Cinco Ranch knew how important it would be to bounce back this week.

The Cougars had no time to feel sorry for themselves after a loss to Katy, it was too important for them not to fall into a hole in district, not to let a loss the week before effect their play the next week and not allow themselves to be frustrated going into a game against a team they lost to last season.

Cinco didn’t just overcome those things, but they thrived this week. The Cougars put together a perfect plan on offense and executed on both ends of the field in what was arguably the team’s best performance of the season leading to a 55-21 over Taylor.

It was a dominating win and offensively, the Cougars went over 500 total yards with 427 yards through the air.

“Our pass game was just amazing tonight,” said senior quarterback Charie Adamoli, who threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns despite only playing the first half. “We didn’t have any drops today I think and that was something there was a focus on. Our receivers played so well and it was just such an easy game for me because everyone from my line to receivers to running backs were making plays.”

Cinco took no time getting ahead and staying there, scoring just over a minute into the game on a 10-yard run and adding a second touchdown three minutes later on a 10-yard pass from Charlie Adamoli to Drew Tureau. The Cougars added a third touchdown before the end of the fourth quarter on a 21-yard pass from Adamoli to Tureau before Taylor answered back early in the second quarter when Xavier Haynes ran in a 4-yard touchdown. 

Cinco though came right back with two more touchdowns before the end of the half, on a 5-yard touchdown run from Gadlin and a 73-yard pass from Adamoli to freshman receiver Jacob Chevez, who went 73 yards for a score to make it 41-7 Cinco heading into the half.

“The coaches put us in a great position, and it was just a great game plan today,” said senior wide receiver Scott Eckel. “We have the great coaches and they put us in position to make plays. It’s been a huge part of the program for years and it’s just awesome to always be put in the right positions like that.”

The second string for Cinco came in in the second half and things didn’t slow down. Davis Roup threw for two touchowns, a five yarder to Tureau and a 31 yarder to Chevez as Taylor was able to muster two touchdowns in the second half on a 69-yard run from Xavier Haynes and a 42-yard touchdown pass from Scott Lewis to Chanze Harris.

It was a big day for the Cinco defense. The Cougars forced three turnovers and limited Taylor to under 240 yards of total offense, including just 63 yards through the air. The three turnovers put Cinco into the positive in turnover differential this year and it was a huge part of helping the team get out to a huge lead in the first half.

“Our team goal each week is to create three takeaways and it’s always big when you do that and put yourself in a position to succeed,” said Cinco Ranch head coach Chris Dudley. “If you win the turnover battle, especially by two or more, then your chances of winning drastically go up. We don’t just hope for takeaways, we preach on creating them and how to do that on defense. That was huge for us tonight and hopefully we can keep doing that going forward.”

Cinco will hope to carry this momentum into next week, when they face one of their biggest tests so far against Jordan. The Cougars though are focused on themselves, continuing to improve and putting the best product on the field that they can.

“The goal is just to continue to improve every week and I think we have done that so far,” said senior linebacker Luke Mathiasmeier. “I think we had our best week of practice this week and we just have to keep improving on that, keep pushing and being more physical than teams and focus on what we can control. We’re excited for every game that is in front of us.”

Cinco Ranch 55, Taylor 21

First quarter

CR: Marcus Gadlin 10 run (Andrew Reagan kick) 10:54

CR: Charlie Adamoli 10 pass to Drew Tureau (Reagan kick) 7:18

CR: Adamoli 35 pass to Matthew Courtois (Reagan kick) 6:05

CR: Adamoli 21 pass to Drew Tureau (Reagan kick) 2:47

Second quarter

T: Xavier Haynes 4 run (Moaz Sabek kick) 10:48

CR: Gadlin 5 run (Reagan kick) 5:34

CR: Adamoli 73 pass to Jacob Chevez (Reagan kick) 52:07

Third quarter

CR: Davis Roup 5 pass to Drew Tureau (Reagan kick) 3:22

T: Haynes 69 run (Sabek kick) 11:34

Fourth quarter

CR: Roup 31 pass to Chevez (Jesus Bravo kick) 6:16

T: Scott Lewis 42 pass to Chanze Harris (Sabek kick) 0:42

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Cinco Ranch: Marcus Gadlin, 11-61-2; Charlie Adamoli, 2-10; Brayden Gonzalez, 4-7; Brian McRay, 2-0; Taylor: Xavier Haynes, 18-116-2; Javion Garrett, 9-38; Derek Story, 2-23; Jack Sarubbi, 4-(-7);

Passing – Cinco Ranch: Charlie Adamoli, 13-16-290-4-0; Davis Roup, 11-12-137-2-0; Taylor: Jack Sarubbi, 2-12-13-0-2; Scott Lewis, 2-8-50-1-0

Receiving – Cinco Ranch: Scott Eckel, 10-179; Jacob Chevez, 3-103-2; Matthew Courtois, 3-54-1; Drew Tureau, 3-36-3; Connor Brock, 1-26; Luke Wolskij, 3-19; Rex Rivera, 1-10; Taylor: Chanze Harris, 1-42-1; Will Dyson, 2-14; Josh Jacobson, 1-7;