In a game that was affected by rain, Cypress Lake outlasted Island Coast 13-6 on Friday night.

The first victim of the weather was the scoreboard at Thomas Broomhead Memorial Stadium, which was hit by a strike three hours before the game and was unusable.

The game began under clear skies, but a storm came in early in the second quarter causing a 65 minute delay, and a sloppy field the rest of the way.

Before the delay, Cypress Lake took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards for a score. It was 18 straight running plays capped off by Jayron Kearse’s four yard run for the touchdown.

As the team returned to the field after the delay, Cypress Lake surprised the crowd and their opponents by switching their uniforms. The new jerseys were a deeper purple and, most importantly, drier than the rain-soaked one they had on when they left the field

Both teams relied almost entirely on their running game. Island Coast gained 148 yards for the game, all on the ground, while Cypress Lake gained 127 on the ground and 3 through the air. The slippery ball made for difficult passing. The Gators were 0-7, and the Panthers 1-3.

Cypress Lake’s second touchdown came after they had driven to the Gator 1, but were stopped by their own penalty and a tough Gator defense. The Gators took over at their own three, but on their second play fumbled it, and it was picked up at the 2 by Philipp Casimir who ran it in for the score.

Island Coast’s best opportunity in the first half came after the Panther’s punter mishandled the snap and was tackled at his own 17, but instead of punching it in, the Gators fumbled it away two plays later, the third of their five fumbles.

The Gators’ only touchdown came on a nifty run by Delmarick Pender from 34 yards out.

Island Coast 0 0 0 6 – 6

Cypress Lake 7 6 0 0 – 13

First Quarter

CL – Jayron Kearse 4 run (Logan Franklin kick)

Second Quarter

CL – Philipp Casimir 2 fumble recocery and return (kick blocked)

Fourth Quarter

IC – Delmarick Pender 34 run (kick blocked)