Cypress Woods throttles Cypress Creek 61-35

Since quarterback Colton Huntsman returned to the Cypress Woods lineup at full strength, the Wildcats’ offense has appeared to be nearly unstoppable.

Showing shades of the unit that took them three and four rounds deep in the Class 5A Region II playoffs the last two years, the Wildcats went full throttle against Cypress Creek and as a result, put themselves right back near the top of the District 17-5A playoff race.

With five first-half touchdowns and 537 offensive yards for the night, Cy Woods raced past former district leader Cy Creek 61-35 on Friday at Pridgeon Stadium.

Cy Woods (5-3, 5-2 in district) and Cy Creek (5-3, 5-2) are now tied for second place, leaving Cypress Ridge (6-2, 6-1) in sole possession of first after its 49-7 win over Cypress Lakes on Friday at the Berry Center.

“It’s an amazing group of kids,” Cy Woods coach David Jones said. “We’ve had to fight through some adversity and it’s a credit to them and I’m thrilled to death that they’ve been able to fight back — but we’re not finished yet.”

Huntsman, a senior who recently committed to Air Force, carved up the Cougars with his arm and his feet, completing 7-of-11 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 105 yards and a pair of scores.

He showed no ill effects of the ankle injury that knocked him out of action in the Wildcats’ second contest and forced him to miss three games. Though he said he’s still making progress, he looked like his old self Friday.

“I’m still getting back into game shape, but it feels great to be back,” he said.
Within the first 5:02, the Wildcats built a two-touchdown lead. After a 9-yard touchdown run by Fred Anderson gave them a 7-0 lead, the defense forced Cypress Creek to go three-and-out, then capitalized as Huntsman hit Gary Tesch with an 86-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead.

Cypress Creek responded with a 13-play, 73-yard drive capped by an 11-yard Chuckie Keeton touchdown run, but Cy Woods reeled off three more touchdowns before the half, including a 35-yard halfback option pass from Anderson (94 receiving yards, 42 rushing yards) to Cole Devillers with 18 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 35-7 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same as Huntsman broke free for touchdown runs of 43 and 27 yards to give the Wildcats a 49-21 third-quarter lead, putting the game well out of reach.

“The way I look at it, when you get your butt kicked you have to man up and say ‘They kicked our butts,’” Cypress Creek coach Greg McCaig said. “That’s what they did.”

sam.khan@chron.com