VYPE Player of the Game Kyle Bell helped Cy-Fair High School & Cypress-Fairbanks ISD win their 1st football state championships. Vype
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD waited 78 years for one of its high schools to win a UIL football state championship. Cy-Fair High School was the first to claim one, with Saturday’s 51-35 win against Waco Midway in the UIL 6A Division II state title game at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
“It means a lot to us,” district athletic director Ray Zepeda said of the championship. “We’ve obviously been playing football for a long time [and] they have shown us that it can be done.”
Fair completed the best season in program history by running the same game plan it’s had for decades: running the ball, and slowing down the opposition. VYPE Player of the Game Kyle Bell led the defense with eight tackles, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and Trenton Kennedy’s 110 rushing yards and three scores played the same role on offense.
“I knew we just had to put up numbers,” said Kennedy. “Every single time we got the ball, we had to make it our goal to score.”
Bell’s performance speaks for itself, but he was also playing for his grandfather, who recently passed away.
“This team is my family,” said Bell. “Without them, I don’t know where I’d be.”
The Fair defense also had impressive outings from Payton Tally, Jace Bobo, and Cody Cunningham. Talley and Bobo finished with double-digit tackles, and Cunningham had three fumble recoveries.
“The defense balled out,” said Kennedy. “I’m glad they play for us because they caused trouble for Waco Midway.”
The team effort was too much for Midway, who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. It also earned 36-year Cy-Fair coach Ed Pustejovsky his long-awaited first title.
“It feels great,” said Pustejovsky. “I’m happy for our coaches, players, program, community and administration. A lot of us have been together a long time at Cy-Fair.”
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.