FOOTBALL: For Cy-Ridge, puzzle pieces coming together

Cy-Ridge senior running back Trelon Smith is set for a big, big year. After earning 17-6A Offensive MVP honors, he returns behind a virtually unchanged offensive line, poised to put up crazy numbers on a Rams team that is ready to win. less Cy-Ridge senior running back Trelon Smith is set for a big, big year. After earning 17-6A Offensive MVP honors, he returns behind a virtually unchanged offensive line, poised to put up crazy numbers on a Rams ... more Photo: Tony Gaines Photo: Tony Gaines Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close FOOTBALL: For Cy-Ridge, puzzle pieces coming together 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

CYPRESS - For Cy-Ridge, the time is now.

Last season was a tough year for the Rams, going 3-6 in a stacked District 17-6A. The district has not changed, but the Rams have.

Head coach Gary Thiebaud said at practice this week that Cy-Ridge is immeasurably improved from last season, returning a bevy of starters who have matured as players and as leaders, and he expects the team to benefit.

“Two years ago, we started 12 sophomores,” Thiebaud said. “We were just a young football team with no experience, and growing. We’re at the point now where we’re a senior football team, with a lot of experience. All those guys are back and they’ve got a year under their belt.”

With the veterans back, working hard and taking nothing for granted, Thiebaud foresees a successful campaign ahead for the Rams.

“They’ve all spent a lot of time in the weight room,” Thiebaud said. “They’ve got good size and they’re really strong. They can move. We think that with the skill set that we have in the backfield and at receiver that we can make some things happen.”

The skill set Thiebaud has in the backfield will be one of the most explosive, multifaceted players in the district - if not the most - in senior running back Trelon Smith, an Arizona State commit who earned 17-6A Offensive MVP status based on a superlative 2015 season, rushing 228 times for 1,807 yards and 17 touchdowns.

That was as a junior. Smith is now a senior, a captain and one of those Rams that has been hitting the weight room. Cy-Ridge’s offense is not going to change, says Thiebaud, which means Smith is in store for another video-game-numbers type season.

“We’re going to play to our strengths,” Thiebaud said. “On the offensive side of the ball, we want the ball in his hands. We’re going to be creative on how we do that. Our offensive line has really improved this year, really grown. We think that we can make a lot of hay on that side on the ball with them and Trelon behind them.”

Smith, as an individual rusher, benefits from a Cy-Ridge philosophy that emphasizes the ground game. Thiebaud is a diehard proponent of the rushing attack, and he insists it benefits the team as much as the running backs.

“Me, personally, I believe in the run game,” Thiebaud said. “I still think everything is based off the run. We’ve never been a team that tries to use the pass to set up the run. We’re going to run the football, and try to take opportunities to throw the football when we get them where we want them. The run has always been a staple in our program here, and as long as I’m coaching, it will be.”

A strong tradition

Smith benefits not only from the philosophy of the program, but also its rich history of talented backs, and Thiebaud says Smith ranks right up there with the best rushers he has had.

“We’ve had some really good ones here, no doubt,” Thiebaud said. “[Smith is] right there at the top with them. Rennie Childs is at Oklahoma State, Hasan Lipscomb was in our first class and they were outstanding backs. Trelon’s right there with them.”

For his part, Smith is well aware of the program’s illustrious history, coming over to watch the Rams practice and play as an upstart junior high school player, aspiring to be on the big stage.

“My eighth grade year, I used to come watch them play,” Smith said. “Darious Crawley, Rennie Childs, Kemah Siverand. I looked up to them guys. I got a chance to play with Darious Crawley and Kemah. Good dudes. I love them.”

It was not long before Smith was making his mark at the varsity level - the very next year, in fact, which until it happened, was unprecedented in Rams history.

“[Smith] is the only freshman in the history of Cy-Ridge High School to play a varsity game,” Thiebaud said. “He played in a playoff game against Eisenhower. It was really funny - we put him in just to see how it was going to go. First play, he gets a first down. Second play, he gets a first down. Third play, he gets another first down.”

Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, starter Chris Robinson had enough after the first three plays.

“The starting running back runs on the field and taps him out, because he was losing his job,” Thiebaud said. “And that guy went to Harvard to play running back.”

It’s all love

Love is not necessarily a word that fans associate with the sport of football, a violent contact sport played by the biggest, strongest and most hard-nosed athletes the school can field.

But ask Tom Herman over at the University of Houston - love amongst teammates, for one another and for the game, is a vital component of success, and Smith exemplifies that attitude whenever he speaks of his fellow Rams.

Speaking of how he felt about his offensive line, which returned almost completely intact from last season, Smith was unequivocal.

“I love my O-line. Most of them came back - we only had one that left - and I love them guys.”

Of senior wide receiver Kevin LeDee, a 6’5” 185-pound freak athlete, who will seek to punish defenses for keying in on Smith as they are almost certain to do:

“I love Kevin,” Smith said. “Kevin and me running downfield, I used to always run behind him, seeing him put in that work. Kevin is my best friend. We grew up playing together since middle school.”

Per Thiebaud, Smith epitomizes the attitude he expects from his players. Smith is superlatively talented, the focus of adulation and individual awards and articles like this one, but his mind is perpetually on the team, on his teammates, and how he can make them better.

“’Unselfish players’ is our motto here,” Thiebaud said. “It’s about team, and these guys have bought into that, and they believe in that. I think that’s critical for us.”

As much as Cy-Ridge needs Smith’s otherworldly production, it needs his leadership, buy-in and love for his teammates just as much. That, Thiebaud says, is the key to success as much as Smith breaking loose for a big gain or putting up gaudy numbers.

“They all need to play well,” Thiebaud said. “He’s one of 11. There’s 11 guys on the field, and he’s one piece of the puzzle. And for that puzzle to be a pretty picture, all of them have to fit together.”

The good news for Rams fans is that all the early indications are positive. For Cy-Ridge, there is just one thing left to do: show it on the field.

“Obviously, as we get into this, there’s going to be some adjustments to be made,” Thiebaud said. “We’ll see to that down the road. Right now, we feel like we’re a complete puzzle. We need to play. It’s time to play.”

The Rams will get their chance Friday, as they take on Morton Ranch at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium to open the season.