By Malcolm Butler
Seven games. Seven wins.
Cedar Creek has done just about everything right through the first seven weeks of the high school football season, at least enough to have the Cougars ranked in the top 10 in the state in Class A and undefeated entering tonight’s contest.
But as the Cougars prepare to travel to Arcadia for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the winless Hornets, head coach Jacob Angevine knows his team can’t afford to take anything for granted.
Cedar Creek enters the contest with a perfect 7-0 record (1-0 in district play), while Arcadia is still searching for its first victory after seven straight losses. The Cougars are coming off a 35-15 win over Glenbrook while the Hornets are on the heels of a 50-6 loss to Haynesville.
Arcadia has been outscored this year 318-44.
On paper, it’s a mismatch, but Angevine won’t allow his Cougars to have that mindset.
“It’s just another week for us to keep working on the things that have made us good all year,” Angevine said. “Eleven hats flying to the ball on defense and owning the line of scrimmage up front on offense. It’s another great opportunity for us, no matter what the record may show.”
If the Cougars need a reminder about the dangers of overlooking an opponent, they don’t have to look very far back.
Just a few weeks ago, Cedar Creek found itself trailing a one-win North Webster squad by 14 points at halftime before rallying for a 22-21 victory.
Angevine hopes his team learned a valuable lesson from that experience.
“We’ve got to focus on this opponent,” Angevine said. “The scheme that Arcadia does offensively is kind of similar to what (next week’s opponent) Haynesville does, but defensively, it’s different. It’s something we’ve got to prepare for differently than what we’re going to see down the road.
“It’s just keeping our kids focused on the task at hand. Anything can happen any given Friday.”
While the Cougars have their sights set on remaining undefeated, Angevine admits he believes this team has the potential to accomplish much more before the season is over.
Asked if anything had surprised him this year, Angevine paused before answering.
“I knew we had a good team,” Angevine said. “I knew we had a lot of talent. We had a lot of returners from last year. We had a really solid freshman class come in this year and provide some great minutes for us.
“I’ve said it all year long. I think we’ve got enough talent in the room to make a run to the quarters. When you make it that far, anything’s on the table and anything’s possible.”
Perhaps what pleases Angevine most is his team’s refusal to become satisfied with its success.
“Our kids are hungry,” he said. “They’re never satisfied with what we have. There’s been a couple wins that we’ve had so far this year where, if you ask some of our seniors, they say, ‘Yeah, I know we’re glad we won, but we could have played so much better.'”
The Cougars are still dealing with a few injuries. Quarterback Brett Bell was banged up last week and played on only one side of the ball. Angevine said his status will continue to be monitored.
Sophomore Case Phillips continues to play primarily defense because of a broken hand, while James Pullen remains sidelined with a knee injury. Pullen practiced some this week, but Angevine hopes to have him back next week.
For now, the focus remains on Arcadia.
