Cypress Christian defeats Geneva

Cypress Christian may have graduated a lot of players from last year’s state championship team, but the Warriors showed they still have enough firepower to make a serious run at another state title.

The defending TAPPS state champion Warriors brought down the curtain on Geneva’s 2022 football season after they defeated the Eagles, 44-14, Friday in Hallettsville in second-round playoff action.

Geneva concludes the year at 6-6 and had a rough start to the game and played from behind all night.

The Warriors intercepted Geneva passes on its first two possessions, the second one leading to a 48-yard return for a touchdown to help Cypress Christian jump out to a 14-0 lead after they scored on their first possession of the game on an 8-yard run.

Cypress Christian tacked on 10 more points in the second quarter on a 22-yard field goal and a 5-yard TD pass to take a 24-0 lead into halftime.

Owen Witschonke started the third quarter with a 52-yard gallop into the end zone to push the Warriors lead to 31-0 before the Eagles could get on the board.

Geneva QB Jayden McCammon punched it in for the Eagles from the 2-yard line and it was 31-7 after the Walker Cone kick. 

From there, the Eagles went with an onside kick and recovered it. They were moving the ball but a fumble killed the drive and ended the scoring threat.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors recorded two more touchdowns on a 22-yard pass and a Warren Haudek 54-yard run and bumped its lead to 44-7.

Geneva had the final score of the night as they went down swinging. McCammon rumbled in from the 1-yard line and Cone kicked the PAT to make it 44-14, which is where it stayed until the final buzzer.

Statistically, the Eagles had a good night moving the ball and finished with 287 yards with 228 coming on the ground and 59 through the air but four turnovers – three interceptions and a fumble – really hurt Geneva, while the Warriors only turned it over once on an interception by George Viña.

McCammon had a solid night running the ball and carried the pigskin 32 times for 139 yards and tallied both Geneva touchdowns, while Landon Grimes added 70 yards on 20 totes.

The Eagles will graduate 13 seniors from this year’s team led by first-year head coach Julius Scott, who had been an assistant with the program for several years before taking over the head coaching job last spring.