorie for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Jacob fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Niles, giving him a touchdown reception for the second straight week. However, the wheels fell off for them to end the half, as Chase McCray scored on a nine-yard run and Paul Darks returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown.
Halftime: Langham 41, Woods 21
Cullen's second touchdown reception of the evening was the only scoring play in the third quarter.
End 3rd: Langham 41, Woods 28
The Lobos snuffed out a fake punt attempt, and Herron capped off the Lobos' ensuing drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Golden Eke. Nijah Surtain scored on a four-yard run, but Langham buried the Cats with a 29-yard touchdown run from Toneil Carter and a 21-yard pick-six from Brad Pinkerton.
Final: Langham 62, Woods 35
Ground
On a more positive note... welcome back, C.J. His presence in the offense was sorely missed, and while he didn't score in this game, he was able to break off some nice runs. He will likely have to take his game to unprecedented heights to help keep this team in the picture.
Congratulations to Nijah Surtain for scoring his first touchdown at the varsity level.
C.J. Jones: 11 carries, 90 yards
Jacob Kainer: 14 carries, 54 yards
Nijah Surtain: 5 carries, 14 yards, TD
Bobby Dodson: 3 carries, 9 yards
Luis Reyes: 2 carries, 8 yards
Jack Barrientez: 2 carries, 7 yards
Brighton Gullickson: 3 carries, 2 yards
Air
Four interceptions, two pick sixes.... definitely not ideal. Just a rough night against the defense that leads the district in interceptions. Brighton Gullickson got the start, and he played a few series before Jacob assumed control of the offense the rest of the way.
All but one of Cullen Sherrill's catches have resulted in touchdowns this season.
Jacob Kainer: 18-34, 262 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT (2 returned for touchdowns)
Brighton Gullickson: 2-4, 7 yards, INT
Jack Barrientez: 0-1
Jack Barrientez: 7 catches, 59 yards
Tanner Sherrill: 4 catches, 92 yards
Brennan Niles: 2 catches, 32 yards, TD
Cullen Sherrill: 2 catches, 28 yards, 2 TD
Nijah Surtan: 2 catches, 10 yards
Matt Ficalora: 1 catch, 35 yards
C.J. Jones: 1 catch, 8 yards
Connor Faulk: 1 catch, 5 yards
Defense
Can't pin two pick-sixes on the defense, but Langham Creek scoring on their first five offensive possessions of the game... definitely not ideal. The Wildcats didn't have an answer for Chris Herron in this game.
Neil Chambers and Collin Fewox delivered solid performances; Collin recorded six tackles, two of which resulted in a loss of yards, and one was a sack. Neil had two sacks and recovered a fumble.
Tackles
Elijah Strang: 7
Myles Wilson and Collin Fewox: 6
Kason Franklin: 5
Tory Spears and Neil Chambers: 4
Eron Vanduren: 3
Hunter Husbands, Collin Joyce, Cam Howland, Connor Faulk: 2
Hunter Magallan, Micheal Young, Brighton Gullickson, Ellington Shepard, Jack Barrientez, and Tyvon Alexander: 1
Sacks
Neil Chambers: 2, 14 yards lost
Collin Fewox: 1, 6 yards lost
Fumbles Recovered
Neil Chambers: 1
Special Teams
Luis Reyes hit all five of his extra points and punted the ball three times for 104 yards.
Jake Tesch had a 28-yard kick return, his longest of the year.
Jake Tesch: 3 kicks returned, 54 yards
Nijah Surtain: 2 kicks returned, 31 yards
C.J. Jones: 2 kicks returned, 21 yards
Jake Fennis: 1 kick returned, 12 yards
Bobby Dodson: 1 kick returned, 6 yards
Man of the Match
I guess..... Cullen Sherrill? Yeah, I'll go with Cullen.
Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will open up the second half of their schedule with a tilt against the Cypress Falls Golden Eagles at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium on Friday, October 7, at 7:00. Cy Woods is the home team in this game.
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