Cinco Ranch knew coming into this week that they were in for a slugfest.

Going up against a Paetow team that has been very physical with a strong improving defense, the Cougars knew they would get a test and they came prepared for it on both offense and defense.

That preparation paid off, it ended up being a fight from the first whistle to last, but Cinco eventually outlasted Paetow 17-7, earning a big win and keeping the Cougars playoff hopes alive.

“It doesn’t matter the record, we knew we we’re facing a really good Paetow team today and that it could be a really low scoring game,” Cinco Ranch head coach Chris Dudley said. “We preached to the kids that you can’t get frustrated about not breaking things if things aren’t coming in early. We just stuck with the gameplan and were able to get a few big plays when we needed them. I’m really proud of the way we stayed the course. Paetow has a great front on both sides of the ball and it was a great matchup.”

There was an explosive start to the game but it swiftly turned into a defensive battle which lasted the entire game.

Paetow was forced to punt on its opening drive and Cinco took advantage of good field position on its first possession, using a trick play where Tessiah Young received a backwards pass before throwing it to a wide open Kellen LeCronier downfield, who fought off defenders on his way to a 46-yard touchdown. But as soon as that happened, Paetow answered back, taking the ensuing kickoff return 73 yards for a touchdown and tying the game.

Cinco came back with a good drive late in the first quarter, but the Paetow defense stepped up and Victor Thomas came away with an interception to hold the Cougars out of the endzone. The Cougars then took the lead early in the second quarter after driving deep into Paetow territory before settling for a field goal. Paetow had a chance to tie the game before the half, but. Short field goal went wide as Cinco went into the locker room up 10-7. The defense was the story for Cinco in the first half and through the game. The Cougars allowed just 13 pass yards and 138 yards on the ground, while forcing three turnovers to lead the way.

“We came into this game and were really prepared for everything and we knew that we had to stop the run,” junior linebacker Luke Mathaismeier said. “From our front seven to our defensive backs that was our main focus and we did a really good job of limiting that. It got our offense the ball back more and gave them opportunities to go and make plays.”

Taytum Johnson made a big play early in the third, intercepting Paetow and the Cougars took advantage of that field position with Marcus Gadlin running in a touchdown from 37 yards out. Paetow tried to get back into things and got a fumble recover around midfield halfway through the fourth quarter, but Cinco’s defense stepped up to the challenge at every turn, keeping the Panthers off the board before the Cougars offense ran the clock out to secure the win.

Cinco stayed balanced all game, rushing it 28 times and throwing it 24, with Gadlin leading the way with 59 yards while Davis Roup threw for 155 yards with Gavin Beavers being a huge part of that, catching nine passes for 125 yards.

“We just took advantage of their cornerbacks playing so off," Beavers said. "That opened up the quick game and then when we kept hitting that it made them widen out and it opened up the run game.”

Cinco will go up against Katy next in a huge game, and the Cougars know they have to take things a week at a time.

“You can talk about the different routes into the playoffs but the easiest thing for us to do is just win,” Dudley said. “That’s the easiest route. We can sit here and talk about different tie breaker scenarios but we can’t focus on that stuff. We have to control what we can control and let things shake out how they might in the district.”

Cinco Ranch 17, Paetow 7

First quarter

CR: Tessiah Young 46 pass to Kellen LeCronier (Noah Machart kick) 7:30

P: Jackson Farrar 73 kickoff return (Omar Yaghi kick) 7:18

Second quarter

CR: Machart 26 field goal, 9:55

Third quarter

CR: Marcus Gadlin 37 run (Machart kick) 5:45

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Cinco Ranch: Marcus Gadlin, 13-59-1; Tessiah Young, 14-32; Davis Roup, 1-(-1); Paetow: Kaleb Molina, 18-97; Jackson Farrar, 11-38; Brock Nichols, 1-7; Riley Silves, 1-7; Jabari Bush, 1-4;

Passing – Cinco Ranch: Davis Roup, 14-24-155-0-1; Tessiah Young, 1-1-46-1-0; Paetow: Jackson Farrar, 3-10-13-0-1; Brock Nichols, 0-3-0-0-0

Receiving – Cinco Ranch: Gavin Beavers, 9-125; Kellen LeCronier, 1-46-1; J.P. Smith, 4-25; Marcus Gadlin, 1-5; Paetow: Jabari Bush, 2-9; Joshua Scott, 1-4;