While a torrential downpour might have made most of Cypress Lake’s offensive performance an ugly one, it was the few minutes before the rains that showed the Panthers’ true offensive quality.
Taking the initiative early and scoring first, the Panthers upset Island Coast 13-6 at Thomas Broomhead Memorial Stadium on Friday night. To Cypress coach Mike Thornton, that first scoring drive against a Division I-caliber defensive line made the night.
“The momentum for us was the first quarter,” Thornton said. “That was the best option drive that I’ve seen since I came here.”
In that drive, the Panthers (1-1) pushed the vaunted Gators defense almost the length of the field. Quarterback Jayron Kearse led the way with several short gains, ultimately scoring on a 4-yard run. Logan Franklin’s kick made it 7-0.
Cypress did not appear intimidated by the defensive line of Island Coast (1-1). Knowing that they couldn’t block it, they attacked and read it.
“I told them that this is the most physical offensive and defensive line that I’ve seen since I’ve been in Lee County,” Thornton said.
Those in attendance nervously watched as a severe thunderstorm approached from the east. As the wall of water finally hit the field, the game continued until the lightning drew too close to safely play in the second quarter. That led to a 65-minute lightning delay.
Players sat in the locker rooms, assistant coaches sat in the press box and spectators sat in their cars as the torrential downpour blasted through the area. But with the officials unavailable today, school authorities elected to wait it out.
When the skies finally cleared, the game turned ugly. Between both teams, there were five fumbles – four lost – before halftime alone. All told, there were 15 fumbles in the game.
One of those fumbles added to the Panthers’ lead.
Philipp Casimir picked up a loose ball on the 2-yard line and ran it in, making it 13-0.
The Gators did not get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. Technically, nobody got on the scoreboard since an afternoon storm had shorted it out.
After both sides traded some more fumbles, Island Coast started a drive in Cypress Lake territory. Delmarick Pender took a handoff around the right end and outran the defender to the pylon. The kick was blocked, keeping the game at 13-6.
After that, it was more slogging through muck and fumbling the ball. The conditions kept the offensive gains low, with Kearse tallying a game-high 67 yards.