Golden Eagles clinch share of 16-6A title
Cypress Falls is headed to the postseason with a huge burst of momentum.
The Golden Eagles rallied back from a pair of two-score deficits and claimed a share of the District 16-6A title with a 34-27 overtime victory against Cypress Ranch on a rainy Friday evening at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium.
Cypress Falls (7-3, 5-2) is now tied for first place in the standings with Cypress Ranch (7-3, 5-2) and Bridgeland (6-4, 5-2), and Cypress Woods (6-3, 4-2) will likely join them and create a rare fourway deadlock Saturday by beating a winless Cypress Park team.
The district championship for Cypress Falls, shared or not, is the first since 2006. It’s just the fourth league title in program history.
“It means a ton,” Cypress Falls coach Chris Brister said. “Anytime you can be considered a champion in 16-6A in anything, it’s quite an accomplishment. We’re proud of it, and we’re ready to get the next season (playoffs) going. But, wow, what a night for our program.” Highlights
Cypress Falls trailed for most of the game and finally had an opportunity to take the lead in the fourth quarter after junior Trey Morris ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run. But a failed extra point left the game tied at 27, and that score held at the end of regulation.
The Golden Eagles got the ball first in overtime and took their first lead of the night as Morris plowed across the goal line from 1 yard out.
Cypress Falls’ defense also rose to the occasion when they took the field. Cypress Ranch quarterback Blake Baker fired an incomplete pass into the end zone on fourth-andlong on the final play of the game, and the Golden Eagles rushed the field in celebration.
Cypress Falls trailed 27-14 early in the third quarter before scoring 20 unanswered points to close out the game and steal the victory.
What it means
Cypress Falls will take the No. 1 seed for the Class 6A Division II playoffs. Cypress Woods, the other team headed to that bracket, can tie the Golden Eagles in the standings, but Cypress Falls owns the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of their 35-17 victory on Oct. 15.
Cypress Ranch, meanwhile, will be the No. 2 seed for the Division I playoffs. Bridgeland will take the top spot in that bracket after beating the Mustangs 24-17 on Oct. 14.
Game balls
Morris was a workhorse for Cypress Falls, finishing with 222 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries. Quarterback Jakob Leavatts also had a big game on the ground, rushing for 169 yards and two scores on 21 attempts. The Golden Eagles rushed for 406 yards altogether.
Baker completed 16of-36 passes for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Cypress Ranch. Carson Littlefield was his top target, catching five passes for 142 yards and a score. Jarred Sample had four catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Kyle McCray rushed for 81 yards and two scores on 19 attempts.
Quotable
“We had a lot of mistakes in the first half, but we had to keep our heads in the game at the end of the day,” Morris said. “We’ve been down before, and it’s nothing new to us. We had to keep grinding for it.”
Up next
Cypress Falls will take on Tomball Memorial (6-4), the fourth-place team from District 15-6A, in the bi-district playoffs next week.Cypress Ranch will play Klein Collins (9-1) in the opening round. Klein Collins shared the 15-6A title with Klein Cain but was relegated to the No. 2 seed with a head-to-head loss.