Cougars advance to their first regional final
Cypress Creek had a plan on what to do to coach Greg McCaig after the Cougars win’ on Friday night.
The Cougars had just made school history after routing Summer Creek 43-14 in a Class 6A Division II regional semifinal playoff game at Rice Stadium.
McCaig had several Gatorade buckets waiting for him after the game clock hit zero.
“It was fun, there’s no doubt about it, but it was cold,” said McCaig on the Gatorade bath after the game. “I think you have to appreciate the moment. First, they made school history and get to play in the fourth round for the first time in school history. There’s only eight schools left in the playoffs in our division and they get to play another. Just living in the moment was so special.”
The Cougars (8-5) will play the winner of Tompkins-Beaumont West Brook, who are playing at 6 p.m. Saturday at NRG Stadium.
Summer Creek ends the season 9-4 in Kenny Harrison’s first season with the Bulldogs.
“Amazing group of seniors,” Harrison said. “They laid the foundation for this program moving forward. Just a special group of seniors that fought hard and did everything we asked them to. Unfortunately, the season ended tonight, and I couldn’t be more prouder for this group of seniors.”
The Cougars’ defense stepped up big in stopping Bulldogs quarterback Bryan Bush.
On the second play of the game, Arzeviur Richardson had an interception and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.
Linebacker Josh White was given the duty to contain Bush.
Bush went 15-of-34 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Bush was grounded in the running game, gaining seven yards on 13 carries.
“I thought our kids did a great job of executing our game plan,” McCaig said. “Sixteen is going to be a great player, but I think that we were able to contain him in the run game and forced them to make them beat us throwing the ball. Josh had the job to spy him and he’s one of the fastest kids that I have ever seen. I keep telling people our defense is really good and can be fast.”
Behind their high-powered offense, the Cougars led 24-0 at halftime.
Cypress Creek running back Eddie Jimerson scored four touchdowns in the game.
Jimerson had 16 carries for 49 yards with three touchdowns on the ground and had three receptions for 100 yards with a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Julian Brown finished 23-of-32 passing for 330 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Brown connected with seven different receivers in the game.
“I think our offense was balanced,” McCaig said. “We had some kids cramp up early, but our skills kids did a great job making plays. We always talk about how many different kids we can get the ball to.
Summer Creek’s scores came in the second half.
Bulldogs safety Brandon Neal blocked a Cougars punt that set up a Bush 14-yard touchdown to Tyler Via in the third.
Bush connected with Jamison Frazier for a 30-yard touchdown in the fourth for the Bulldogs’ last points of the season.
Now, the Cougars will wait to see who their opponent will be next week.
“We started the year 0-4 and could have given up,” McCaig said. “It’s says a lot about our team fighting back the whole season to get to this point. They showed a lot out there from the bringing and now we get to play next week. We’re looking forward to whoever we play next week.”