First-quarter barrage powers Mustangs
Cypress Creek wasn’t ready for this. No one was.
Katy Taylor blitzed the Cougars with two touchdowns by the defense and special teams in 45 seconds and booted a 48-yard field goal — all in less than a minute of the first quarter — kickstarting a 58-20 win Saturday at NRG Stadium in the 6A Division II Region III final that secured the team’s first regional championship.
“This is awesome for the kids, awesome for the staff that works so hard, and it brings the community together,” Taylor coach Chad Simmons said. “It gets everybody pulling for one another. It’s unifying. It’s everything you want out of a sports program, and you use it as a platform to teach kids things that are valuable in life.”
The Mustangs (9-5), who finished fourth in 19-6A behind Katy, Tompkins and Mayde Creek will face Austin Westlake (13-1) on Saturday in Waco in the state semifinals. The Mustangs never had survived the third round and hadn’t reached it since 2008.
After Mustangs kicker Renan Baeta drilled a 48-yarder, Juan Romero forced a Cougars (9-5) fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and the ball careened into the end zone, where Cecil Ivey Jr. pounced on it for a 17-0 lead only 12 seconds later.
Defensive back Trevor Woods then returned an interception 38 yards for a 24-0 advantage.
Uwadia wound up 21-of-41 passing for 243 yards, two TDs and three interceptions. Legend Grigsby added three receptions for 99 yards and one score to his 98-yard kick-return touchdown.
Taylor’s Casey Shorter (12-118, TD) and C.J. Tolbert (23-113, TD) both rushed for over 100 yards, and J Jensen III threw for 94 yards and two TDs.