Cypress Wins Rare League Title

Sometime soon the rest of the people in Cypress will wake up to the fact that they have another championship team in town.

Quarterback Jeff Crooks ran for 127 yards and passed for 136 more to lead Cypress to a stunning 36-17 Empire League victory over El Dorado Thursday night. It was the first league title for the football team in 20 years and denied El Dorado (6-4, 3-2) a third consecutive league championship.

Cypress (6-4, 4-1) enters the playoffs for only the second time since 1980.

Darren Shorter ran for 89 yards and four scores and defensive back Jonathan Rice intercepted two passes for the Centurions, who played the most important game in two decades in front of about 500 of their fans at Valencia High.

“It’s been that way all year,” Crooks, who will attend Fullerton College next season, said. “Nobody believed in us, so we decided to do this with or without them in the stands.”

Last summer, the Cypress Federal Little League advanced to the Little League World Series, but was known in the community as the Stealth team for its lack of a following.

“We had a goal for the season,” Crooks said. “We just wanted to make the playoffs. We weren’t looking for a league title.”

El Dorado quarterback Mitch Nord completed 19 of 46 passes for 240 yards. But the Hawks couldn’t put any substantial drives together in the second half.

The Centurions opened a 27-17 lead, going 65 yards on the opening possession of the third quarter, with Crooks rolling left into the end zone for the final four yards.

The Centurions looked like they would add another touchdown on their next possession, marching to the El Dorado five. But a dead ball personal foul moved Cypress back to the 20, and when the drive stalled at the three two plays later the Centurions had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Paul Kerr.

Late in the second quarter, El Dorado benefited from a pass interference call that gave the Golden Hawks a first down at the Cypress 13. Two plays later Nord rolled right and threw back to the wide side of the field and found Bryce Nebeker all alone in the end zone Golden Hawks a 17-14 lead.

But Cypress got a break when Brian Zurhellen muffed the kickoff and Cypress took over at its own 48 with less than a minute to go.

Crooks wasted little time, firing 45 yards down the El Dorado sideline to Brent Avila, who was stopped at the seven. Three plays later, with the clock showing a second to play, Shorter bowled in from the one for a 20-14.