Cypress Park Tigers vs. Cypress Ranch Mustangs: Key Players

The <strong>Cypress Park Tigers</strong> and the <strong>Cypress Ranch Mustangs</strong> are squaring off for playoff seeding supremacy in what should be a highly contested duel. The Cypress Park Tigers are led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60701" first="Harold" last="Perkins"]</strong>, <strong>Christopher Gilbreath</strong> and <strong>Nathan Livingston</strong>. While the Mustangs are led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60612" first="DJ" last="Ciers"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60685" first="Edwin" last="Smith"]</strong>. The bout figures to be Cy-Park establishing the run against Cy-Ranch and its read option scheme. With the Mustangs at 3-1 in district play while Cy-Park sits at 3-2. A win for either team and you control your destiny into the playoffs. It is imperative both teams get out to a fast start and let their playmakers make the big plays to win the games for each team’s success. Cy-Park relies heavily on their linebackers to stop the run and also defend the middle part of the field. When Cy-Ranch wants to open the top off the defense by throwing the ball deep down the field early and often. The keys to victory rely on time of possession, the turnover margin and making critical 3rd down stops. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60701" first="Harold" last="Perkins"] </strong>is a leader for this Tiger offense and defense by assuming a position on both sides of the ball. On offense he is a running back focused on capitalizing on the team’s zone blocking to make big plays. He also relies on the screen game to see success. [player_tooltip player_id="60701" first="Harold" last="Perkins"] takes no breaks as he propels this team into a position to win during the last weeks of the season. This test against Cy-Ranch will really test his stamina and endurance based on [player_tooltip player_id="60612" first="DJ" last="Ciers"] ability to find the right play for the Mustangs. The battle between Perkins on the edge and Ciers at the helm will be a great one to watch. Holding the middle of the field down is <strong>Christopher Gilbreath</strong>, the Jr. linebacker who is the team leader in tackles with 51. Chris knows that he has to force the issue with Ciers in the middle of the field and understands that he has to key in on the zone blocking scheme that allows the read option pass to be so successful to [player_tooltip player_id="60685" first="Edwin" last="Smith"]. Gilbreath is an under the radar linebacker who currently is among the district leaders in tackles. He’ll need to rack up the tackles in bunches if he wants to slow down the Mustangs playoff push. It’s imperative the linebacker plays full throttle between the tackles in order to make the most of his junior year opportunity. <strong>Nathan Livingston</strong> is the full time running back for the Cy-Park tigers who runs as graceful and calm as the wind. He is able to make most defenders miss while amassing 804 yards rushing and 15 rushing touchdowns. Livingston is one of the most important pieces for the Tigers if they want to make a push into the playoffs. It’ll be fun to see how the 1-2 punch of Perkins and Livingston will pay off for the Tigers against the formidable front of the Mustangs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60612" first="DJ" last="Ciers"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60685" first="Edwin" last="Smith"] </strong>have a connection that is hard to separate, they are the driving force of the Mustangs offense and figure to be prominent presences in this game. Ciers has led many of his receivers open down the seam of the defense but none like [player_tooltip player_id="60685" first="Edwin" last="Smith"], he has been able to make sure that he is open to score touchdowns. Ciers has an uncanny ability of breaking down defenses through reads that open the middle of defense up. As well as making the safeties press the middle of the field leaving the top open for Smith. Ciers and Smith are two dynamic weapons for the Mustangs and figure to really give Gilbreath and the Tigers a run for their money. Ciers is a 2 sport athlete for the Mustangs and doubles as a PG, be on the look out for him this winter! Smith is as good as a Z receiver as it gets, Cy-Park needs to gameplan around stopping the vertical passing threat Smith creates. Ciers will also need to test the opposing rush, [player_tooltip player_id="60701" first="Harold" last="Perkins"] presents. It figures that these two coaches will duel on a matter of gameplans. I’m excited to see how this one plays out on Saturday at 7 pm. Whoever comes out on top of this one seems to be put themselves in the driver seat for a playoff berth in the district. I’ll be an attendance for this one and cannot wait to update you all on Prep Redzone of the outcome of this one and the future playoff picture in the Cypress area will become that much clearer!