Myers' big night not enough for Creek to beat Loyola Prep
Photo by Darrell James
James Myers (3) intercepts a pass against the Loyola Flyers on Friday at Cougar Field. Myers finished with one of his best games as a Cougar.
Two interceptions from James Myers and 61 rushing yards in the return of Wyatt Gremilion weren’t enough for Cedar Creek (0-3) to overcome miscues as the Cougars fell 48-14 to 4A Loyola Prep (2-1) Friday night at Cougar Field.
Myers gave Cedar Creek life in the first half with his two takeaways, jumping in front of out-route pass attempts from the Flyers, nearly taking his second interception the distance. Myers, a senior, finished with 5 tackles, 2 INT, and a fumble recovery on defense to go with 4 catches for 51 yards and 5 rush attempts for 19 yards and a touchdown run with 11 seconds left.
Creek head coach William Parkerson said despite the loss, Cougar faithful needs to know they have a true leader in Myers playing every minute ready to give his all.
“James is doing James things,” Parkerson said. “I know we’re 0-3 but he’s having a great start to his senior year. Two interceptions, good ball carrier. I’d take a team full of James Myers. He’ll do whatever he’s asked of to help the team. He’s a great leader and he’s having a good senior season, so hopefully he can continue that.”
Myers’ second INT set up Creek to score its first offensive touchdown of the season, handing the ball off to fellow senior Mason Wooden for a 1-yard score to cut the deficit to 20-6 with 8:05 left in the first half. Wooden finished with 4 yards rushing to go with 5 tackles on defense.
It was only fitting the man who gave Creek its first chance to score would give the Cougars their final points of the night as Myers took a handoff six yards into the end zone for a score with 11 seconds left, only to then catch a two-point conversion from Wooden as time expired.
“That was my challenge to them to start the fourth quarter, ‘Let’s win the fourth quarter and leave here with a little momentum,’” Parkerson said. “And to punch that in late and get the two-point conversion; We gotta find some victories where we can and that’s something they can build on.”
In between the scoring drives for Creek, Loyola gave the Cougar defense issues in the air and on the ground, racking up 376 total yards at 9.1 yards per carry.
The Flyers set the tone early with an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive out of the gate – eventually building its lead to 27-6 at halftime on multiple third down conversions and wide-open pass plays for big yardage. Loyola was stopped by Myers on fourth down inside the 30, but Creek fumbled the ball back to the Flyers just five plays later. Two plays after the turnover, Loyola scored to make it 13-0.
The Cougars may have given up nearly 50 points, but they gave the Flyers fits on multiple drives – coming up with 4 takeaways for the game. Besides Myers’ two INT, Myers came up with a fumble recovery after Wooden forced the ball out, while Logan Amidon added another recovery.
“We stress causing havoc,” Parkerson said of the defense. “Had some third down opportunities in the first half and those boys would love to have some plays back. They play hard and they’re making some plays. Look forward to just keep getting better with them.”
Loyola put the game out of reach early in the second half as Creek struggled with its own turnovers and three-and-outs offensively. A bright spot was the return of Gremilion after being sidelined with an injury through the first two games.
He finished with 17 carries for a team-high 61 yards, picking up a team-high 4 first downs.
“Definitely gave us a spark. He runs physically,” Parkerson said. “He sees the blocking schemes and does a good job with it. Hopefully he’ll just keep getting healthier and healthier and we can see the real Wyatt soon.”
Cedar Creek (0-3) will try to pick up its first win of the season next week on the road at Glenbrook (1-1) to open district play.
