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This Week in HS Sports - November
9, 2009
Must-win teams can't cash in...with one exception
By the time Saturday evening rolled around in Week 10, there
were only a handful of teams that took the field who were
already playing for their playoff lives. Win-or-go-home
time. Sure, there would be several games that would
determine seedings or district championships, but only a few
meant the right for a team to keep playing beyond this
weekend.
Mayde Creek was one of those teams. And they seemed to have
the easiest of tasks. The Rams just needed to beat winless
Morton Ranch to clinch a playoff spot out of District
17-5A. But, the
Mavericks spoiled the party with a 28-21 win and ended
Mayde Creek's season.
Across town, at Thorne Stadium, the Humble Wildcats held
their playoff fate in their own hands as they took the field
against the Nimitz Cougars. The Wildcats had gotten off to
a rugged start to the 2009 season before putting things
together in District 19-5A play. Nimitz would be finishing
off a disappointing season, having been eliminated from the
playoff picture seemingly early.
But, the Cougars would also bring a disappointing end to
Humble's season as well, pulling out a 33-28 win that
allowed Kingwood and Aldine to claim the final two playoff
berths from 19-5A thanks to tiebreakers over Humble.
The one team that seemed unlikeliest of all to accomplish
the task of winning a game to earn a playoff spot was the
Cypress Falls Golden Eagles. Cy Falls needed a win, against
district co-leader Cypress Woods, coupled with a loss by
Cypress Springs to the other district co-leader, Cypress
Creek.
It seemed like an impossible task, a fact that Eagles' head
coach David Raffield acknowledged on Saturday night.
"Everybody had us as an underdog in this game," Raffield
stated. "But these kids love each other and play for each
other."
In the unlikeliest of necessary wins, in the unlikeliest of
second-half comebacks, Cy Falls outscored Cy Woods 24-7 in
the final two quarters to come away with a 46-43 win and
earn District 15-5A's fourth and final playoff spot.
Brice Christian capped the comeback with a 22-yard field
goal with 1:55 left on the game clock. After the Cy Falls
defense fended off a last minute drive by the Wildcats, the
celebration began on the Eagles' sideline.
Trailing at halftime, 36-22, following a barrage of points
in the last two minutes of the half by Woods, Raffield
admitted his team went into the locker room in a less-than-optomistic
mood.
"Their heads were down," said the coach, "but we said,
'We've got 24 minutes left to play. We're going to go out
and send the seniors out with their heads held high."
Because of the effort, those seniors will have at least one
more week to play before they move on with their lives. Cy
Falls plays Round Rock Stony Point, a state-ranked team in
almost every statewide poll, on Friday night at Round Rock
ISD Stadium.
For Cypress Falls fans, the last weekend of the 2009 season
had a similar feel to the final weekend of the 2005 season,
Raffield's third as head coach.
That year, Cy Falls had lost in Week 9 to Tomball, 24-21, to
all but eliminate themselves from playoff contention. There
was a chance, going into the final weekend of play, for the
Eagles to make the playoffs, but it would be a slim one and
they'd need some help.
Cy Falls needed to beat Magnolia (in a Thursday night
contest), and have Jersey Village beat a high-powered
Langham Creek team on the last Saturday of the season.
Cy Falls defeated Magnolia, 52-22, and then waited for a
couple of days and crossed their fingers hoping Jersey
Village could help their cause. And the Falcons did squeak
out an 18-16 win over Langham Creek, sending Falls into the
playoffs while bumping the Tomball team who had beaten the
Eagles a week earlier.
It's a neat story, but it doesn't end there.
After the Golden Eagles made it into the Class 5A playoffs
by the skin of their teeth, that same team wound up taking
the vaunted Katy Tigers down to the wire in the 5A Region
III championship game, losing when Katy made a furious
fourth-quarter rally to win 32-28 at Rice Stadium on the
first weekend in December that season.
It's my guess that Raffield and Company wouldn't mind seeing
2009 take a similar path to that season. And, because of
Saturday's results, they still have that chance.
Previous stories
:
August 15, 2009
August
20, 2009
August
26, 2009
August
31, 2009
September 8, 2009
September 16, 2009
September 18, 2009
September 25, 2009
September 28, 2009
October 5, 2009
October 7, 2009
October 15, 2009
October 19, 2009
October 23, 2009
October 25, 2009
November 2, 2009 |
