Cypress Head Coach was admittedly concerned by the slow start his team had against Santa Monica High on Friday. But he was equally pleased with the way his team was able to control the game in the late stages and pull away for a 40-20 win against the Vikings at Western High.
Cypress Head Coach was admittedly concerned by the slow start his team had against Santa Monica High on Friday. But he was equally pleased with the way his team was able to control the game in the late stages and pull away for a 40-20 win against the Vikings at Western High.
About midway through the third quarter, the Centurions were on the verge of squandering a good kickoff return that had them starting near midfield. Facing fourth and 11, the Centurions pulled a fake punt, with senior punter Anthony Cardoza pulling the ball down and running around the right side for 13 yards and a first down.
Junior quarterback Alex Ashcraft had an 11-yard pass to Jeremiah Thompson and a run for another 11 yards that moved them into the red zone. Ashcraft ended the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Thompson that gave the Centurions the lead for good, 26-20.
“We were able to start wearing them down,” Cypress Head Coach Rick Feldman said of the second half.
The Centurions began to control the line of scrimmage late in the game. Running backs found plenty of room to run and Ashcraft had time to throw and also break free for big runs when necessary.
The line was anchored primarily by the rotation of senior Jeremiah Skipps, junior Francisco Cardenas, sophomore Miles Mendez, senior Allen Anthony, senior Avery Robinson and junior Trevor Pulcifer.
“They were able to get after it in the second half,” Feldman said of his linemen.
Jeremiah Thompson led the rushing attack with 126 yards and three touchdowns and Ashcraft added 43 rushing yards. Ashcraft threw for 173 yards, with Dominique Thompson catching for 117 of those yards. Ashcraft also connected with Noah Zuzuarregui for a touchdown in the second quarter that cut the Viking led to 13-12 at halftime.
Cypress received the second half kickoff and marched 66 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. Ahscraft had a 25 yard pass to Kaleb Craig that got them to the Viking 24 yard line. One play later, Jeremiah Thompson ran 19 yards for a touchdown that gave the Centurions a 19-13 lead. Santa Monica would respond with a touchdown drive of their own to regain the lead, 20-19, before the Centurions scored the final 21 points.
