The Athlete's Connection Game of the Week was everything an avid football fan wanted to see and then some. Pre-game hype had Stratford and Cy-Fair dueling it out in what was expected to be an offensive battle with two high-profile players in Andrew Luck and Sam McGuffie. However, it was defense that stood out in this match up.

The Bobcats made it clear in the beginning what their game plan was, which came to no surprise to anyone who has a hint of football knowledge. The Bobcats were going to pound the ball on the ground and try to allow McGuffie to get outside the tackles and use his speed to propel the Cy-Fair offense. However, the Spartans made it clear early that they were going to make the Bobcats work for every yard on the ground.

“We told our defense several times they were going to have to win it,” said Stratford coach Elliot Allen. “We bent some and gave up some scores, but we needed some guys to step up and make plays and they did.”

Stratford held the Bobcats on their first possession but turned around and fumbled on their first offensive play to set up the first score of the game. Fullback Wesley Cobb gave Cy-Fair the early lead on a yard touchdown run.

It was all defense for the rest of the first quarter and a good way through the second until Luck and company found their rhythm and started marching downfield with a mid-range pass attack. The drive was capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Anderson to tie the game at seven.

Stratford took a 14-10 lead before half after the Spartan offense worked their two-minute drill to perfection to take the ball 80 yards on eight plays, finishing off with a 13-yard touchdown catch by B.J. Griffin.

Cy-Fair had an opportunity to take the lead early in the second half but fell just a few yards shy before  turning the ball over on a fumble. The Spartans would not fail on capitalizing on the Bobcat turnover with an impressive 97 yard scoring drive. Luck ran it in from 28 yards out to give Stratford a commanding 21-10 lead. The Bobcats would not go away easy.

Cobb rushed for his second touchdown of the game after a long drive of working the ball down the field. The 12-yard rush put Cy-Fair right back in it cutting the deficit to four. Cobb proved himself as another run threat for the Bobcats as he filled in for the injured McGuffie who did not return in the second half after an ankle sprain late in the second quarter.

The latter part of the fourth quarter is when the Spartan defense earned the game ball. Cy-Fair had several opportunities to put a scoring drive together in the final minutes of the game but couldn't seem to find a weakness in Stratford's defense. The Spartans went on to capture a 21-17 victory to start the season of on a winning note.

“We did a pretty good job of not allowing the big plays and thats what we predicate our defense on,” said Allen.

Luck passed for 228 yards, of which 131 were to the game's leading receiver, Ben Bredthauer. Luck was part of all three of Stratford's scores as he threw for two and ran for one. Cy-Fair's Cobb was the game's leading rusher with 139 yards accompanied by two touchdowns. McGuffie finished with 66 yards on 11 attempts.

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