Cy-Fair's defense too much for Highlanders

CYPRESS, Texas – The Woodlands Highlanders probably figured it would take some time to find the right offensive continuity after all-district quarterback Chris Andristos decided not to play football his senior year.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Andristos is projected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball amateur draft. He didn’t want to risk injury by playing football, a game that undoubtedly could have earned him a college scholarship.

But the Highlanders, and head coach Mark Schmid, probably didn’t realize just how much Andristos meant to the team until about 9:15 p.m. Friday night – when they sauntered out of the Berry Center with a tough 9-0 non-district loss against the Houston area’s No. 6 ranked Cy-Fair Bobcats.

The Highlanders, who were ranked No. 8 in the area coming into the game, amassed nearly as many penalty yards (50) as total yards (55) in the first half. They punted on four of six possessions and turned it over on downs late in the half.

New Highlander quarterback Matt Bonaguidi completed only 2 of 12 passes and threw an interception to Cy-Fair’s Brandon Richmond on The Woodlands’ second series. He finished the night hitting only 5-of-17 passes for 29 yards.

The Woodlands’ preseason first-team all-Greater Houston running back Patrick Carr was held to only 69 yards on 18 carries. His longest run was 13 yards.

"We struggled offensively," Schmid told the media after the game. "We made a bunch of mental mistakes early, in the first half, with procedures that don't give you good second plays to come back with.

"Defensively, we played really well. We held them to nine points and got off the field many times where they were threatening us."

In the second half, the Highlanders, who never made it inside Cy-Fair’s 20, punted twice, lost a fumble, then turned it over on downs again late in the fourth quarter when they were trying to mount one last drive.

The Woodlands’ Antoine Winfield tried to single-handedly keep the Highlanders in the game by intercepting a Cy-Fair pass at his own goal line in the first half, and returning a punt and kickoff 40 yards to give the offense decent field position.

But the Highlanders’ usually vaunted passing game never took flight and Cy-Fair simply teed off on the speedy Carr.

Cy-Fair’s scoring came when Jacorey Aleem, who missed all but one game last year due to a knee injury, found the end zone on a 6-yard run to give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead with only 1:09 left in the first half. The Woodlands had dodged two other first-half bullets when Christopher Stewart blocked an extra point and a field goal.

Braden Mann’s 41-yard field goal with 11:56 left in the contest gave Cy-Fair (1-0) the nine-point win.

The Woodlands (0-1), which beat Cy-Fair 42-0 in 2008 and 42-6 in 2009, finished the game with only 104 yards and six first downs.

"I was nervous all week, having flashbacks," Cy-Fair head coach Ed Pustejovsky told media members after the game. "But this is a different football team for us.

“Of course, it's a different football team for them, too. But I'm just proud of the way our kids came out and responded in a pretty big ballgame early on. Any time you can throw a shutout, it's great. It's hard to do nowadays, there is no doubt about it, but the kids did a great job.”

How did Schmid feel?

"First start, and (Bonaguidi) was probably a little uncomfortable," Schmid said. "But I'll say this: Cy-Fair's got a great defense, and that's a tough way to start the season – against a defense like that."

The Bobcats, who advanced to the Region III-5A finals a year ago, finished with 273 total yards, with Aleem going for 64 yards on 24 carries. Cy-Fair signal caller Clayton Kopecky completed 12 of 18 passes for 165 yards.