Cypress Head Coach Rick Feldman anticipated some struggles for his team this year due to the number of starters the team lost from last year’s team.
The Centurions are young and several of their key position players had little to no varsity experience coming into this year.
But the Centurions are gutting it out during games and they gave Mayfair some trouble through three quarters, but it wasn’t enough as the Monsoons pulled away in the fourth for a 49-28 win over the Centurions on Friday at Western High.
Sparked by a good return of the second half kickoff, the Centurions grabbed a lead, early in the third quarter. The short field led to a 38-yard touchdown run by junior running back Bryson Busbee, who found a hole up the middle and weaved around a couple of defenders to give Cypress a 28-21 lead.
But Mayfair answered on the ensuing possession. A big pass play got the Monsoons down to the Cypress 10 yard line. A couple of plays later, Miles Mitchell punched it in from four yards to time the game 28-28. The game appeared headed to the fourth quarter tied, but with 1:48 left in the quarter, senior running back Louis Johnson broke through a hole in the middle and outran the defense 76 yards for a score and a 25-28 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Centurions were driving, but Mayfair junior Chaz Gilbreath intercepted a pass to give the Monsoons possession at their own 45 yard line. The Monsoons struck quickly as senior quarterback Jeremiah Calvin hit senior wide receiver, Max Mitchell on the first play for a 55-yard touchdown on a post route.
Feldman said the effort was there for his team, but youth and inexperience are leading to mistakes on which teams like Mayfair are able to capitalize.
“It’s growing pains and when you play the teams that we have to play, unfortunately, we can’t afford to have those growing pains, but we’re going to keep playing hard and coaching hard and try to get better,” Feldman said.
The Centurions have two road games before they start play in the new Delta League, which should be a challenge. Cypress does have a spark in Busbee, who grinded out 103 rushing yards with three touchdowns. The Centurions have also been able to create opportunities with a “little smoke and mirrors,” Feldman said.
The Centurions were able to take advantage of a mis-played pooch kick on the opening kickoff to get first possession and take an early 7-0 lead on a Busbee run. They also scored on a fake punt when sophomore quarterback took a short snap and hit Tyler White with a 54-yard touchdown pass down the middle.
The Centurions travel to Lawndale High on Friday for a 7 p.m. game.
