Like many of the other schools in Orange County, this week will be the first game of the season for the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears. It will also be the only non-district game for Little Cypress-Mauriceville this season.
Head Coach Randy Crouch evaluated the preparation of the Bears for this opening contest as very challenging. He described it as being most difficult, but the coaches and players have been very resilient through this trying time.
The Bears are excited after the three-week delay about the opportunity to be able to play their first game of the year. Crouch added, “We have tried to work through it, and hopefully we get a few more days this week to do that.”
Woodville is the opening opponent for LC-M. Crouch informed that the Eagles have changed from their tight formation offense from which they mostly ran the football in the previous meetings between the two teams to the Spread Offense this season.
The Eagles are a wide-open offense now compared to the ground and pound seen the last two seasons. They are very talented at the skill positions on offense. Woodville has a trio of wide receivers Jaylen Kibble, Ronald Washington, and Kameron Wyatt who are all dangerous targets for passes.
Leading the Eagles in rushing the football will be Pop Prejean. He was first team all-district as a sophomore and this his junior year could be a breakout season for him.
Trying to stop the Eagles fast paced offense will be a challenge for the Bears especially since this is their first action since the scrimmage with the Bridge City Cardinals about a month ago. “We have to start somewhere, it’s going to be a tough assignment, but I hope we’ll be ready to go and start the 2020 season,” Crouch anticipated.
Woodville is very experienced and talented on defense. Coach Crouch analyzed the Eagles’ defense has not changed from recent seasons. They are a veteran team on defense with nine returning starters based out of an even front.
The defensive line is outstanding with two three-year starters in Jack Gore and D’Quincy Wise. At linebacker is the leader on defense Jacorey Hyder who is expected to be a top recruit when he graduates. Joining Hyder at linebacker are Linus Mannino and Nick Traylor.
On defense just like on offense the Eagles have a lot of speed and very few weaknesses. Crouch conceded, “We’re going to have to do a good job of identifying and executing our assignments to be ready to go.”
This will be the opening game and the only game for the Bears before the district season starts next week. Being the first game for LC-M there will be a lot of unpredictables according to the coach. He hopes Little Cypress-Mauriceville plays smart, and the players maintain their poise in good situations and in bad ones which is not always easy for a young team like the Bears in their first game.
Crouch provided the goals and keys for the season opener at Woodville. The Eagles are a big play team, and as a result an imperative for the Bears is to limit those breakaway plays this game. Bad penalties need to be negated and kept to a minimum as well as turnovers. The kicking game is usually a key early in the season too.
There are a lot of questions to be answered about the 2020 Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears, and this game should provide some of them. “I hope for our football team that we will compete for the full 48 minutes and build on this and try to get ready for our district season,” Crouch concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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Important ticket info for the Battlin’ Bear game on Friday 9/18 in Woodville.
According to Activities Director Stacey Smith, the school has almost sold out of tickets for the Bears at Woodville game scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. The online order form is closed and it is doubtful that we will have any walk-up Friday night tickets available for purchase during the JV game on Thursday.
Any tickets that were reserved online and are NOT paid for and picked up between 5:00 and 7:00 PM on Thursday during the JV game will be forfeited and sold on Friday.
LCMHS remains a closed campus, so all remaining tickets must be purchased by LCMHS students or LCM employees from the Athletic Office located in the Field House.
WOS 0-0 vs Newton 0-1
OF 0-1 vs Buna 0-1
LCM 0-0 at Woodville 2-0
BC 0-0 vs Anahuac 0-2
Vidor 1-0 at Bay City 3-0
Deweyville 1-1 vs Warren 2-0
Jasper 1-0 at HJefferson 1-1
Liberty 2-0 at Shepherd 0-2
Silsbee 1-0 vs Pl.Grove 2-1
Diboll 0-2 at Livingston 1-2
Splendora 1-2 at HFannett 1-1
EChambers 2-0 at Lumberton 0-2
Huntington 2-0 at Hemphill 2-0
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