Bobcats get back on winning track in rout
Cy-Fair hasn’t lost three consecutive games since the 0-10 season in 2009 that proceeded this golden era.
The Bobcats refused to revisit that nightmare so soon after living a dream.
“We didn’t want to go there with that one — and I certainly didn’t bring it up,” Cy-Fair coach Ed Pustejovsky said.
The reigning 6A Division II state champs woke up from backto-back losses Thursday, with Christian Richmond returning the opening kick for a score en route to a rousing 49-18 win over Stratford at Pridgeon Stadium.
“It feels awfully good,” Pustejovsky said. “After dropping two in a row, this was a big game for us to try to get back on track and get our confidence level back up, and the kid executed well on both sides.”
Cy-Fair improved to 5-2, 3-2 in District 17-6A.
Stratford, which defeated CyFair 21-17 in their last meeting way back in 2007, dropped to 4-3, 1-4.
The Bobcats were coming off back-to-back losses to Cypress Falls and Jersey Village.
The 14-7 loss to Cy Falls snapped their 19-game winning streak, and was their first in district since 2016, and the surprising 24-23 setback with the Falcons was their first loss to Jersey Village since — 2009.
They vented those frustrations on the Spartans with a lopsided victory.
Stratford was offsides on the opening kick so, instead of settling for the ball at their 20, the Bobcats demanded a redo, and Richmond returned it 94 yards for a 7-0 lead only 21 seconds into the game.
“I felt like, even if he end zones it, we’re going to get it on the 25, so it wasn’t really taking a chance,” Pustejovsky said. “But we were fortunate Christian did get the ball and made an excellent return.”
Cy-Fair quickly scored again, chewing up yards on the way to Jaelon Woods’ 2-yard touchdown run for a 14-3 advantage. But the Spartans, understanding they couldn’t keep trading seven points for three, went on fourthand-3 on their ensuing series, picked up the first on a penalty by the Bobcats, then finally scored on quarterback Wes Waitkus’ 1-yard keeper on fourth-andgoal.
Not only did they pull within 14-10, they kept the ball away from Cy-Fair for 5:04 on only a 34-yard drive.
The Bobcats showed the strategy was savvy.
“We just needed to execute, especially on the offensive side, we did (Thursday) and we need to continue to do so,” Pustejovsky said.