(Author’s Note: TGG doesn’t know why the 15-year milestone of a 5-0 Crystal City debut didn’t show up in Mississippi Magazine. Then again, “Starting 5-0 for the first time in 15 years” sounds like something you would read in regional newspapers, along with utter nonsense like “Crystal City loses 537 yards and loses 29 tackles with the 2023 graduations of Cyle Schaumburg and Hayden Reynolds.”
Let’s recall another week of 2022 in which CCHS didn’t lose at all.)
Crystal City 24, Gateway Tech 22
The Geek wrote in August that he would be shocked if Cyle “Battlestar” Schaumburg were replaced by any man, woman, or machine at starting quarterback for the 5-0 Crystal City Hornets. Friday night’s winning play at Gateway showed exactly why.
Trailing via a “22” point Jaguar output on offense (which we hear a lucky handicapper might have called in advance), CCHS faced long chances with 60 yards to go and not much time left to execute a Paul Johnson “Death March.” Gateway Tech had made a handful of mental errors in the game as predicted, but was smart enough to understand the “grinding” aspect of Crystal’s offense goes away when there’s less than 5 minutes left. A courageous series of 4th-down conversions and a time-consuming drive would have left Crystal City with medals for bravery…and a 4-1 record.
But in a flash, there went Battlestar flying up the Milky Way, or at least galloping down a gridiron under the Gateway Arch while screaming Hornet supporters began to believe the impossible could be true. Schaumburg went all the way for a 60-yard touchdown that proved to vanquish Class 4’s Jaguars, a play that a member of the Crystal City program described to The Gridiron Geek as “an option play, ha ha.” But of course it was an option play. What else? Due respect to the wonderful CCHS underclass in ’22, but as of now, Schaumburg is the senior “option” who’s got every opponent on their heels.
The Varsity Hornets aren’t just moving up, they’re soaring, and far quicker than anyone expected. Crystal City is leading the District 2 seeding race over St. Pius (!), Brentwood (!!), and the Duchesne Pioneers (!!!), and surmounts only a single tough challenge on a Friday before taking-on the Herky Blackcats in a Week 9 barn-burner.
CCHS pigskin will have to be ranked ahead of Grandview (which took an upset loss in Week 5), Jefferson (which lost twice in a row by convincing scores to begin the I-55 slate), and even the Northwest Lions, who have not yet shown that they can tackle a winning C4 team and emerge with a W as Crystal has.
Remember, we’re talking about a 5-0 team that will retain 25 out of 27 players with more youngsters on the way. (Hopefully, Denise Reynolds, the fine photographer who snapped half of this week’s cover image, will keep capturing the team with an expert lens following son Hayden Reynolds’ graduation.)
Crystal City will be favored to go 9-0 in the ’23 regular season, with the main problem being that the schedule looks to be way too easy. If Duchesne wins a state playoff bout in November and is promoted, the path could be wide open for CCHS to make a run in the Show-Me Bowl playoff bracket. That’s heady stuff on a campus that didn’t even know if Friday Night Lights would still be a thing in the 2020s.
Original Byline Date: 9/25/22