4A Team of the Week: Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears
Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Huffman Hargrave had both been on a roll in 2024, but only one could stay undefeated in district play.
It went all the way down to the wire to decide who that would be.
Hargrave built up a 34-21 lead early in the third quarter, but that 13-point lead lasted for all of a play. Kaden Boatman took the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown to cut Hargrave’s advantage back to six.
From there, momentum was back on the Bears side.
And although Hargrave scored again to extend its lead to 40-28, Little Cypress-Mauriceville didn’t flinch. Bears quarterback Braylon Lewis connected with Jakson Struwe for a 17-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter before he added a seven-yard touchdown run and the ensuing two-point conversion on the ground with just four minutes left to give the Bears a 43-40 lead.
Big game to secure 1st in district!🔥🔥@klose_trey @TrustMyEyesO @Coach_Barbay @CoachDouglasIII @LearnJenna @grayson_kline pic.twitter.com/SNp4xhtthR
— Braylon Lewis (@d1braylew) November 3, 2024
The defense then did its job in the closing minutes, forcing a turnover on downs to clinch the win.
“I’m really proud of the resiliency of our kids,” Little Cypress-Mauriceville Eric Peevey said. “We constantly talk about being the most disciplined, tough, and resilient team and it definitely showed last Friday night. At halftime, none of our kids were panicking, and knew that we still had a long game to play.”
Panic doesn’t seem to be a word in Braylon Lewis’ vocabulary. The Bears’ quarterback rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, while also completing seven of eight passes for 112 yards.
The Bears also got some help on the ground from Jonah Fuller, who had 90 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. J’lynn Morris also slogged along for 34 yards on 13 carries.
Peevey said he believes the Bears’ tough non-district schedule has prepared them for big moments. That has certainly proven to be the case with last Friday securing the district title for the Bears.
They’ll now look to keep the momentum going when they host Lumberton in their final regular season game this Friday.
Previous 4A Teams of the Week
Week One: Pine Tree
Week Two: Paris
Week Three: Midland Greenwood
Week Four: Eastside Memorial
Week Five: El Paso Austin
Week Six: Clint Mountain View
Week Seven: Port Lavaca Calhoun
Week Eight: Sweeny
Week Nine: La Feria
