Week 9 HS Football Schedule

I thought we could score 35 points but I did not think we could get it done in the first 5 possessions. It may have been the best half of football ever played at CCS. We are really starting to play consistently on both sides of the ball. It was all exciting to see several of the things that we had been working on for the past few weeks look so good in the game. We are starting to see a lot of Gaps closed but I know that we have still not played our best football.

Weekly Theme: Faith
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”


HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-5:50 (Full Pads) Powder Puff game at 6:30
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Film and Conditioning) Non JV players
Tuesday JV Game against SATCH at 6PM at home
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at home against Snook

JV Roster for Tuesday-We added a few players due to injury
Troy Mason, Austin Barton, Jonathan Rangel, Thomas Glazier, Cody Mangum, Shawn Bell, Ben Bennett, Cameron Kostak, De'Franklin Taylor, Bobby Miller, Jase Clark, Ryan Morgan, Connor Sparks, Travis McGrath, Mason McCollum, Benton Barrow, Phillip McCurry, Daniel Crozier, Andrew Galloway, Paul Odeyomi, Matthew Bancroft, Travis Wilhite, Mohammed Usman, David Ajiebo, Jack Mitchell, Michael Gamble (We may need to add another player or two at specific positions because of injury.)

Playoffs
We will have a home playoff game on November 13. After the first week all playoff games will be at neutral sites and probably played on Saturdays. It is highly possible that we will be playing football the week of Thanksgiving.

Westbury Christian
Our official record improved to 7-1. Westbury played with an ineligible player and had to forfeit our game with them. It was an honest mistake regarding the age of a player which was voluntarily turned in to TAPPS by Westbury.

Doritos Commercial
Chris, who built our football website, filmed a commercial on our field after the game. It is for the Doritos Crash the Supper Bowl contest. It is a little abstract but funny. http://vimeo.com/7241290

Week 8 HS Football Schedule

Friday night was a great homecoming win. It was probably our most complete game of the season. I love the fact that we were 6 for 6 in the red zone 8 of 12 on 3rd down and 2 of 4 on 4th down while holding our opponent to just 3 of 12 on third down. We will need the same effort this Friday as we have a rematch against Bay Area. We will need to win this game by more than 15 points to win the district.

Weekly Theme: Consistency
Malachi 3:6 “’I the Lord do not change,’…declares the Lord”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads) Non JV players see JV list below
Tuesday JV Game at Fort Bend Baptist at 6PM – Bus leaves at 4:15PM
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell) Pictures-full game uniform blue
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at home against Bay Area

JV Roster for Tuesday
Troy Mason, Austin Barton, Jonathan Rangel, Thomas Glazier, Cody Mangum, Shawn Bell, Ben Bennett, Cameron Kostak, De'Franklin Taylor, Bobby Miller, Jase Clark, Ryan Morgan, Connor Sparks, Travis McGrath, Mason McCollum, Benton Barrow, Phillip McCurry, Daniel Crozier, Andrew Galloway, Paul Odeyomi, Matthew Bancroft, Travis Wilhite, Mohammed Usman, David Ajiebo

Bay Area JV Game
Bay Area has canceled our reschedule JV game for next Saturday. This is probably for the better based on the number of football games we would have played in a week. I am going to try and find one more JV game for the last week of the regular season.

Volunteering
If I listed out the number of things that have to be done each week to bring you Warrior Football you would not believe it. It takes a tremendous number of volunteers and if you have not yet had the opportunity to serve please do so. It can be as simple as helping empty trash cans after a game while your son changes after a game.

Pictures
Pictures will be on Wednesday starting right after school. Your son will need his full game uniform and we will be wearing blue.

Website Stats and Video
On the individual stat pages for each game and the season totals you can now download our complete stats for that game. It is far more detailed than what appears on the Chronicle or Max Preps and even includes the complete play by play for every game. You will also start to see individual highlight videos appearing on the player profiles pages this week. These are complete for the first 6 games and it is just a matter of computer time as they upload to the website.

The Warrior Link and Warriors Live!
While I did send out an email last week it did not appear to go to anyone. It is always posted on the Warrior Link (http://www.coachspenn.blogspot.com/) prior to being sent out via email. I also post additional information that I do not email out so it is worth checking or following the feed.

Each week Scott Ordeneaux and I record a weekly interview that goes live on the web on the game day page http://www.cypresschristianfootball.org/gameday.php. The video does not always appear (Internet Explorer issue) but you can follow the link at the bottom to watch all the past shows.

MS Football Schedule – Final Week

It has been a great season of MS football. I am very excited about the progress they have made on the field and am looking forward to a great group of incoming freshmen next year.

Weekly Theme: Consistency
Malachi 3:6 “’I the Lord do not change,’…declares the Lord”

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-5:45
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) MS A only players
Tuesday 4:30 PM MS B game at home against St. C
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 Pictures (Full game uniform-blue)
Thursday 6:00 PM at Lutheran South – Bus leaves at 4PM
(I have gotten an email from the officials that the game time was moved back to 7PM but have not been able to confirm that with Lutheran South.)

Pictures
Pictures will be on Wednesday starting right after school. Your son will need his full game uniform and we will be wearing blue.

Equipment Turn In
I still need to check with Coach Warren but MS equipment turn in will probably be after school on Monday, October 26.

8th Graders
Any 8th grade football players are welcome to practice with the HS October 26-28. We had a few do this last year and it gives them a good feel for HS and I think was a very positive experience last year.

Homecoming - What Really Matters

To be honest I am not a big fan of homecoming. Don't get me wrong I love seeing alumni and big crowds at football games. I enjoy pep rallies and imitation is the highest form of flattery so being the focus of a dress up day costume was fine with me. Bethany and I attend the dance because we feel it is an extension of our ministry but we do have a lot of fun. Most of the team is taking a date to the dance but no one was willing to say they even thought they would marry their date some day. I happen to think this is a good thing as I hope they will grow and change a lot from this point. I have been reminding them all week that they are most likely going out with someone else's wife which means another guy is going out with their wife. I have challenged them to treat their dates with the same respect they would hope their wife is getting at her homecoming.

What are we imitating this week? Is it Christ both on and off the field? Are we distracted by the homecoming activities of life and forgetting about the big game? Here are some links to a very interesting website that focuses on what really matters. These are for two first rate athletes that are living there lives in second place and focused on the big game from an eternal perspective. There are also interviews with many others from all walks of life.

http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Colt_Sam/
http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Colt_McCoy/
http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Sam_Bradford/

Week 7 HS/MS Football Schedule

Warrior Parents,

The MS picked up another good win this past week and continues to improve. The HS had several good days of practice. Bay Area defeated Pope John Paul 13-7 in overtime last night. This puts Bay Area firmly in charge of the district race and a much easier playoff opponent. It also leaves us with a tough test this Friday night.

Weekly Theme: Grace
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourself, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at home against Pope John Paul 23

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday No Practice
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) MS A only players
Tuesday 5:00 PM MS B game at Northland-Bus leaves at 3:45
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 6:00 PM at home for Woodlands Christian

Attendance
It looks like the sickness has passed and we will be enforcing our rules regarding attendance. If a player misses a practice this week they will sit out a quarter of the game.

Homecoming
There are a lot of activities associated with Homecoming. They are fun but they are distractions from both school work and football. Please encourage your son to enjoy the week but to also stay focused on the work they need to do both on and off the field.

Pictures
I am told that they will be on Wednesday 21, rain or shine.

Football for Mom’s
We had a good number of Mom’s attend our little class today. We may hold another more advanced one before the season is complete.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Football for Mom's

I will be teaching a Football for Mom's class this Saturday from 1-2 in the art room. The idea is to give mom's (and anyone else that wants to attend) a little information on the basics of football and what the warriors do on the field. I will go over each of the various football position along with our basic offense and defense. I will show you a little game film and give you the opportunity to ask questions.

Coach Spenn

Opportunity Lost?

With every loss there should be some disappointment at the loss of an opportunity to see how good you are becoming. Are we closing the Gap? It is really impossible to know without competition and in every competition there is a winner and a loser. Across the country many teams did not live up to expectations this weekend, which gives me some comfort as a coach that we were not alone but it is what we do now that matters. Will we apply principle number 9 and grow from our loss or will we let it define us. We need to be a team that lives for the competition, perseveres to the end and plays for the love of the game.

"We play with enthusiasm and recklessness. We aren't afraid to lose. If we win, great. But win or lose, it is the competition that gives us pleasure."
-Joe Paterno - Head Football Coach Penn State University for the last 44 seasons

"Losing is only temporary and not all encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it."
-John Wooden - Legendary basketball coach for UCLA

I certainly don't have the same level of experience that these two coaches have and my weekend of watching the film can be summed up more closely by a quote from Bum Phillips (former NFL head coach) "The film looks suspiciously like the game itself." We have been steadly Closing the Gap over the past two seasons and I am sure that is how we will respond this week and it will not be an opportunity that was lost.

Week 6 HS/MS Football Schedule

The MS is coming off a great week and should be able to pick up two more wins this week. The varsity had a tough night at Bay Area. We get another chance against Bay Area in a few weeks. Hopefully we can apply principle number 9 and be ready for them when they come to Cypress.

It is hard to believe that we are over half way done with the HS season and MS season has just 3 weeks left. It has been a great year so far but this is often the time of the season when we need a little perseverance.

Weekly Theme: Perseverance
2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:30-5:30 (Full Uniform Blue) Pictures and Game Film
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:00 PM Powder Puff Game at CCS

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) Non JV players only
Tuesday 6:00 PM MS 6/7 grade game at home against St. Cecilia
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Uniform Blue for Pictures)
Thursday 4:30 PM at Faith West-Bus leaves at 3PM

Pictures
We will take team pictures on Wednesday right after school. Both teams will still practice once pictures are complete. Practice will end at 5:30. Your son should have his full blue uniform for the pictures.

Football for Mom’s
I am planning on having a football for mom’s class next Saturday. The time is still up in the air but it will probably be early afternoon in a class room at school. I will send out an email with more information later this week.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

The NFL at CCS

We got done a little later than usually tonight but we usually do not have so many questions for our Wednesday speaker. Tonight the team got to hear from current NFL player Kenny Pettway as he shared about life, football, the NFL and some of the things that God has done in his life. You do not have to have an athletic career like Kenny's to come out and share. You may not believe it but the team wants to hear your story.

Coach Spenn

The Midway Point

If you had asked my last year at this time to make a prediction about where we would be today I would not have come close. I am a pessimist that has turned more and more an optimist as I get older and realize more each day how big God is but I still would not have guessed that we would be where we are. The grandstand, website, and all the other bells and whistles are exciting but don't look as good if you cannot perform on the football field. I never would have guessed that we would have 44 football players most of which only go one way, that our practices would be running almost like I experienced in college, that everyone would buy into the philosophy and we would even have a player lead a Bible study/praise and worship time on Thursday with 10 to 20 players attending. As a friend said to me in the early weeks of the season, "You have everything in place, now all you have to do is win some football games." Winning is a just a byproduct of true success but it is sure nice to see that we are on the right track in so many ways including the win/loss record.

After 5 games we have 844 yards on the ground and 869 through the air. I never thought we would be that balanced making us hard to stop. At this point last year we were 1-4 with a lot less yards. We are playing at a fast tempo but making fewer and fewer mistakes each week. We have a confidence and familiarity with winning but still understand that it is a game that can teach us way more about life. We are learning to compete, to love playing the game as true competitors who would just keep playing regardless the score or outcome. God is up to some big things at CCS and it is exciting to be part of them as a football program.

In the second half of the season I think you are going to see the offense really start to roll which will give the defense the opportunity to take more chances and make more big plays. We will add new wrinkles for district play and the playoffs. I hope you are keeping your Friday nights open all the way through December. Bring a friend or two (especially non school families) to Homecoming on October 16th so that more and more people can experience Warrior Football.

If you have not watched "Warriors Live" (formly known as the Coach Spenn Show) hosted by Scott Ordeneaux it does provide an interested look into the program. We rarely get it filmed at the right time on the right day but all the past episodes minus the first one are avalaible to view on the game day page of the website.

Coach Spenn