Tigers stomp Rangers;

homecoming this Friday

Neither the soggy field nor the Richland Ranger defense could slow the steadily improving Tigers last Friday night and Crystal Springs raced to a 35 – 0 victory to up their season record to 2 – 1 heading into this week’s Homecoming bout. “We were sluggish offensively the first quarter,” said Tiger Head Coach Johnny Young. “Miscues and penalties hurt us.”
Sophomore Dionysius Hines broke the ice in the second quarter when he streaked into the Ranger backfield, grabbed a bouncing Ranger pitchout and raced over 55 yards for a score. Wanner Paiz was perfect on the point after as he would continue to be throughout the contest.
A 20-yard screen pass from Jamario Benson to Adarius Benson rang up the second score of the quarter for Crystal Springs and ran their lead to 14 – 0 at the half.
“We came out on fire the second half,” Young said. “Jamario hit Demonterius Kendrick with a 56-yard bomb for a touchdown the first play from scrimmage and we were rolling. We were up 35 – 0 by the end of the quarter.”
Joshua Windom added a 55-yard touchdown reception in the quarter, and Larry Wilson blocked a Ranger punt scooped up by Hines and run in from the Ranger five for the final TD of the night.
Devonta Cunningham racked up five unassisted tackles and assisted in 24 more. Devin Clark added five solo tackles, 14 assists and two quarterback sacks. Hines added two tackles and ten assists to his two touchdown performance on the night.
Crystal Springs faces a tough test this week with Homecoming preparations providing daily distractions on campus. Raymond is the Homecoming opponent, and while they are 1 – 2 on the year, their win was an impressive one over Wingfield.
With a two-game winning streak under their belt and all the potential Homecoming distractions, it would be easy for the Tigers to lose their focus or become victimized thinking too highly of themselves.
“I just want to keep our guys humble,” said Young. “We played great team ball in the second half against Richland, and right now we need to focus on Raymond and Raymond only.
“We are not taking anything for granted. They have a very balanced attack and throw the ball well, and we have to stay totally focused in our preparation this week and execution Friday night if we are going to keep improving and achieve our goals.”
Only Raymond (Home) and Canton (Away) remain on the first half of the Tigers’ schedule before an open date, then the beginning of District play at Jefferson County on September 28.