With another Cy-Fair ISD football season in the books, we wanted to share some of our thoughts on the 2020 season. #txhsfb

Thread:

To say that the 2020 high school football season was a season like no other is a huge understatement. Stops and starts during summer workouts, COVID protocols being implemented, the delayed start to the season...

We may never have a season like this again in our lifetimes.

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Thanks to the numerous regulations that needed to be implemented for this season to be made possible, Cy-Fair ISD managed to play a complete regular season.

Out of 71 regular-season games involving CFISD schools, only 2 were postponed due to COVID concerns.

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CFISD was able to play football this season because of the tremendous job done by everyone involved in CFISD athletics and the Cy-Fair community as a whole.

Because of our efforts, the players got the chance to play and we got the chance to see them in action. Thank you! 4/?

While we are glad to have a football season along with the other fall sports, we must continue these efforts in order to ensure that athletes in the winter and spring sports have a chance to play their seasons as well. Mask up!

This concludes part 1 of our end-of-season thread.

In part two of the end-of-season thread, we'll discuss statistical superlatives.

We will talk about players who achieved certain milestones, like 1,000 receiving yards, 100 tackles, and so on and so forth. #txhsfb

Let's start with defense first.

Two players in CFISD finished the 2020 season with ten or more sacks:

Bridgeland DL Mine Imarah ( @mine_imarah) - 12.5
Jersey Village DL Landen Suarez ( @landensuarez2) - 10

Jersey Village LB Andre Fields ( @andrefieldsjr) led all Cy-Fair ISD players in total tackles with 113.

Two other players finished 2020 with 100+ total tackles: Cypress Ridge LB Tristian Fletcher ( @TristianDF) put up 105 and Cypress Creek LB Joey Verret ( @joey_verret5) had 101.

As far as tackles in a single game is concerned, Tristian Fletcher had the most by a CFISD player this season when he had 21 in Cypress Ridge's season finale against Grand Oaks.

Among District 16-6A players, Langham Creek linebacker A.J. Owens ( @adrianowensjr) led the way with 94 total tackles. He and Jersey Village LB Gavin Wuthrich ( @GavinWuthy) finished in a tie for 4th overall in tackles.

TERROR IN THE TRENCHES - Tackles for loss

Cypress Park soph DL Jarra Anderson ( @Da_Bear68) led all CFISD players in tackles for loss with 21.5 (7.5 sacks).

Bridgeland's Mine Imarah ( @mine_imarah) had 20.5 TFL (12.5 sacks) and the opposition lost 125 yards on those plays.

Rounding out the top five in tackles for loss...

3. Cypress Woods DL Chris Agnew ( @chris_agnew56) - 17.5
4. Jersey Village DL Landen Suarez ( @landensuarez2) - 16
5. Cy-Fair LB Hunter Warren ( @HWarren2022) - 15

Warren just edged out Cypress Park's Harold Perkins, who had 14.5.

BALL HAWKS - Interceptions and pass defense

Bridgeland DB Bryce McMorris ( @mcmorris_bryce) and Cy-Fair DB Nick Chrest ( @nickchrest1) both finished with four interceptions to lead the district.

In terms of INT return yards, Chrest (116) was just edged out by Bridgeland's Connor Gower ( @ConnorGower15), who had 119.

McMorris also led the district with 7 pass breakups. Cypress Park ATH Harold Perkins ( @HP113k) was right behind him with 6.

(Sorry, Gavan)

We're not done mentioning Tristian Fletcher ( @TristianDF) just yet as he recovered four fumbles to lead all CFISD players. Fletcher returned one of those fumbles for a touchdown against Northbrook.

As a reminder... he changed positions mid-season.

Four players tied for second in fumble recoveries with 3:

Bridgeland LB Charlie Moore ( @CharlieMoore105)
Cypress Falls LB Ethan Spear ( @deyluvve)
Cypress Falls DB Marquise Chapman ( @Marquisejr1)
Cypress Lakes LB Donovan Carter

Spear got all three of his in one game (Cy Woods).

Moving on to offense now...

There were three 1,000-yard receivers in Cy-Fair ISD this season and Bridgeland's Hunter Wallis ( @hunter15wallis) led the way with 1,156 yards.

Cypress Creek's Brazos Gadler ( @GadlerBrazos) finished with 1,017 and Jaquaize Pettaway ( @JAQUAIZE4) from Langham Creek had 1,004.

Brazos Gadler's 1,017 yards means that Cy Creek has a 1,000-yard receiver for the 2nd straight year. Legend Grigsby finished with 1,007 receiving yards for the Cougars in 2019.

This tweet that we quoted here is incorrect and we apologize for the error. https://twitter.com/VarsityWires/status/1329996004855320576

Bridgeland's Dylan Goffney ( @GoffneyDylan) caught 12 touchdown passes to pace the district. Right behind him? Hunter Wallis ( @hunter15wallis), who finished with 11.

Jaquaize Pettaway ( @JAQUAIZE4) finished with nine, good for third place.

Four receivers caught at least 50 passes this season:

1. Hunter Wallis ( @hunter15wallis) - 69
2. Brazos Gadler ( @GadlerBrazos) - 61
3. Jaquaize Pettaway ( @JAQUAIZE4) - 55
4. Dylan Goffney ( @GoffneyDylan) - 50

There were some absurd numbers on the ground this year and we can probably thank the Cypress Park Tigers for much of this.

Cameron King ( @CameronKing03, 1,169) and Nate Livingston ( @Nate_Up8, 1,162) both topped 1,000 rushing yards and Harold Perkins finished with 983.

Cy-Fair's L.J. Johnson ( @LJ_Johnson_Jr) topped everybody with 1,262 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns.

King's 1,169 yards and 15 TDs ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively. Livingston's 1,162 yards and 17 TDs were 3rd and 2nd in each respective category. Perkins' 983 and 14 TDs were 4th.

Nate Livingston's ( @Nate_Up8) 274 rushing yards in Cypress Park's season opener against Cypress Ridge is the individual season-high in CFISD football this year.

Bridgeland quarterback Conner Weigman ( @ConnerWeigman) was the runaway leader in every passing category in Cy-Fair ISD this season.

Weigman completed 62.8% (277/441) of his passes for 3,803 yards and 42 touchdowns.

Fourty. Two. Touchdown. Passes.

Cy-Fair quarterback Carter Cravens ( @CarterCravens) had a fine year in his own right as he completed 62% of his throws (130/210) for 2,064 yards and 27 touchdowns (against 4 interceptions).

Cypress Creek freshman QB Brad Jackson ( @BradJacksonUS) only played in eight games and all he did was lead District 17-6A with 2,187 passing yards. He completed 64.4% of his passes and threw for 20 TDs.

To reiterate... a freshman led a Class 6A district in passing yards.

Conner Weigman ( @ConnerWeigman), Carter Cravens ( @CarterCravens), and Brad Jackson ( @BradJacksonUS) were the only three quarterbacks in Cy-Fair ISD to throw for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns this season.

Cy-Fair running back L.J. Johnson ( @LJ_Johnson_Jr) scored the most points out of anyone in the district with 138.

Cy Park's Big Three of Nate Livingston ( @Nate_Up8, 126), Cameron King ( @CameronKing03, 114), and Harold Perkins ( @HP113k, 108) joined him in the 100-point club.

Bridgeland kicker Ethan Hajdik finished fifth with 98 points, which led all kickers.

The longest made field goal this year belongs to Cypress Ranch's Charlie Feris ( @charlie_feris23), who hit from 46 yards out against Bridgeland.

Cypress Ridge's Miguel Moreno ( @miguelmoreno712) had a 44-yarder against Cy-Fair.

Cypress Park's Christian Castaneda had a 66-yard punt, the longest punt this year by a CFISD punter, or more accurately, player who handled the punting duties for his team.

The longest play this season in Cy-Fair ISD was a 103-yard (unofficial) kickoff return for a touchdown by Cypress Ranch wideout Jarred Sample ( @jarredsample) against Cypress Park.

That concludes part two of our end-of-season mega-thread.

In part three, we will discuss some of the non-COVID storylines that caught our attention in Cy-Fair ISD football.

1. Power Shift?

The 2010s saw one school consistently at the top of the ladder in Cy-Fair ISD football: the Cy-Fair Bobcats. But, with Bridgeland topping them 41-29 in the regular-season finale, is the balance of power in CFISD football starting to turn westward to the Bears?

2. The Rise of @BridgelandFB

The Bridgeland Bears, behind their first four-year class and the extraordinary performances of Conner Weigman, ascended to the top of Cy-Fair ISD football and advanced to Round 3 of the playoffs, the deepest run for any CFISD team in 2020.

3. Bi-District blues

With the exception of Bridgeland, the other three playoff representatives from District 16-6A all fell in their bi-district matchups. They have a tough draw with Klein and Tomball in Round 1... what can 16-6A do to make a breakthrough?

4. Youth is Served

As far as we can remember, we have never seen so many young players, especially sophomores and freshmen, make such an impact in Cy-Fair ISD football.

The most notable name in this group is Cypress Creek QB Brad Jackson ( @BradJacksonUS), who assumed control of the Cougars' offense in his first year of high school and put up a debut to remember.

Jersey Village went with a youth movement on offense and their trust in players like Adam Tran ( @adamtran_12), Rashon Estes ( @EstesRashon), Brandon Phan ( @Brandon_Phan4), and Quinton Jones ( @Quintonnn5) paid off as they got to Round 2 of the playoffs.

Not discounting the efforts of Alec Dalencour/Lavar Alexis/Xavier Joyce/C.J. Ortiz on that JV team, so we apologize if it came off that way. Their leadership was vital for a young Falcons squad that fought well against a regional finalist in Ridge point.

We've already discussed Cy Park's Big 3 ad nauseam. Jarra Anderson ( @Da_Bear68) may be a favorite to win Defensive Newcomer of the Year in District 16-6A. Connor King ( @connork12383060) is another exciting prospect who saw varsity time for the Tigers as a freshman.

Cypress Ranch DL Ashton Porter ( @BigAsh_90) was the first CFISD Class of 2023 player to receive a D1 offer when Arizona State offered him in November. Blake Baker ( @Blake_Baker10) showed promise in relief of D.J. Ciers and Jarred Sample ( @jarredsample) has big-play potential.

Cypress Woods linebacker Dylan Rogers ( @drogers041) was a playoff call-up last year as a freshman and he quickly established himself as a budding star as a sophomore in 2020, leading the Wildcats in tackles.

A pair of sophomores in Gage McMahon and Kyle Chambers ( @KyleChambers22) showed their potential for Cy-Fair this year. Cooper Stevens spent his freshman year as Jack Witmer's understudy, too. These 3 will certainly play starring roles as the Bobcats vie to reclaim their throne.

Cypress Springs is banking on players like Jayven Jackson ( @jayvenjackson6), Isaiah Keller ( @isaiahkeller18), and Lonnie Leary ( @learyfromleary), who all played prominent roles on their defense as sophomores, to help lead the Panthers back to contention.

Jaquaize Pettaway ( @JAQUAIZE4) is the next great receiver to come out of Langham Creek and 2020 was his coming-out party. Another year with Tanner Murray ( @tannermurrayy) should result in him racking up some absurd numbers.

For Cypress Falls, Ethan Spear ( @deyluvve) quickly made an impact in his first varsity season as he tied with Josh Wilburn for the team lead in tackles, led them in sacks, and also showed off his two-way potential with 270 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Emiliano Soldevilla ( @EmilianoSoldev2) seized a starting spot on the Cypress Ridge defense in his sophomore year. He'll be one of the faces of a Rams team looking to return to prominence.

Donovan Carter, Amir Turner, and Darnell Green are the veterans for Cypress Lakes and the Spartans will look to them for leadership in 2021. Ke'Sean Satterfield and Eian Perry will look to assume prominent roles after playing bit parts for Lakes as sophomores.

We've got one more year of Conner Weigman at Bridgeland in 2021, but he'll be surrounded with an almost entirely new cast. Jonathan Nelson was one of the few sophs to break into the Bears' varsity squad in 2020 and he gave Bears fans a glimpse of the future in his spare time.

There has probably never been a greater collection of football talent, present and future, in Cy-Fair ISD until now.

Ben Postma, Edwin Smith, Dylan Goffney, Jack Witmer... all D1 receivers. Jayhvion Gipson is off to TCU. L.J. Johnson can go wherever he pleases. J.P. Martin from Cy Falls is off to Memphis. Bryce McMorris was arguably the best corner in CFISD (Nick Chrest has a case).

But look past the D1 players in this district and you'll find no shortage of players eager for a chance at the next level. Players like Josh Hunter, Tristian Fletcher, Hunter Wallis, Andre Fields, and Brazos Gadler have been standout performers. All they need is that chance.

Conner Weigman and Harold Perkins are obviously the most prominent names in the district for 2022, but kids like Nate Livingston, Cameron King, Hunter Warren, and Gavin Wuthrich should be gaining attention soon.

Chris Gilbreath, Tanner Murray, Raymond Davis, Jermari Seals, Quinten Renteria, Chibi Nwajuaku, Amir Turner... the Class of 2022 isn't exactly thin either.

2023 has Dylan Rogers, Jarra Anderson, Jaquaize Pettaway, Ashton Porter, Royce Maloles, Christian Braithwaite, Isaiah Keller, Jayven Jackson, Rashon Estes, Jarred Sample, Blake Baker, Reagan Gill, and Kyle Chambers.

And who from the Class of 2024 will make the impact that Brad Jackson, Adam Tran, Quinton Jones, and Connor King did for their teams?

This, dare we say it, may very well be the golden age of football in Cy-Fair ISD. We're just fortunate to be witnessing it.

Well alright, we're moving on.

5. Where Varsity Wires gives Cy Park pre-season bulletin board material

In case anyone forgot (we doubt any Park people did), VW picked Cypress Park to finish 7th in District 16-6A.

The Tigers showed tremendous progress in their 3-7 2019 season and honestly, they were a handful of plays away from finishing .500 that year. We thought they were probably a year away from really contending for a playoff spot.

[MJ Last Dance "And I took that personally" pic]

Park ran roughshod in the early part of their schedule, busting out for a 3-0 start in District 16-6A play to set up a battle of the unbeatens with Bridgeland.

The Bears won 62-20 in a game that was utterly one-sided and Park wound up dropping their next two games to Cypress Woods and Cypress Ranch, which resulted in a win-or-stay-home game against Langham Creek to finish the regular season.

With the final playoff spot in District 16-6A on the line, Cypress Park turned to their Big 3, the same Big 3 who carried them all season. And, Nate Livingston, Cameron King, and Harold Perkins spurred the Tigers to a 42-29 victory, earning Cy Park their first-ever playoff berth.

Their reward? A trip to Tomball to face Tomball Memorial, where they were viewed as heavy underdogs.

Never discount the energy boost a team gets when they play their first playoff game. The Tigers took the fight to TMHS and Ed Dixon ( @Pnut2flashy) fired five TD passes.

Park ended up bowing out in the first round with a 57-52 loss, but make no mistake, the Tigers proved a ton of people wrong in 2020, especially us.

Sorry for such a long thread, but with a 12-school district, there's rarely a dull moment in Cy-Fair ISD football.

Next topic!

6. Final-week dramatics

Sometimes, the battle for 3rd and 4th place in a district ends up being the most dramatic races in football. In District 17-6A, the final two playoff spots were not decided until the final week of district play

Jersey Village, Cypress Creek, and Stratford were the three teams vying for the final two playoff spots and a three-way tie between them was a very real possibility. In the event of a three-way tie, tiebreakers would have to be utilized and one of these teams would be out.

Let's fast-forward to Week 8. Cy Creek suffered a 17-7 loss at Tully Stadium against Memorial, while Jersey Village outlasted Stratford 42-35 at Pridgeon Stadium.

The Cougars entered the final week of district play with the worst point differential among the three teams.

- Jersey Village was a +7 by virtue of their win over Stratford.
- Stratford had a -3 differential as they beat Creek 48-44 in Week 7.
- As a result, Creek was -4.

JV's win over the Spartans meant that they clinched a playoff spot, so they could finish either in 3rd place or 4th place.

Creek and Stratford only had two outcomes available to them: clinch a playoff berth or miss the playoffs.

Stratford strolled to a victory over Northbrook, but ultimately, their fate, and Cy Creek's fate, rested in the outcome of the Cougars' game with Jersey Village.

Cy Creek had to defeat JV by at least seven points or else they would be eliminated from playoff contention.

The Cougars jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead. Smooth sailing, right? Well... Jersey Village suddenly sprang to life in the fourth quarter and turned the tables on Creek.

If you were a Cy Creek fan, there was probably no point in the 2020 season that was tenser than when Jersey Village took possession of the football with 1:31 left in regulation, trailing 28-21.

With the Falcons facing a third down, Adam Tran connected with Mike Evans, who proceeded to take the ball all the way to the Cougars' two-yard line.

But wait... Jersey Village was penalized for an illegal formation that wiped out what would have been a 62-yard gain.

The Cy Creek defense wound up getting the stop they so desperately needed and as a result, their 28-21 win over Jersey Village gave them the required margin of victory, and they advanced to the playoffs at Stratford's expense.

Before we begin with our closing thoughts on 2020, we'd like to thank everyone for staying, or attempting to stay with us in this unbelievably long thread.

We really didn't expect it to go that long either.

Once again, we cannot begin to describe how fortunate and how grateful we are to have witnessed this season in the midst of a pandemic. Thanks to our observance of the proper safety guidelines, we were able to watch a complete football season.

With that being said... what a start to a new decade of Cy-Fair ISD football. As we said earlier, there's never a dull moment around these parts.

So many compelling storylines, so many talented kids putting their skills on display and even more waiting for their chance.

We saw a changing of the guard with the new blood in Bridgeland getting the best of Cy-Fair, the long-time standard-bearers of this district.

We saw a freshman jump straight into the fire of Class 6A football straight out of middle school and excelling from the start.

We saw a program go from a winless debut season to earning its first-ever playoff berth.

We saw a Cy-Fair legend return home to lead his alma mater and he continued the tradition of excellence set by his predecessor.

So many intriguing stories were told in this 2020 season. To be perfectly honest, it is only making us wonder how the next chapter of Cy-Fair ISD football will be written in 2021.

Who's going to write the next chapter? What plot twists will turn up? How is it going to end?

End of thread. See you all in 2021!