Big plays lift Evangel past Cedar Creek 14-0

Cedar Creek football had no cupcakes on the schedule to make up its scrimmage and preseason litmus tests — Sterlington and Evangel Christian.

And when the class of schools is that noticeable, the competition won’t be evenly matched.

Either way, Cedar Creek head coach Matt Middleton said the two games the Cougars played showed him exactly who his team is heading into the regular season. Short answer: the Cougars compete.

“Brought 38 kids out here, we had Sterlington last week, we had Evangel, so I didn’t make that schedule but my kids fought their guts out,” Cedar Creek head coach Matt Middleton said. “Proud of them.”

At the end of the day, the Cougars fell to 4A opponent Evangel Christian at the 2022 Bayou Jamb on Saturday 14-0.

The Eagles wasted no time on offense, completing a 55-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. Early on, Cedar Creek stood tall and forced a turnover on downs after the long pass.

Evangel shot itself in the foot after the chunk play, with multiple penalties backing the Eagles close to midfield before the end of the first drive. On the Eagles’ next drive, they put together another chunk play of 20-plus yards, but a slew of more penalties cost them another scoring opportunity.

But Cedar Creek couldn’t string much together either.

The Cougars fed senior running back Lane Thomas on their first drive but eventually had to punt. On their second drive, the momentum was seized.

Cedar Creek quarterback Caden Middleton looked to set up a wide receiver screen on the outside on the Cougars’ second offensive series, but Evangel Christian senior Zachary Partman read the play early and got in front of the pass and took it back to the 12-yard line.
With great field position to work with, Evangel Christian took two plays after the turnover to go up 7-0 with 1:19 left in the first half.

“Our defense is the strength of our team, we didn’t help them,” Matt Middleton said. “We gave them the short side of the field. Again, I’m proud of them.”

After the Cougars went on a quick three-and-out after the touchdown, the Eagle offense got the ball back with 22 seconds left at the 28-yard line.

They took advantage of the opportunity.

One play later, the Eagles took a 14-0 lead on a strike and walked into halftime with momentum and that was all it took to walk out of the Bayou Jamb with a victory.

Cedar Creek’s offense began the second half on offense with a three-and-out but when the Eagles drove down past midfield and attempted a field goal to attempt to extend their lead, Cedar Creek showed some of the grit Matt Middleton saw from the sideline.

Cedar Creek blocked the field goal attempt on a free rush from the right side and scooped the ball up and gave the offense a chance.

And while the final score ended in Evangel’s favor, the Cougar head coach watched his team fight against an opponent they’ll never face and reinforced in his mind that his team didn’t shy away from the best before the season opens.

“The bottom line is this: you’re going to have a hard time to find somebody who scrimmaged who we scrimmaged and Jamb(ed) with who we scrimmaged at our level,” Matt Middleton added.

Cedar Creek opens the 2022 season Friday on the road at Glenbrook Academy in Minden.