By T. Scott Boatright
The resurgence of the 2025 Cedar Creek football team continued Friday as the Cougars roared past Glenbrook 31-8 in the District 1-A opener for both teams at Origin Bank Field.
After going 1-9 last season, the Cougars have already beaten that win total and now stand at 3-1.
But more important for Cedar Creek coach Jacob Angevine was seeing his Cougars defeat Glenbrook for the first time since the schools started playing each other.
“These seniors have never beaten Glenbrook going all the way back to their Pee-Wee days, their middle school days — they never had a chance to beat Glenbrook,” Angevine said. “So, for them to have this feeling on their home turf and their last time playing (Glenbrook) in the regular season, because who knows, we might see them in the playoffs, but that was a great effort by them and I’m so excited for them.
“It was a great team win, especially after last week (a 64-13 loss at Class 4A Loyola College Prep), this is a great bounce back victory for our guys.”
Even better for Angevine was the statement the Cougars made earning their third win of the season.
“We told the guys that before fall camp,” Angevine said. “We’re not the doormat anymore. We’re not the doormat. We’re here to kick the door down and take what’s ours and today was a good first step in that process.”
That first step came on the Cougars first drive as they took the opening drive and ran right the whole way down the field, with quarterback Brett Bell powering his way to paydirt on a two-yard run that put Cedar Creek on top 6-0 at the 7:22 mark of the opening stanza after Bell was stopped on a two-point conversion run attempt.
Glenbrook looked like it would counter by scoring on its opening drive, but that didn’t happen as Creek defensive back Micah Taylor picked off a pass in the Cougars’ end zone to shut down the Apaches’ opening drive.
Cedar Creek extended its lead to 14-0 with 2:52 left in the first quarter as Peyton Harris slashed into the end zone from three yards out before adding the two-point conversion on another run up the middle.
That score was set up by Taylor’s second interception of the contest that gave the Cougars possession at the Glenbrook 26-yard line just minutes earlier.
The Cougars took a 16-0 lead into the locker room at the half after a snap on a Glenbrook punt attempt from the Apaches’ 39-yard line sailed way over the punter’s head before rolling out of the back of the end to give Cedar Creek the safety.
Cedar Creek extended its lead to 24-0 with 8:02 left in the third quarter as Bell burst up the middle before angling left and running down the sideline on a 42-yard scoring scamper. Harris then recorded his second two-point conversion run.
The Cougars at first opted to kick the point after touchdown before an offsides call against Glenbrook made them reconsider and go for two after the ball moved closer to the goal line.
Glenbrook’s lone score came on a two-yard run with 10:52 remaining, but Cedar Creek added its final score on the ensuing drive as Bell connected with Ryan Coleman on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Fittingly, the game ended with Taylor’s sixth tackle of the game.
“Micah’s had a great week of practice, and they put him in two bad situations (that Taylor ended up with interceptions),” Angevine said. “He made a great play on that second one and on the first one, the ball was already thrown, so for him to flip his hips real quick, get his eyes on the ball — that’s big for a sophomore. So, I’m excited. That dude is playing lights out right now.
Harris led the Cougars in rushing with 89 yards on 20 carries while Bell added 86 yards on 11 attempts while Trigger Woodard chipped in with 40 yards on eight totes.
“I told Peyton last week, ‘We’re going to put the weight of the world on your shoulders, get ready to carry the rock,’ and he did a heckuva job tonight,” Angevine said. “That kid is ready and Trigger Woodard, having the year that he had last year, and the offseason he had, he knows that he’s got to step up, be a leader and take that next step in the right direction.”
Facing Glenbrook’s spread offense, Angevine said his Cougars went in determined to play old-fashioned, smashmouth football.
“That’s our identity,” Angevine said. “And our offensive line and defensive line came ready to work. They knew what happened last week and wanted to find their identity. They had an awesome week of practice battling each other in the trenches in one-on-one drills and everything else, so they put the team on their back and said we’re getting it done tonight.”
Through the air, Bell completed 6-of-10 passes for 67 yards while Harris and Bryce Martin had two receptions each.
Defensively, Blake Robinson, Eli Slocum and Noah Smith all joined Taylor in leading the Cougars with six tackles each.
“What helps the defensive backfield out (handling Glenbrook’s spread offense) is that defensive line — having a lot of older guys, having a lot of experience up there getting pressure. Because that quarterback is good. He’s going to be real good when he’s older. I think he’s only a sophomore. By the time he’s a senior he’s going to be one of the better players in this district.
“So, for our guys to get pressure on him and take pressure off of our back-end guys, our defensive backs and linebackers gave a tremendous effort tonight.”
Next up for the Cougars will be a home game against Delta Charter (2-2), which lost 14-8 to Logansport, next Friday at Origin Bank Field.
