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HS Football: College Park slows down Grand Oaks in district opener

By: JD Hurd II
| Published 10/31/2020

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THE WOODLANDS, TX -- There were plenty of eyes on the showdown between undefeated Grand Oaks and 3-1 College Park. The question on everyone’s mind was if Grand Oaks could continue scoring at an insane rate in district play. At least on Friday night, that answer was no. College Park was able to keep the game in their control on their way to a 28-16 win over the Grizzlies.



Friday’s game did start off with fireworks from both teams, putting fans on alert for a potential shootout early on. On the opening drive of the game, College Park RB Dylon DeAngelo broke free for a 78-yard rushing touchdown. The run kicked off a nice night of production for DeAngelo, who finished with 184 rushing yards in the win.



The Grizzlies haven’t trailed often so far this season, and the CP lead didn’t last long. Grand Oaks responded with a haymaker of their own, a 72-yard TD pass from Hudson Hamilton to Sean Zver to quickly tie the game back up.

Explosive offenses opened the show, however, both defenses stole the show throughout the night. After a College Park fumble recovered by Grand Oaks set the Grizzlies up with a first and goal inside the five, the Cavaliers defense stood tall and forced a 25-yard Grant Nickel field goal.

It was the Cavs’ turn to respond after giving up a lead, and CP marched right down the field and capped the drive with a short TD run by WR Alex Brigman to give the Cavaliers a 14-10 lead late in the first quarter.

Defensively, Grand Oaks gave College Park trouble in the first half. After Grant Nickel’s 44-yard field goal, DB Gabriel Anzaldua picked off College Park to help the Grizzlies go into the locker room trailing 14-13 at halftime.

College Park came out of the locker room ready to make a statement. The defense was playing well, but the unit leveled up in the second half. Offensively, the gameplan was clear, let QB Ty Buckmon cook.

On the first play of the third quarter, Cavaliers DB Joseph Golden picked off a deep pass over the middle to swing momentum back on their side. The following drive was a showcase of Ty Buckmon’s athletic ability. Designed QB runs dominated the drive and CP finished with a seven-yard TD run by Buckmon to put College Park up 21-13 early in the quarter.

The CP pass rush came to life and added another problem for Grand Oaks to deal with on offense. DL Andrew Edmonson picked up his first of two sacks on the night to force a Grizzlies punt. On the following Cavaliers drive, Buckmon connected with WR Holden Rook for a huge gain to put CP deep in Grizzlies territory. College Park went right back to letting Buckmon wear down the Grizzlies with QB runs and he finished the drive with a QB sneak for a TD to put the Cavaliers up 15 late in the third quarter.

Buckmon, the WOL Sports Player of the Game, finished with 91 yards rushing, 120 passing yards and two TDs.



Grand Oaks added another field goal in the fourth quarter, but it was mostly a frustrating second half offensively due to the swarming Cavaliers defense.

College Park was the first team to not allow Grand Oaks to score 50-plus points and they did it by smothering the Grand Oaks running game. LB Dylan Hazen led the way with seven tackles, DB Curt Evangelister was right behind with six. Talented Grand Oaks RB Micah Cooper was held to just 37 yards rushing. Once forced to pass, the Grizzlies struggled to get behind the Cavs secondary who stepped up with air-tight coverage in the second half. The CP defensive line created chaos in the backfield as well. Edmonson shined with two sacks and was a part of a group that held QB Hamilton to just 110 passing yards.

College Park moves to 1-0 in District 13-6A, 4-1 overall. They’ll attempt to make it 2-0 next week when they travel to 0-1 Willis. Grand Oaks suffers their first loss of the season (4-1 overall). The Grizzlies will go on the road to 0-1 Conroe in a battle between teams looking for the first district win.

Friday night’s game was a Woodlands Online Livestream sponsored by RE/MAX and Woodlands Dental Group.

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