The running game was again the high point for the Lightning, as senior RB Dylan Rupert totaled 137 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. RB/DB Marquese Dudley-Gordon also ran in for six points as well in the third quarter.

“Dylan [Rupert] is just one of our hardest workers,” Cypress Bay head coach Mark Guandolo said. “He is a real team player and wants to win bad.”

Cypress Bay snapped its two game losing streak, as it was the first time the team lost back-to-back games since the 2011 season.

“It is good to have a win,” coach Guandolo said. “Especially in the district. Sloppy field, sloppy play, there are a lot of things we have to correct.”

One of the only positives that came out of the game for Everglades was running back Xavier Love, who scored two touchdowns on 91 yards on 12 carries. The Gators (3-2) will travel to face undefeated Flanagan next week.

The Lightning offense performed a bit of trickery in the fourth quarter, as QB Lucas Tellefsen would toss the ball to Rupert, who then threw it to a wide-open Elie Ackermann in the right side of the end zone. This was Ackermann’s first career touchdown.

Coach Guandolo reiterated the fact that this win was very important for he and his team.

“It is something positive. We have had a lot of negative and tough goes,” he said. “We can build on this now, and come back to work with a win under our belt, and we have got to win. We have to win the next game, and keep going.”

Cypress Bay will take on the Cooper City Cowboys next week for its third consecutive away game before the team faces an important three games against rivals Western, Miramar, and the always powerful St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders.

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Leading the way for the Suns was junior running back Jordan Scarlett, who totaled an impressive 188 yards on 16 carries as well as three touchdowns on the evening. However, it was not only the ground game that got it done for the University School offense.

Auburn commit and quarterback Sean White completed 16 of 28 passes, which totaled up to 217 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. By comparing the passing stats alone of both teams, it would be simple to conclude that the Suns would have the upper hand, as Tellefsen went one of six on the night along with two interceptions.

The University School defense, headed by LB Richard Yeargin III and CB Qunicy Wilson, a Florida Gator commit, forced two fumbles off of the Cypress Bay offense as well. Although the Lightning running backs seemed to consistently put head coach Mark Guandolo’s team in good field position, the defending 8A runner-ups were never able to cash in.

Replacing Matt Dayes at the tailback position for Cypress Bay still seems to be a work in progress, as six players for the Lightning got at least four carries on the night. The only score from the Bay came from a QB sneak by Tellefsen, but senior Dylan Rupert and freshman Mikey Epstein had a combined 19 carries for 81 yards.

Looking ahead, both teams will begin district play next Friday night, as the Suns will host Somerset Academy and Cypress Bay will travel to Pembroke Pines in a showdown with the undefeated Flanagan Falcons, coached by Devin Bush.

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The tone of the game was set in the very first play from scrimmage as Patriots quarterback Torrance Gibson launched an 80-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to Dallas Perez.

The high point for the Lightning was junior Danny Thomas, a transfer from Piper High. He registered several tackles throughout the game as well as a one-handed interception for a touchdown. Thomas acknowledged the fact that he had an above average game, but was not too pleased with the overall result.

“We played a great team,” Thomas said. “We just need to work on our little miscues and go back onto the football field again so we can be perfect, so then we can win games, go undefeated and win states.”

Five-star senior running back and Georgia commit Sony Michel had 136 yards on 13 carries as well as two rushing touchdowns for the Patriots.

After senior RB/DB Marquese Dudley-Gordon suffered a high ankle sprain on a 55-yard run in the 1^st quarter, he was forced to sit the rest of the game. Dudley-Gordon, a three-star recruit, has 20+ offers and looks to contribute on both sides of the ball this year.

Cypress Bay head coach Mark Guandolo mentioned that it will take some time for his “new look” Lightning to gel together.

“We had a lot of mistakes and had a lot of new players out there,” Coach ‘G’ said. “I told them that we are going to go through some adversity here early and it is not where you start, it is where you finish.”

Coach Guandolo mentioned that he and the rest of the team will use this game as motivation for the rest of the season.

“This is going to push us to get better and we just have to get ready for district play,” he said. “That is what is going to get you to the playoffs.”

Cypress Bay will now rest on an unusual Week 1 bye before playing host to the Boyd Anderson Cobras on Friday, Sept. 6.

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