Western @ Cypress Bay
WEEK 8 | 2023 SEASON
October 13, 2023
by Josh Zedner
Weston, Fla. | “Lightning Electrocuted by Wildcats”
Florida Man Sports is back with another Week 8 showdown between the Western Wildcats and the Cypress Bay Lightning. This game is a heated rivalry. The Wildcats came in at a 3-3 record, with losses against nationally-ranked opponents, while the Lightning came in at 6-1, with a combined opponent record of 11-27.
Cypress started the game with the ball, and it was a disaster from the minute the game kicked off. 2025 QB Devin Gonzalez was sacked by 2025 OLB/SS Julian Mendez on the first play from scrimmage. Just two plays later, with the Lightning backed up in their own endzone, Mendez came after Gonzalez again and stripped him, leading to 2024 DT Joey Podubynsky falling on top of the ball for a touchdown. The Wildcat defense set the tone early.
Cypress looked to get a drive going, as Gonzalez completed first-down passes to 2026 WR Ronald Thomas and 2024 ATH Joaquin Edie, mixing in a first-down run as well. After Mendez broke up a pass, the Lightning attempted a field goal that was short, ricocheting off the crossbar.
2024 QB and Virginia Tech commit Davi Belfort then drove the Wildcats offense down the field with ease on their first offensive possession. He peppered 2025 WR Koby Howard with targets, resulting in three first downs. 2026 RB Robert Ortega Jr. then cruised into the endzone for his first touchdown of the game, extending the Western lead to 14-0.
After a solid return by Cypress Bay 2024 ATH Sebastien Graham, Gonzalez threw a floating ball that was intercepted by 2027 DB Jaylyn Jones. Western’s Belfort then showed some mobility with a first-down scramble and slide. He then delivered another precision pass to 2026 WR Calerbe Herman, but came out of the game briefly as his elbow was hit on the toss. Ortega Jr. juked and jostled his way to the endzone for the 3rd Wildcat score of the game. They were making things look easy. The offense just kept rolling in the 2nd quarter. Belfort came back in and went right back to his alpha wideout Howard. The drive was finished by 2025 RB Sinorice Moss Jr., who came through with a bruising first-down run and then crashed into the endzone to extend the lead to 28-0. The son of Sinorice Sr., a member of the legendary Miami Hurricanes’ Moss family, can ball too.
Ortega had an electrifying touchdown run late in the 2nd quarter, where he juked out more defenders, broke a couple Lightning tackles, and then stretched across the goal line in an incredible effort. He had about 5 carries and scored on 3 on them. Talk about incredible efficiency. The score was 35-0 at halftime.
With a running clock in the second half, Western put up a couple more scores to get the lead out to an insurmountable number. Deservedly, Howard got in on the fun with a couple of touchdown catches of his own: the first being a perfect spiral from Belfort, BLURRRRRR, and the second coming off of a jet sweep touch pass from 2026 QB Stone Strokin. Howard was beating the brakes off of Cypress Bay defenders all night long.
A nice moment happened late in the 4th with the clock winding down and mostly Western backups and youngsters in. 2026 ATH Trevion Mizell, brother of injured star 2024 RB and Kentucky commit Tovani Mizell, got into the endzone on a run to get the lead out to 56-0. Great thing to see. A 50-burger too.
It’s safe to say that Lightning did not strike tonight in Weston. Cypress Bay got boat raced by their rivals. A miserable performance on both sides of the ball in this one for them. It didn’t help that Gonzalez exited the game in the 2nd quarter due to an apparent ankle injury. It wasn’t the birthday celebration that Coach Bret Hood was hoping for (although Western sang him “Happy Birthday” multiple times towards the end). As they fall to 6-2, the Lightning look ahead to a road game against Cooper City next Thursday.
The Western Wildcats were ready to play tonight. They were ready for a shellacking. They were in no fear of a power outage. The running attack was incredible despite not having Mizell to lead them, as Ortega Jr. and Moss Jr. looked more than equipped to lead a strong attack. Talk about a real thunder and lightning duo right there. And Belfort didn’t have to do much tonight, but was impressive when he had to be. He’s got a true WR1 in Howard leading the receiving corps. That defense is nasty as well. They have some dogs in that linebacker room and the corners were top notch tonight against the Lightning wideouts. Western moves to 4-3 and heads to Miramar next Thursday for what should be a relatively closer game.
FINAL SCORE:
Western beats Cypress Bay 56-0
About Josh Zedner:
Joshua Zedner is a beat writer covering high school football for Florida Man Sports. A native of Miami Beach, he attended Florida International University before finishing his undergraduate Business Administration degree at the University of Florida. Josh is an avid Miami sports fan, and he also writes a music review blog as a passion project under the @AlbumAnalysisWithZ handle on Instagram.
