CSCS 22 | Woodland Park 16
Some wins are dominant. Others require you to dig in, stay composed and find a way.
Friday night in Woodland Park was the latter.
The CSCS Lions battled back from an early deficit and held off a late Woodland Park rally to earn a hard-fought 22–16 road victory, improving to 2–0 for the first time since 2023. It was also the Lions’ second consecutive victory over Woodland Park after CSCS had never beaten the Panthers prior to last season.
Woodland Park struck first and built a 9–0 lead, but the Lions never allowed the early adversity to dictate the night.
Quarterback Fisher Tenpas helped get CSCS moving, connecting with Silas Lambert for a 15-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. The Lions carried that momentum into the second half, when Tenpas found Dom Gillin for a 74-yard touchdown. Lambert added the two-point conversion to put CSCS ahead 14–9.
Tenpas and Gillin connected again in the fourth quarter, and a two-point conversion to Nate Aichele extended the Lions’ advantage to 22–9.
But Woodland Park wasn’t finished.
The Panthers answered with a 50-yard touchdown to pull within six, recovered an onside kick and later blocked a CSCS punt to give themselves another opportunity from the Lions’ 25-yard line. With the game on the line and the home crowd behind Woodland Park, the CSCS defense was asked to finish it.
They did.
The Lions turned away the Panthers’ final comeback attempt and walked off the field with a 22–16 victory.
PLAYMAKERS STEP UP
Tenpas finished the night with 206 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Gillin hauled in 125 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Liam Smith helped provide balance on the ground with 81 rushing yards.
The numbers tell part of the story. The response tells even more.
CSCS didn’t play a perfect game. They fell behind. They faced pressure. They watched Woodland Park create multiple opportunities to steal the game late.
And they responded.
Head Coach Nick Salas described it as a “gritty, hard fought win,” acknowledging that the Lions still have plenty of room to improve.
That is exactly where growth happens.
At CSCS, we want our athletes to be Christ-centered, men of character, committed to community, competent in their preparation and willing to compete. Friday night required all five.
Winning when everything is clicking is one thing. Finding a way when it isn’t is another.
The Lions found a way.
NEXT UP
CSCS takes its 2–0 record back on the road Friday night to face Rye at 7:00 PM.
Two games. Two wins. And plenty still ahead.
Keep building. Keep competing. Keep representing Christ well.