HS Football: Turnovers and Flat Offense Sink the Cavaliers

KLEIN, TX -- The College Park Cavaliers (1-1) fell 40-17 to the Klein Cain Hurricanes (2-0) in the final pre-district matchup of the season on Saturday.

After their dominant win over the Cypress Park Tigers, the Cavaliers entered their matchup with the Hurricanes full of swagger and determination. Their end-to-end control of the season opener gave College Park a unique perspective heading into their game with Klein Cain.

Sparks flew in the early game, with the Cavs taking advantage of a Hurricane miscue near the endzone.

The first College Park drive resulted in a punt, but the coverage team received a gift through a muffed punt. The Cavs recovered the loose ball on the Hurricane 5-yard line for an easy rushing score from Camden Hughes.

College Park’s lead was immediately challenged on the ensuing Klein Cain drive. A heavy focus on the run got chunks of yards for the Hurricanes, ending in a massive rushing score down the sideline. The extra point was missed, so the Cavs still held the lead, but only by one.

The defenses would take control following the quick scores. The Hurricanes forced back-to-back punts from the Cavs, while the College Park defenders feasted on errant passes from Klein Cain.

Interceptions from Noah Dinubilo and Marco Beltran gave multiple opportunities to the Cav offense to increase the lead with excellent field position. But, the best College Park could do with the forced turnovers was a solitary field goal from Alec Hargis to put the Cavalier lead at 10-6 at the end of the first quarter.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Cavalier Head Coach Kyle Coats spoke on his team’s ability to force turnovers against the wavering Hurricane offense.

“Defensively, our guys did a really good job of being in the right spot at the right time,” said Coats. “They did a really good job of flying to the ball early, and we, unfortunately, got kind of lax towards the end.”

The second quarter saw a continuation of the defensive dominance and offensive shortcomings for both squads.

Klein Cain’s quarter-opening drive ended in a punt that preceded traded interceptions from the opposing quarterbacks.

With the first glimpse of offense in the second quarter, the Hurricanes broke the offensive drought with a 78-yard drive to put points on the scoreboard. The drive was capped off by a 53-yard rushing touchdown from Jaelon Dixon that gave Klein Cain a 12-10 lead following another missed extra point.

College Park’s offensive woes continued to plague the team, by continually giving possessions back to the Hurricanes. Two punts and two interceptions made up the Cavalier offense for the second quarter, allowing Klein Cain to build their newly acquired lead with comfort.

The Hurricanes rode the afforded comfort to another explosive drive to the endzone from their nine-yard line. A reversal of the field from Dixon left the Cav defenders in the dust on the way to a 77-yard touchdown rush that put Cain in front 19-10 at the end of the half.

“Some of the wind came out of our sails going into the halftime break,” said Coats. “But I told the kids to step up when opportunities come our way. Don’t shy away from it.”

Fresh out of the halftime break, the Hurricanes upped the pace in favor of a no-huddle approach. The change in tempo caught the Cavalier defenders flat-footed in the face of more explosive plays from Cain.

Another blistering run from Dixon pushed the Hurricanes into Cavalier territory before a well-executed padding play put Dominic Rivera into open space for a touchdown in less than two minutes.

College Park failed to slow the game back to their preferred speed and only ate their time for a potential comeback. The Cav drive started deep in their own territory, but could not finish the job with a score.

With the Cavs continuing to struggle offensively, the Hurricanes were free to further distance themselves on the scoreboard entering the fourth quarter.

The fast pace and a changeup that focused on passing put more pressure on the already-tired Cavalier defense. The air attack punctured the endzone for another Hurricane score, putting Klein Cain up 33-10 with the Cavs still reeling.

The Cavs were without a score since the first quarter, and a long-distance throw between the arms of a wide-open Jordan Styles for an incompletion encompassed the offensive futility for the Cavs during the second half.

Fortunately for Styles and the Cav offense, the standout receiver made up for his mistake by taking a 37-yard catch to the house.

Styles’ score did little to prevent the looming Hurricane victory that had been approaching since the second quarter.

The final whistle sounded, and the Klein Cain faithful erupted in cheers for their 40-17 win over College Park.

The Cavs now have to readjust and reset themselves ahead of their 13-6A district run which starts next week. All teams now enter district with fresh hopes and ambitions of learning from their out-of-district mistakes.

“We have this rule, whether it’s a win or a loss, the second we get done it a 24-hour rule,” explained Coats. “Whatever happened now in 24 hours doesn’t matter anymore. We’ll put this one behind us because we have to get ready for a good Conroe squad.”

College Park’s next test will be in a grudge match against the Conroe Tigers next Friday. The Tigers eliminated the Cavs from playoff contention last season, so expect fireworks and emotion.

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