The Cy Woods Wildcats went head to head with the winless Cy Falls Eagles in a race to the bottom of the division standings, with the Eagles coming away with a 27-10 win. Overall, the game was extremely similar to how the Wildcats have played all year, a stagnant offense with a lackluster defense. I’ll be breaking down how each positional group did, and what to expect in the future.

Quarterbacks: C+

On paper, the game was a mess for quarterbacks Brighton Gullickson and Jacob Kainer.  Kainer would end up missing a decent portion of the game due to injury, which gave Gullickson time to prove himself. Unfortunately, it was much of the same except Gullickson lacks the ability run through a number of defenders like Kainer. Gullickson did throw the only touchdown of the game, which also tacking on two interceptions to wrap his day up. Kainer, while in, played very similarly to his previous games. He didn’t have as much success running the ball this week, but did a stellar job evading pressure for most of the game. The offensive line was porous, which is why the quarterbacks grade wasn’t slightly lower. That, coupled with the fact that there was next to zero run support, makes it hard to put all the blame on the quarterbacks. I’d expect the offense to focus more on options and quick passes against Cy Lakes, if the Wildcats want the offense to show any sign of life.

Runningbacks: D+

It seems like I write the same thing here every week. As always, the offense works through Jack Barrientez. As always, the Wildcats have difficulty running between the tackles or reaching the perimeter. As always, Barrientez works tremendously out of the backfield, notching 10.6 yards per catch, although only on five passes. Cy Woods simply doesn’t have the personnel to be playing smashmouth ball between the tackles. There is so much talent in this running back group that just seems to go underutilized. I’d love to see the offense focus more on quick passes, forcing defenses to respect the pass more, ultimately opening the door for some nasty draw plays. But until the running backs can consistently get in space while achieving a YPC more than 3, this grade will remain low.

Offensive Line: D-

The offensive line is the most consistent part of the Wildcats team. Each week they fail in run support, while being spotty at best in pass protection. This was no different versus the Eagles, where Kainer was running for his life most of the game until Gullickson eventually came in for him. The core of every offense goes back to the offensive line, the unsung heroes of every football team. While Kainer is able to mask some of the issues in this group, it’s evident they are the weakest link on a weak team. Without a bruiser in the backfield, the offensive line can not allow so much penetration, yet that’s what happened all game. This group hasn’t shown any signs of improving, and I’d expect a similar grade next week versus Cy Lakes. Until the Wildcats can at least have a respectable run game, the offensive line will continue to grade poorly.

Receivers: B-

As usual, the Wildcats offense isn’t focused on giving receivers the time to shine. But when called upon, they were extremely efficient outside of some critical drops. Matt Ficalora was able to bring in the only touchdown of the game for an impressive 32 yards, while Angel Laca led this group in receptions with 3 for a total of 37 yards. Jake Fennis also brought pieced together 2 great passes that shortly brought life to a Cy Woods offense that was failing to show any all game. I’d definitely like to see receivers more aggressive when going for a ball, and to generally cut down on drops. Overall though, this group worked well with what they were given. The receiving corp does seem sporadic, so I’m not quite sure who will show up next week. If the Wildcats want a win versus the Spartans, they’ll need to lean on the receivers just a little.

Defensive Line: B

The defensive line was one of the bright spots on a defense that simply spent too much time on the field. Eagles quarterback TJ Goodwin was mostly contained, constantly being pressure and forced out of the pocket when he did pass. While the defensive line was never able to bottle up the Eagle’s run game, Cy Falls wasn’t entirely able to run amok. That being said, the defensive line did allow 140 yards rushing out of Eagles running back Christian Anderson, which was due to a combination of time of possession, and volume. Surprisingly, the defensive line quietly had one of their better games this season. If the Wildcats hadn’t turned the ball over four times, the defensive time might have even looked better not having to spend so much time on the field. Expect them to shock the world next week against Cy Lakes.

Linebackers: B-

The entire year, the linebacking corp has made flashy plays but ultimately been relatively average. That same sentiment held true this game, working in tandem with the defensive line to create a serviceable front seven. Goodwin was never able to consistently be a threat on the ground, although he did have success in the passing game, which doesn’t entirely reflect the linebackers at all. I’d expect this group to be much of the same next week against the Spartans, hopefully being able to contain the Cy Lakes offense.

Secondary: C-

The good news is the secondary only allowed 93 yards through the air. The bad news is that those 93 yards came on 6 completions out of 7 attempts, with one of those completions going for a touchdown to Jordan Ramos. Goodwin was efficient through the air, while leaning mostly on the run game, making it hard to gauge the secondary here. The Cy Falls offense appeared to be more tailored to the run game, rather than just trying to avoid the Wildcat secondary. The secondary will have to be a bigger threat if Cy Woods wants a formidable defense.

Special Teams: A-

Luis Reyes continues to be stellar, nailing his PAT and drilling a field goal to put Cy Woods on the board. The punt return team was a little spotty on when to take the ball out, but nothing that can’t be ironed out in practice over the course of the week. If Cy Woods can’t get in the end zone, at least they can punt the ball there.