Cy Ridge manhandled Clear Brook 49-14 Saturday night under the fluorescent lights of NRG Stadium. The abuse came without much help from District 17-6A’s back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year running back Trelon Smith. Smith left during the second quarter with an apparent foot injury. Cy Ridge head coach Gary Thiebaud detailed what happened to his star running back.
“It’s a foot (injury)” Coach Thiebaud said. “We don’t know all the issues with it yet. He got tackled and it got caught in the turf. The top part of his foot got stretched. We’ll evaluate him this week and hopefully he’s playing next week”.
Smith’s departure did not hinder the Cy Ridge ground assault, though. Instead, the Rams rolled regardless of who was standing in their backfield. As long as they were running behind their Goliath offensive line. Coach Thiebaud gushed about his offensive line and what is possible when you run behind men of such biblical proportions.
“Our offensive line is a bunch of fighters” Coach Thiebaud boasted. “They’re tough, they’re strong, they’re athletic and they can move. There’s just no quit in them. They take pride in all those yards Trelon got, they take pride in him leading the league in rushing. We just had to put the next guy back there.”
The Clear Brook defense played the role of David, and for the purpose of this story, it appeared their slingshot was no match for the overwhelming Cy Ridge offensive front. The Rams front five of Darwin Mejia, Gordon Bonilla, Jose Soltero, Tyrese Williams and Hadi Khan pounded the way for a total of 455 yards rushing against Clear Brook. With Trelon Smith playing just over a quarter and a half, he would call it a night with only 70 yards on 11 carries. It was Smith’s relief in Alex Jacobs who lead the Rams in rushing with 214 yards and two touchdowns. Third-string running back Mike Ajayi and Cy Ridge quarterback Tyson Williams were each responsible for 75 yards on the ground. Williams delivered more damage with his legs than he did with his arm. The adaptable quarterback scampered in for three rushing touchdowns and only stayed in the pocket long enough to throw for 69 yards passing.
Clear Brook employed a balanced mix of run and pass just as they have been all season. Though comparable in distribution, 130 yards rushing and 117 yards passing was not nearly enough to keep up with Cy Ridge’s stable of capable sprinters.
The Rams ran it down the throat of the Wolverines on their first three drives of the game for 21 straight points. After Alex Jacobs took it 59 yards to the house to put the Rams up 14, Cy Ridge attempted an early twisting of the knife by lining up for an onside kick. The Rams recovered and marched down the field for their third unanswered touchdown of the first quarter.
The floundering Wolverine’s received a lifeline in the form of a couple of timely Cy Ridge turnovers. Clear Brook linebacker Khalil Guinn intercepted a Tyson Williams pass with 4:50 remaining in the second quarter. The opportune pick set up a 57-yard Jarrett Smith touchdown run on the next play to put Clear Brook on the scoreboard. Shortly after Trelon Smith was seen laboring on the sideline, his replacement Alex Jacobs coughed up the football at the Cy Ridge 46-yard line where Clear Brooks’ Drew Adams recovered it. Seven plays later, Clear Brook wide receiver Caleb Chapman collected a 12-yard fade in the end zone from quarterback Jaizac Garcia. The second quarter touchdown pulled the Wolverines within seven, and it would be the closest they ever came to a lead.
The Clear Brook offense was shut out in the second half and was only able to muster 67 total yards in the final two quarters against a backbreaking Cy Ridge defense. On the other end of the field, Cy Ridge was having a party in the end zone and almost everyone was invited. Rams running back Alex Jacobs got the celebration started with a 78-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the third quarter. Fellow running back Mike Ajayi got in the mix as well with a six-yard touchdown run, and defensive end Wesley Freeman hammered in the coffin nail with a 20-yard strip-six.
The party will hopefully rage on for Cy Ridge on Saturday, December 3 at TDECU Stadium where the Rams will take on the bracket-busting Cinco Ranch Cougars in the 6A Division II Region III Finals.
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