Cougars on the Hunt for 1st District Title, Bragging Rights

Posted by KT2000 at November 3, 2008

Cinco aiming for it's 1st district Title!

The Cinco Ranch football program is currently enjoying its best regular season since 2006. The Cougars finished 11-2 that season. 2004 is the only other time Cinco’s recorded more than six victories in the regular season. 

Cinco opened the year by taking their first ever road trip to San Antonio to play the Reagan Rattlers. Reagan plays in the vaunted 26-5A district. Cinco edged the Rattlers 21-17 in the Alamodome. Reagan (7-2, 6-1) is currently locked in a four-way tie for first place in 26-5A. The Cougars were able to add a road trip to Southlake Carroll after Hurricane Ike shook up schedules. Cinco rolled through district play until a bizarre 41-34 result against Seven Lakes in Week 9. The Cougars turned the ball over seven times, but still managed to roll up over 400 yards of total offense and 41 points. Cinco scored the winning touchdown with just over a minute left in the game. Seven Lakes led 34-33 before that score, and the Spartans also led 20-13 at halftime.

Cinco Ranch’s shotgun based offense is led by senior quarterback Shane Ros and senior running back Adam Hirtz. Ros started at cornerback as a sophomore, and then missed most of his junior year with the knee injury. Ros is a talented dual-threat who keeps defenses off balance with his athletic ability. 

Hirtz is the engine and a leading candidate for district most valuable player. Hirtz is among the area leaders in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Brad Boudreaux flanks Ros and Hirtz when Cinco goes to their split backs shotgun formation. Boudreaux is capable of making defenses think twice about zeroing in on just Ros and Hirtz. Junior quarterback Zach Myers gives Cinco another experienced signal caller, and his presence also opens up creative options when he and Ros are on the field at the same time. Senior quarterback Matt Holub also works his way onto the field, and Cinco has a gadget package that puts all three quarterbacks in the backfield together. Senior receivers Ryan Moos, Tyler Mack and Collin Buteaux give Cinco downfield options. Moos leads the team in receptions and Mack leads in touchdown catches. Mack and Buteaux are both big targets (6’5). Cinco’s offensive line, led by senior Michael Schraub, does a good job of springing Hirtz and the Cinco runners into space. They are not an enormous line but they do execute well. There’s no way you can put up the offense they have without a good line.

The Cougar defense has held up pretty well overall. The Seven Lakes result was due to turnovers and short fields rather than the Spartans moving at will on the Cougar defense. The Southlake Carroll game was a trial by fire for the pass defense. It was an important game for Cinco to play because everyone else they’ve played is heavily geared to run. Cinco’s defensive front is led by seniors Bobby Kiesewetter and Devin Williams. Both players can be very disruptive. Junior lineman Austin Milligan is a rare non-senior contributor on this Cougar team. 

Cinco also has experience at the linebacker position in senior Andy McAteer and junior James Radcliffe. Both started last year. Junior Trevor Holt also starts. The Cougar linebackers are all similar in stature (5’10-6’0, 200 pound range). Senior cornerback Tanner Leland adds needed size in the secondary. Senior defensive back Devin Friar is another experienced player. Junior Zach Velliquette and senior strong safety Greg Kremen are two other first team contributors. 

General Impressions

Overall, this is certainly one of the more talented teams Cinco’s fielded in their young history. Shane Ros gives them an added dimension they’ve never had at the quarterback position before with his mobility. He isn’t physically imposing, but he has a very capable passing arm. Injuries have threatened to slow Ros and the Cougars down the last two seasons, but they’ve been able to hold things together enough to be 8-1 so far this year. Junior Zach Myers was thrown into the fire as a sophomore last year when Ros went down in non-district, so he’s an experienced player Cinco can call on when needed. Hirtz is a very tough runner from the backfield, and does a great job of staying alive on plays by keeping his feet moving and fighting for yardage. This is the most effective ball control offense Cinco’s ever had because of the added running dimension of the quarterbacks.

When I saw Cinco Ranch against Mayde Creek, I was impressed with the play of the senior defensive lineman Bobby Kiesewetter. He was very disruptive and made some really nice plays on the Rams’ side of the line of scrimmage. 

Cinco is well-equipped with several seniors across the board in starting positions. There isn’t a single sophomore on the varsity roster this year. Expectations were higher because of this experience, and the Cougars have lived up to the billing so far. In my opinion, this is the best chance they’ve ever had to make a deep playoff run. In the Division 1 field, I think teams like North Shore, Hightower and Pearland would be the toughest match-ups because of their tough defenses and efficient offenses.

Cinco’s chances against Katy will come down to whether or not they can limit the Tigers’ effectiveness on the ground. The Cougars were able to do this for most of the game against Katy in 2006, but the Tigers eventually opened things with the passing game. Cinco has never scored more than 14 points against Katy, and that is something they’ll have to change in order to have a strong chance. However, this is the most well-prepared team Cinco’s fielded against Katy in my opinion. I think the road trips to San Antonio and Southlake were key steps in the development of this Cinco team and the program in general. 

The Cougars have been very competitive with Katy at the sub-varsity levels in recent seasons. We’ll see if that translates to varsity this season or if the Tigers make it nine in a row.

SCHEDULE:

• Cinco Ranch 21 SA Reagan 17
• Cinco Ranch 34 Cy Springs 15
• Cinco Ranch 42 Mayde Creek 14
• Cinco Ranch 35 The Woodlands College Park 23
• Southlake Carroll 42 Cinco Ranch 24
• Cinco Ranch 35 Taylor 0 *
• Cinco Ranch 56 Morton Ranch 14 *
• Cinco Ranch 56 Mayde Creek 17 *
• Cinco Ranch 41 Seven Lakes 34 *

JUST THE BASICS:

Record (8-1, 4-0)
Coach- Don Clayton (9th season)
PPG- 38.2, PAPG- 19.6, Margin- 18.6