It was a banner year for Cy-Fair High School in athletics. Not only did the Bobcats add another state title to the rafters, but it got some national recognition as well.

Cy-Fair was named by Sports Illustrated as the No. 4 high school program in the nation for 2007-2008, ranked behind No. 1 Punahou (Honolulu), No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and No. 3 Tupelo (Miss.) in Sports Illustrated’s “Top 25 athletic programs for 2007-08,” posted on SI.com.

This year, Cy-Fair captured the state championship in girls basketball, reached the state semifinals in girl’s volleyball, and also claimed district championships in girls track, girls cross country and baseball. But the Bobcats also had star power with three blue-chip athletes that amazed fans not just in Houston, but across the country.

The most famous one is running back Sam McGuffie, a Michigan commit who became a YouTube sensation before the 2007 season started. Even though injuries kept him off the field for the first few weeks of the season, McGuffie finished the season up strong in a playoff win against Cinco Ranch on Nov. 16.

Trapped behind his own 31-yard line, the senior running back reversed field and ran nearly untouched 69 yards for a touchdown. He ran for five touchdowns and 273 yards on 15 carries to pace Cy-Fair past Cinco Ranch 40-27 in a 5A-Region III Division I playoff game.

McGuffie had touchdown runs of 37 and 59 yards on back-to-back carries in the third quarter and scored from 44 yards early in the fourth to erase a 13-13 halftime tie.

“The longer the season’s gone on, the more I’ve had time to heal,” said McGuffie, who missed a handful of games with an ankle injury. “I’ve been trying to get better every week. I don’t really know what to expect (from game to game) but I play with what I can get. If I can get five yards, I’ll get five.”

Cy-Fair went 8-5 last season, falling in the Division I Region III semifinals to North Shore.

The other star athlete is Nneka Ogwumike, who led the Cy-Fair volleyball team to the state semifinals and the girl’s basketball team to a state championship.

Oguwumike led the Bobcat volleyball team to a 37-3 record and a Region III title over Clear Creek. Amarillo ended their season with a three-game loss at the state semifinals at San Marcos on Nov. 17.

But basketball is where Ogwumike dominates in, and that’s what Cy-Fair did this year.

The Bobcats defeated DeSoto 50-33 on March 1 in Austin and were crowned 5A state champions. They had lost the championship game one year ago, but returned this year, jumped to a monstrous halftime lead, and got the win.

"We definitely aren't here because anybody let us be here," Ogwumike said. "We've definitely gone through a tough road. And it's a phenomenal feeling to go through this again."

Ogwumike leaves Cy-Fair and heads to Stanford, which is a school that is strong in both volleyball and girl’s basketball.

In swimming, Jennifer Lamb, a UCLA commit, improved on her fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:50.5) by placing third in the 500 free (4:53.31) at the state championships on Feb. 22.

“This was my last high school race so I just wanted to go out and go for it,” Lamb said. “I went out faster than I ever have. It was a risk I wanted to take. I didn’t finish as well as I wanted but I’m proud of myself for keeping my guts up. Sometimes I don’t necessarily like to have a strategy. I was feeling good so I decided to go for it.”

Bobcat junior Hudson Rains scored 401.75 points to finish fourth in boys diving.

MORE BOBCATS COVERAGE 

The Athlete's Connection's Cy-Fair Bobcats page

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