On Saturday evening, the Wildcats went head to head with Klein Collins in the opening game of the season. Klein Collins ended up taking the win with a 42-14 score, but this game was able to showcase a lot of promise for Cy Woods. I’ll be breaking down just how each position group did and what they have to look forward to. If you’d like to see a recap of the game itself, click here about how it all went down.

Quarterbacks: D+

The group of quarterbacks that Cy Woods played on Saturday definitely had their fair share of hiccups, but there were some good moments amidst an ultimately rough game. The second drive from Cy Woods was fantastic, especially considering that on the first play of the drive running back C.J. Jones went down with an injury. Jacob Kainer was able to dice up the Klein Collins secondary, completing passes to four different receivers before capping the drive off with a rushing touchdown. Unfortunately this trend wouldn’t continue, as the Wildcats would only rack up an additional 5 yards through the air outside of this drive. Quarterbacks Semaj Trahan and Khari Keaton would later step onto the field to try and kick start the offense, but Cy Woods was never able to re-establish the passing game. More consistency would have led to a higher grade, but I expect a much better showing when the Wildcats take on Cy Springs next week.

Running backs: C-

In wake of C.J. Jones leaving the game with an injury, the Cy Woods rushing game would fail to gain much momentum throughout the game. Jack Barrientez would bear the load without Jones available, and had a fantastic run to bring the game to 14-28 to kick off the second half. Although Barrientez produced a lackluster 55 yards rushing for the Wildcats, he only lost 4 yards, preventing a far worse scenario for the rushing game. Barrientez showcased a lot of promise and Cy Woods should have a more consistent running game throughout the season, even if Jones is unable to return.

Receivers: C-

It’s difficult to put a lot of the blame for the offensive woes on the receivers when the quarterbacks were unable to provide much help. The Klein Collins defensive backs were able to overwhelm the Wildcat’s passing game, notching an interception and only allowing 39% of passes to be completed. Jacob Tesch and Tanner Sherill were able to get a pass each for 18 and 14 yards respectively, but there were no other passes eclipsing ten yards. The Wildcats put up 5.6 yards per completion, and it is difficult to tell how well this group will be able to do in the future. Next game should be far more telling of what we can expect from the Cy Woods receivers.

Offensive Line: B- 

The offensive line group for the Wildcats only gave up two sacks throughout the game, allowing Jacob Kainer to have some time to complete passes. Pass blocking was definitely the highlight here, as it all fell apart in run support. There were TEN tackles behind the line of scrimmage, which lost 34 yards for the Wildcats. This made it extremely difficult for the running back stable to produce much, never allowing for Cy Woods to gain momentum offensively. If not for the pass blocking being decent for this game, this grade would be much lower.

Defensive Line: D-

The defensive line was unable to produce in every facet of the game, allowing Klein Collins to run rampant and average 6.3 yards per carry. Klein Collins Quarterback Bryson Powers was able to set up camp in the pocket, as the Wildcats failed to sack him once throughout the game. When he was not standing tall in the pocket, he was busy running the option and was able to net a horrific 143 rushing yards on the Wildcat. The defensive line was unable to contain Powers and the running backs, although they are not solely responsible for Klein Collins’ 340 yards on the ground. This group will have to improve if Cy Woods wants to have a competent defense.

Linebackers: D+

Many of the same problems from the defensive line plagued the linebacking corp., although there were some positives. Sean Despres was a standout during this game, hitting Klein Collins in the backfield twice while collecting a total of 5 tackles. The group as a whole was able to do a decent job containing the running backs up the middle, though on the outside Klein Collins was able to expose this linebacking group, often times breaking free for large gains. Once again Bryson Powers was able to punish the linebacking group with the option, picking up 3 rushing touchdowns. Although as a whole this group didn’t have the best game, I saw more potential here than anywhere else. Expect great things in the future.

Secondary: C+

It’s difficult to properly analyze how well the defensive backs did due to the lack of passing from Klein Collins. Outside of a 45 yard completion, the Wildcats held Klein Collins to 7.5 yards per completion. Due to Klein Collins tendency to rush to the outside, this group had the opportunity to notch up plenty of tackles. Tory Spears led the team with 7, while Kason Franklin followed up with 6 tackles. Even though they were unable to snag an interception, this group was able to hold their own for the most part. There isn’t much need for concern yet from the Wildcats secondary.

Special Teams: B-

Punter/Kicker Luis Reyes had a stellar game, averaging 44.8 yards per punt, a number that beats out 11 NFL punters. This number is even more impressive when considering the fact that he had to punt 6 times this game due to the Wildcat’s offensive woes. Reyes also completed a successful onside kick while missing none of his extra points. On return team, the Wildcats averaged 8.5 yards per punt and 16.2 yards per kickoff. The Wildcats spent a lot of time running horizontally on returns, which most times ended up being a bad decision. Their return numbers weren’t abysmal, but most likely would have been much higher if they didn’t run backwards as much.