Cypress Creek chasing program history behind improved defensive play

WESLEY CHAPEL, FLORIDA- When the Cypress Creek Coyotes travel over to W.F. Edwards Stadium Monday night in Dade City, they’ll be aiming to make program history when they face the Pasco Pirates. 

No Cypress Creek team has ever started off the season 5-0. Now that might not be saying a lot because of the school being around only six years, but every win inches the program forward towards new heights.

The best season the Coyotes have ever had was back in 2019, when the program went 6-5 and qualified for the playoffs. Now Cypress Creek head coach Mike Johnson is sending the message to his team, the time to make a statement is Monday night. 

“I told the team today at practice, it’s games like these that puts the program to the next level,” Johnson said. “You have an opportunity to show the rest of the county we are taking strides to the next level. We’ve been clawing and fighting the last couple of years. This is a really special group of kids.”

This special group Cypress Creek has built is leaning on a defensive unit that a year ago struggled game to game. The Coyotes have improved immensely on defense, a group that’s heals opponents to a total of 7.7 points per game. The total pales in comparison to last year when Cypress Creek was giving up a staggering 31.1 points a contest. 

Johnson credits the efforts of defensive coordinator Tico Hernandez and the defensive staff for putting together great game plans week in and week out. The turning point moment for Johnson was in Cypress Creek’s 34-12 victory over Sunlake.

“First and foremost, I have to give credit to the defensive staff,” Johnson said. “They put together a plan that fits around the players we have. The players we have, they believe in what we are doing. It’s simplistic. They play fast and they’re having fun. We’ve done a great job of not putting our team in bad spots.”

The defense has benefited from getting some standout play from the unsuspecting names this season. One of those players being sophomore defensive end Breck Petty.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound end has the speed, quickness to get around most opposing offensive tackles. Petty has racked up 15 tackles, five going for a loss. Another is linebacker Coy Martin, who has had to step up in place of injured linebacker Logan Falk.

“Breck Petty, he’s only a sophomore. He’s not a huge kid, but he’s quick,” Johnson said. “He’s surprised us with his maturity and he’s earned his spot as a sophomore. There’s not too many linemen that can block him. Logan Falk was a huge loss on our defense, but Coy Martin has stepped up to the plate and he flies around and makes plays.”

Petty and Martin along with the rest of the improved Cypress Creek defense will face one of its toughest challenges of the season against an undefeated Pasco group. The Pirates (4-0), who play in Class 3A-Suburban, District 7 with the Coyotes, feature one of the top running backs in the state in Tayshaun Balmir.

The Coyotes are no stranger to Balmir as they had to see him up close and personal in the spring for two quarters. In the one half of play, Balmir rushed for 178 yards on a mere six attempts. Johnson points out the challenge isn’t just stopping Balmir, but the rest of the Pirates’ offensive threats as well.

“In the spring we had an idea, but we didn’t know what to expect there,” Johnson added. “He’s got to be a focal point but we can’t lose sight of the other guys Pasco has got. (Balmir) is someone who can wreck your game, but they’ve got some some other guys we have to stop as well.”

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.