by Malcolm Butler
Matt Middleton didn’t mince words when addressing his Cedar Creek football team prior to Saturday’s Bayou Jamb match-up against Class 4A power Evangel Christian Academy.
He shot his team straight.
“He said nobody believes in us except us so we have to go out and play our game,” said senior QB Caden “Peanut” Middleton.
And although at the end of the 24-minutes of action the scoreboard at Joe Aillet Stadium read 14-0 in favor of Evangel Christian Academy, Cedar Creek never flinched.
“Evangel is a really good football team,” said coach Matt Middleton. “For us to be able to line up and compete, I was extremely proud. I do think we gave them some late help in that first half, and that was our fault. But again our kids competed. We are playing both ways and we got our oil tested tonight. We have a lot of things we have to work on and get shored up.”
Evangel opened up the game with a long distance connection from quarterback Peyton Fulgham to wide out Parker Fulgham covering more than 50 yards and setting up the Eagles on the Cougars 17-yard line.
However, the Creek defense stood tall with a little assistance from a couple of penalties by ECA and some pressure by the Cougars defense forcing back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth down.
The Creek offense picked up a first down on the initial offensive possession behind some hard running by Lane Thomas and a 10-yard completion from Caden Middleton to Brian Osborne. The Cougars eventually were forced to punt.
ECA moved inside Creek territory for the second straight possession thanks to a 30-yard swing pass to Parker Fulgham, who broke three tackles to take the ball down to the Cougars 39-yard line. However, a penalty followed by four straight solid defensive plays by the Cougars once again forced an Eagles punt.
Things then go dicey for the Cougars over the final two minutes of hte first half. A second down Caden Middleton swing pass was intercepted and returned inside the Creek 20-yard line. TWo plays later, Peyton Fulgham hit Brayden Curry from 15-yards out for a 7-0 Evangel lead with 1:19 to play in the first half.
“I thought the defense played well,” said Matt Middleton. “But again we almost threw a pick-six that set up a short field for Evangel. We can’t do that. We don’t make a switch call on it. Simple things that we just didn’t do. The quarterbacks giving him a signal signal they don’t get it and thus they don’t do it. Those are things that we have to work through.”
Following a quick three-and-out by the Creek offense, Evangel returned the punt to the Cougars 28-yard line. This time it took the Eagles just one play to score for the second time in less than 60 seconds as Andrez Mosley caught the score on a deep route down the right side.
The second half saw neither team score. The Cougars defense came up with some big plays on Evangel’s opening possession as the Eagles drove inside the Creek 20-yard line. However, a sack by Lawson Lillo and Blake Robinson on a third-down-and-three play forced a field goal attempt.
On the 42-yard attempt by Evangel, Austin Webb broke through and blocked the field goal for the Cougars.
Offensively, the Cougars found little success against an impressive looking Evangel defense. Thomas and Middleton were able to pick up some first downs on the ground behind the up front blocking of the Creek O-line. But nothing came easy.
“Evangel is a very physical team,” said Caden Middleton. “They have 20-plus state championships in their history. They are a very well-coached team, and they have 28 juniors on this team. I think we did really good at going out there and playing our game and hanging with those dudes. I thought it was a good effort tonight.”
Cedar Creek did suffer some late-game injuries to a pair of offensive lineman as Jake Smith and Jordan Vail both went down in the final four minutes of the game. Both players were helped off the field with some assistance.
“I’m worried,” said Matt Middleton. “I’m worried about Jake. He’s our cog up front. Hopefully he will be okay. And then Jordan Vail. But we will find a way to compete.”
Cedar Creek opens the season Thursday night at Glenbrook. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
“You find me another Class A school who has played those two caliber-type teams back-to-back,” said Matt Middleton, referring to Sterlington and Evangel Chrisitan. “You don’t like it at the time, but It prepares you. Obviously we had a tall task with both of them. They’re two really good football teams. I’m looking forward to getting after it in week one.”
