Shepard's stellar performance powers Cy Ridge
October 6, 2007
By Sam Khan
In a game that was supposed to match two of the area's most powerful offenses, Cypress Ridge quarterback Russell Shepard dominated from start to finish.
Shepard was a one-man wrecking crew, destroying the Cypress Falls defense for 341 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries to lead the Rams to a 51-27 victory over the Golden Eagles on Saturday at Pridgeon Stadium.
The Golden Eagles (3-1, 1-1 in District 17-5A) looked almost helpless against 6-2, 195-pound junior quarterback who seemingly found every hole in the Cypress Falls defense.
The Rams (4-1, 2-0) jumped out to a 20-0 lead behind Shepard and running back Hasan Lipscomb. Lipscomb capped the opening drive, a 13-play march, with a 5-yard run to give the Rams a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game. Shepard followed it with a 44-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0.
After Cy Falls went three-and-out for the second consecutive drive, Shepard made them pay again with a 55-yard touchdown run to make it 20-0 with 2:37 remaining in the first.
Cy Falls senior receiver Denzel Wells returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to put the Golden Eagles in position for their first points. Two plays later, Shane Turner took a pitch from Kolby Gray for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the Cy Ridge lead to 20-6.
After an Edgar Ortega field goal made it 23-6, Cy Falls struck again with their first long drive of the game — a 12-play, 68-yard march that was capped by a 10-yard run by Gray. Trailing just 23-13, it appeared the Golden Eagles would make it a game.
Shepard struck again before the half though, scoring on a 70-yard touchdown run to make it 30-13.
Cy Falls opened up the scoring in the second half with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Gray to Blake Shaw to make it 30-19 with 6:08 remaining in the third, but Shepard had more answers.
Shepard scored on runs of 54 and 40 in the next seven minutes to put the game away as Cy Ridge took a 44-19 lead in the fourth.
