HS Football: The Woodlands stands tall in win over College Park

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- As the rain came down over Woodforest Stadium, The Woodlands rained on the College Park parade for four quarters in Friday’s game. The Highlanders used big plays from each unit to earn a dominant 34-7 win over their rivals.

The Woodlands’ special teams were ready to play from the start. Peyton Janecek opened the game with a return deep into Cavalier territory. The great return set up an 11-yard tap pass from QB Ben Mills to WR Malik Johnson to open the scoring.

The next Highlanders possession began at the CP 25, thanks to an electric Teddy Knox punt return. That drive ended with a 38-yard field goal from Fabrizio Pinton to give The Woodlands a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.


The Highlanders defense in Friday’s game showed no mercy to the College Park offense. Green jerseys swarmed from sideline to sideline, bottling up any attempt to get in a rhythm by College Park. With defensive backs locking down the throw game and the front giving no room for CP to run, the Highlanders held the Cavaliers to under 50 yards of offense in the first half. Ben Mills added a 25-yard TD pass to Malik Johnson to give The Woodlands a 17-0 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was mostly more of the same. With College Park pinned deep in their own half of the field, The Woodlands pass rush forced a bad pass by QB Camden Farmer that was picked off by a diving Carter Doucet to give the Highlanders the ball right outside the College Park red zone.

The Woodlands took a 24-0 lead late in the 3rd Quarter off of a WR pass by Cody Sims to QB Peyton Janecek. The trick play started off as a jet sweep before the senior wide receiver threw back to the opposite side of the field to find his quarterback waiting to make the catch and battle his way into the end zone for a 21-yard score.

College Park would finally find their way into the end zone in the 4th quarter when TE Cody Mladenka showed off his play-making abilities. After a 67-yard catch and run by Mladenka to start the drive, he would finish it off with an 11-yard touchdown catch from Ty Buckmon.

The Highlanders' defense would settle back down and make sure there was no chance of a comeback. Kicker Fabrizio Pinton would add his second field goal of the night to make it a 27-7 lead before Ben Mills added 7 more on the board thanks to a pair of great runs. Mills would set his team up in the red zone after a big 55-yard scramble. A couple plays later, he would put his stamp on the victory with a punishing 11-yard run for a touchdown to secure the win.

With the win, The Woodlands moves to 2-0 in district and 3-1 overall. After starting the year 2-0, College Park has dropped their last two, both district games, to fall to 2-2 on the year. Next up for the Highlanders is a road game at Klein Oak, while College Park will attempt to end their losing streak when they host Klein Collins.

Friday’s game was a Woodlands Online on-demand game brought to you by RE/MAX and Woodlands Dental.