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Cinco Ranch Holds Off Clear Springs to Come Away With a Early Season Win

League City - On an extremely hot Saturday afternoon The Clear Springs Chargers (0-3) and The Cinco Ranch Cougars (2-1) took the field at CCISD Veteran's Memorial Stadium in a non-district matchup that was sure to test their fitness levels in the blazing heat. After Cinco Ranch used some early offensive success to take the early lead, both teams took turns marching downfield and putting points on the board but it was Cinco Ranch that managed to end up on top as they came away with a 38-33 win.

The Chargers offense used a late surge to put themselves in a position to steal the win as they scored three late touchdowns over the last 14 minutes of the game but that proved to not be enough as the Cougars fought hard to keep their lead. Cinco Ranch was able to build a 17 point lead on a couple of occasions but each time the Chargers came roaring back to gain the momentum and cut into the lead.






















Luke Klingler also saw action at quarterback for the Cougars and was intercepted twice as he finished with 89 yards passing completing five of his to attempts. His last pass of the first half was a big one for the Cougars as he connected on a 35-yard touchdown strike to Ludowig with 20 seconds to go to put Cinco Ranch up 28-14 at the half.

While Cinco Ranch was shuffling quarterbacks in and out, Clear Springs Zach Cripps was getting the job done at quarterback for the Chargers as he tossed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Johnson early in the second quarter to help Clear Springs stay in the game. Marcus Johnson was also helping to carry the load early for the Chargers as he raced 90-yards on a kickoff return with 1:33 left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 28-14.

After building a 38-21 lead in the third quarter the Cinco Ranch defense found themselves trying to shift the momentum back from Clear Springs after Zach Cripps found Rian Thompson for a 38-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and all of a sudden the Chargers were within 11 points at 38-27.

Cinco Ranch kept James busy as he continued rushing the ball with success and Clear Springs went to Jake Blackledge at quarterback for Clear Springs in the fourth quarter after Cripps was injured. He picked right up where Cripps left off as he threw for 113 yards in the quarter and connected with Matt Wymyczak on an 18-yard touchdown pass with just under four minutes to go in the game allowing them to cut the Cinco Ranch lead to 38-33.

A Charger onside kick failed, unlike an earlier one that left Clear Springs with some hopes of a comeback win, and Cinco Ranch was able to finish the job and come away with their second win of the young season.

Cripps finished the day with 310 yards passing and two touchdowns on 21-of-37 attempts.

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Cinco Ranch used four different quarterbacks in the game with three of them turning in quality performances for the Cougars. Starter Cole Thomas helped seal the win when he connected with Alex Ludowig for a Cougar first down that allowed their offense to run our the clock and keep Clear Springs from getting another shot on offense.

Cinco Ranch Head Coach Don Clayton went to Jack Steed for the Cougars second offensive possession of the game and he responded with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Ludowig on his first pass of the game.

The Cougars may have been looking for someone to take charge in their efforts to find a starting quarterback but the backfield was in good hands as Jamel James got the Cinco Ranch ground game off to a fast start. The big powerful running back ran over, through and around the Charger defense to finish with 187 yards on 19 carries with a pair of touchdowns.