CUBS OPTIMISTIC AFTER SEASON OPENER
While the Cubs dropped their season opener at Houston Lamar Friday night, 35-17, no one left the field with their heads down.
“We saw a lot of good thing tonight,” said Cubs’ coach Glen West after the game.
“I was very proud of how hard our team played. We’re growing up. The first half we played afraid…in the second half we started playing hard, we found some things out.”
The Cubs rushed for just 25 yards in the first half, but a more confident offensive line led to 127 rushing yards in the second half for a total of 152 yards on the night.
Ernest Patterson was held to just 17 yards rushing on 13 carries in the first half, but finished the night with 140 yards on 29 rushes and a touchdown.
“We couldn’t run block in the first half. Our line was afraid to block,” said West. “In the second half we found some things, played harder, and it was a lot better.”
What hurt the Cubs were big plays.
After two third quarter scores (a field goal and a touchdown) the Texans returned the ensuing kickoffs both for touchdowns.
A late 67-yard run by Lamar QB JW Ketchum sealed the Texans’ win.
“When you’re as athletic a team as those guys (Lamar) they’re gonna find big plays. We have to learn to do what we’re supposed to do on every play.”
The only score in the first half was a one-yard run by Tyreik Gray late in the first quarter, giving Lamar a 7-0 lead that stood until half-time.
The Cubs took the opening drive of the second half and marched down field on the legs of a rejuvenated Patterson. The drive stalled at the Lamar 13, but Tien Pham put the Cubs on the board for the first time this season with a 30-yard field goal.
But on the kickoff, Gray took the ball at the five yard line, broke several sloppy tackles and raced 95-yards to increase the Lamar lead to 14-3.
With just under five minutes left in the third quarter, Patterson found the end zone for the first time this year with a 13-yard run, cutting the Texans’ lead to 14-10.
But it was déjà vu for the Cubs as Ronnie Wesley took the kickoff at the goal line and found a gaping hole in the kick coverage as he raced 100 yards for a 21-10 Lamar lead.
Even after a 6-yard TD pass from Ketchum to Holton Hill, with just over eight-and-a-half minutes left in the game, the Cubs did not give up.
They marched the ball downfield and capped it off with Caleb Hill’s one-yard quarterback sneak for the score that cut the lead to 28-17.
But on the first play of the next drive, Ketchum put the game away with is 63-yard sprint.
Despite the loss, coach West was very optimistic after the game, “We’re growing up…we’re very young. But we’re going to learn from it—that’s why we play teams like this.”
“We’re 0-1 and we’ve got to get better and we will. I know we will.”
The Cubs will open their home schedule next Friday night at Cubs Stadium when they host Liberty Hill.
Kickoff is at 7:30. The game can be heard beginning with the pre-game show at 7:00 on KWHI and www.kwhi.com.