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Author: Steven Ryan

North Shore too much for Cavs 2nd year in a row.

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The final score didn’t come close to telling the whole story of Galena Park North Shore’s 49-38 win against Lake Travis Saturday at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in the Class 6A Div. I State Semifinal in Round Rock, TX. A year after getting run off the field by the same team in the same round of the playoffs, Lake Travis scored 35 second-half points to give North Shore a legit scare before falling valiantly in the end.

The Cavs return to the field in the second half and despite being down 28-3 made a valiant effort to come back but, Galena Park North Shore’s 49-38 win against Lake Travis was too much for the Cavs Saturday at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in the Class 6A Div. I State Semifinal in Round Rock, TX

“What a great response by our kids,” said Lake Travis coach Hank Carter. “Football coaches get up there and they talk about being resilient and mentally tough, and I think a lot of people that don’t get it would say that’s just a bunch of coach speak. But this is what it’s about. The way our kids came together and our coaching staff got together with the kids at halftime, made some adjustments, and we fought and clawed. We at least made them nervous and that’s more than we did a year ago. They’re a great team. They’re very well-coached. They’re extremely talented, and they’re very deserving of the victory. But I’m very proud with how our kids responded.”

The big mystery at the start of the game concerned North Shore senior running back Zach Evans, who was nowhere to be seen at kickoff. The 5-star prospect who is almost universally considered the No. 1 tailback in the country was taking the SAT and didn’t check in until the final minute of the first half. Once he finally got on the field, he showed exactly why he’s sought after by almost every major college football program in the country by rushing for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries

His absence, however, wasn’t much of an issue for North Shore’s offense in the first half. Instead of giving it to Davis, the Mustangs handed the ball off to senior Roger Hagan, who rumbled for 117 yards on 22 totes. Junior quarterback Demetrius Davis was also dialed in. He finished with 234 total yards (125 passing, 109 rushing) and four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) as North Shore built a 28-3 halftime lead.

“They went to the bullpen and brought out a guy (Hagan) throwing 105 miles an hour,” Carter said. “The Evans kid is tremendous and everyone obviously knows about him. I think, to me, though, the guy that makes them unique and special is their quarterback. He runs the ball as good as any running back that I’ve seen and he’s making great decisions with the football and he’s throwing it on the money. Coach Kay does an excellent job with his team and they played like champions tonight.”

Lake Travis never found a way to truly stop North Shore’s ground game as the Mustangs rushed for just a shade under 400 yards, but the Cavs’ offense got into a groove in the second half and almost sparked an incredible comeback. After throwing for just 26 yards on the first half, senior quarterback Hudson Card left it all out on the field after the break and finished with 357 total yards (290 passing, 67 rushing) and three total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). 

His determination shined on Lake Travis’s final two drives. With the Cavs trailing by 25 in the fourth quarter, Card broke off an electric 28-yard scoring run where he fought through arm tackles, reversed the field against one of the fastest defenses in the state, and successfully dove for the pylon as a Mustang play tried dragging him down. On the next possession, he made eyes almost pop out of their sockets as he seemed wrapped up by the North Shore pass rush, only to break free, tip-toe the sideline, and complete a 26-yard pass that set up a three-yard touchdown run by Weston Stephens.

“Early on I think they were getting a little bit of pressure on us so we’re probably holding on to the ball for just a little bit longer than we needed to,” Carter said. “They were covering us well. Again, credit to North Shore. But he settled in, made some great plays. I told him on the one that he scored there, ‘oh man, I guess you still can run.’ And he’s doing all that on probably about 50 percent of how his foot oughta work.”

Lake Travis also recovered an onside kick and forced two second-half turnovers to keep hope alive. The first turnover was a leaping interception by sophomore defensive back DJ Johnson, who went up and snagged a hard pass in zone coverage that Davis thought he could get over him. There was also a fumble out of the end zone. And, of course, senior wide receiver Kyle Eaves, who did as much as anybody to keep the Cavs alive with eight catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Cedar Park and Manor Rematch 3rd Round Playoffs.

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

It’s always special when a pair of Austin-area teams meet in the mid-to-late rounds of the Texas High Schools Football Playoffs. So it’ll be a treat for local fans when Cedar Park (11-1) meets Manor (7-5) play in the regional semifinals of the Class 5A Div. I bracket the day after Thanksgiving at The Pfield in Pflugerville at 6 p.m.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun because it’s really a halfway point between Manor and Cedar Park so it’s going to be a real easy game for both of our fan bases to make it to and it’s a great venue,” said Cedar Park coach Carl Abseck. “I think it’s going to be a great crowd, early Friday evening, and on a holiday. I think people are really going to show up and root their teams on so I think it’s going to be a real fun environment, just like the playoffs should be, specifically as you get into the third, fourth rounds.”

The Timberwolves come in wearing a district crown and an 11-game win streak. They rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs with triumphs over McCallum (49-10) and Friendswood (31-14). Junior quarterback Ryder Hernandez was sensational in both victories, completing 82 percent of his passes for 601 yards with seven touchdowns (six passing, one rushing).

“He’s done a great job of allowing our kids to make plays for him by taking what the defense is giving and being extremely accurate, and just making good decisions with where he’s putting the ball or whether he decides to run or scramble a little bit to buy some more time,” Abseck said. “He’s just really making good decisions, putting the ball on a spot, and the kids are making plays for him.”

Cedar Park’s esteemed “Black Rain” defense is in solid form. With 6-foot-2, 255-pound, senior defensive end Ben Bell (a Louisiana Tech commit) disrupting at the line of scrimmage and 3-year starter Tammer Alzer, a senior safety, making plays on the backend, the Timberwolves have allowed an average of just 12 points and 235.5 yards per game through two postseason performances.

“They’ve played well,” Abseck said. “Friendswood was really, really talented on offense and to hold them to 15 points is really an accomplishment because they’re well-coached and have some really talented kids. The defensive kids are playing really hard. They’re being where they’re supposed to be, doing their jobs, playing their technique and really just taking the coaching that our coaches are giving them, and putting it to use on the field. And really just doing a great job of working together and fitting everything.”

Now comes a rematch with Manor, who Cedar Park beat 49-24 on the last week of the regular season to clinch the outright district title. Hernandez accounted for six touchdowns in that game (five passing, one rushing) as the Timberwolves built an insurmountable 32-point lead at halftime. 

“We avoided turnovers on offense and that was (a) huge piece of (that win),” Abseck said. “We had some really nice returns on the kickoff return team, punt return team that allowed us to have a short field. Those were two big critical components. Defensively, we avoided the big plays for the most part.”

Manor, however, has some serious next-level talent. Senior running back Tahj Brooks will be playing for Texas Tech next fall and rushed 163 yards with three touchdowns in the Mustang’s area round playoff win v.s. New Caney Porter. The Mustangs also have 6-foot-4, 250-pound Princely Umanmielen on the defensive line, who is listed as a four-star prospect by most recruiting services.

“They have some extremely talented individuals on both sides of the ball, but the first one that comes to mind is the tailback, Tahj Brooks. He’s an exceptional runner, committed to Texas Tech, and he’s got the full package. He’s got speed and he’s about 220 pounds, so he can run over you or run around you. He’s a tough one and we really have to key on limiting his yards and trying to get a lot of hats to the ball because he’s not easy to bring down,” Abseck said. “But they’re big up front. They really kind of fit each other, being a power-oriented team. They got a big, strong offensive line, and then they do have some really talented receivers that they have to get to the ball to and if they get space they can be really tough. Defensive line-wise, there’s not a better looking defensive line. They got size and speed, and they’ve got some really talented guys on that side, so we got to do a really good job of matching up blocks, staying on blocks, and execute what we’ve been doing, which is make the catches we’re supposed to make, get a little bit of yards after catch and just keep the chains moving.”

Cavs defeat Madison 49-21

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Lake Travis has been San Antonio Madison’s bugaboo for some time now. That proved to be the case again on Friday when the Cavaliers knocked the Mavericks out of the playoff for the fourth straight year with a 49-21 victory at Rattler Stadium in San Marcos, TX.

With star quarterback Hudson Card still on the shelf from the foot injury he suffered against Westlake, Lake Travis leaned on junior running back Weston Stephens, who paced the offense with 20 carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns. It was the fourth time in five games he’s hit the century mark in rushing after doing it zero times before. He also had five catches for 61 yards.

Junior quarterback Nate Yarnell was 19-of-25 for 239 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. With 1:41 left in the half and Lake Travis leading only 14-7, Yarnell engineered a perfect two-minute drill. He completed five-of-six passes to march the Cavaliers 58 yards on nine plays, the last a four-yard touchdown toss to senior Grayson Sandlin (six receptions, 78 yards) with 15 seconds left on the clock.

Lake Travis’s defense had the Mavericks’ attack completely out of sorts until the fourth quarter. Madison scored on only one of its first nine possessions, and that scoring drive was aided by two 15-yard face-mask penalties and culminated with a strange touchdown pass on a broken play. 

Maui Trevino makes a tackle in the the 3rd Quarter at Rattlers Stadium against the Madison Maverick’s in a decisive win for the Div I 6-A Area Playoff. Cavs will face Weslaco next week in San Antonio likely the Alamodome on Friday Nov 29th at 1pm.

With the score 35-7 late in the third quarter, senior linebacker Maui Trevino intercepted a pass and returned it to Madison’s 12. Three plays later, Lake Travis gave one of their big guys some love as senior guard Andrew Salem (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) rumbled four yards for touchdown to effectively ice the game.

Vipers Survive 1st Round 14-13 over Bridgeland

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Vandegrift has played a number of close games over its two consecutive perfect regular seasons. Six of its wins, in fact, have been decided by a touchdown or less. With that said, it should be no surprise the Vipers are built for the fourth quarter. That showed true Friday, as Vandegrift scored back-to-back touchdowns in the final period to shock Bridgeland for a 14-13 comeback win at Monroe Stadium in Austin.

“I’m not sure if there’s any one moment that changed, but our guys’ consistent fight, I think you’ve seen that over the years. We’re never out of the game,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “I’m just impressed with our fight. I always am. We’re never, ever, ever out of a game, and it just proved it once again tonight, and we’re happy to celebrate with a gold ball.”


“It’s good to have that experience in our belt,” senior linebacker Jax McCauley added about the recent history of close wins. “It builds a great team, having to face a little bit of adversity, so we were used to that coming in. This team never quits and that’s what I love about this team. We just keep fighting until the very end.”

The first three quarters weren’t pretty as Bridgeland dominated possession and took a 13-point lead that felt larger. Before Vandegrift began its comeback, the Bears had run 71 plays to the Vipers’ 20 and were crushing them in the total yardage department (327-90).

But the Vandegrift defense was in prime bend-but-don’t-break mode and had seven fourth-down stops to keep Bridgeland from pulling away. Then, with the Vipers down to their last breaths, the offense came alive.
First an 11-play, 76-yard drive ended with senior quarterback Dru Dawson tossing a 29-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Blake Youngblood (6 catches, 82 yards) on a fake wide receiver screen to make it 13-7. Then, Dawson put the dagger through the heart with a 29-yard touchdown pass up the seam to senior Trey Mongauzy (4 catches, 72 yards) with 1:27 remaining to cap a 7-play, 75-yard scoring march.

“We made second-half adjustments,” McCauley said. “Coach Sanders is a great coach. He came into the locker room. He talked to us about what we have to do better and we made adjustments, dug down deep, and found a way to stop them.”


“It was a crazy game but we stuck together and that’s the main thing. We never gave up. Great overall win,” added Dawson. “We kept playing together and we kept trusting the play calls. We really just came down to executing our stuff, playing wishing our game, and our coaches put us in good position to move the ball, and we’re just clicking on all cylinders that last quarter.”


The one-point differential was possible because of a blocked extra-point by McCauley near the end of the first half, which Sanders pointed out as one of the most important plays in the game.


“One of the things I’d like to call attention to is we blocked the extra point right before half,” Sanders said. “We were favored. Everybody’s telling us we were good, whatever, and then we’re down it’s really easy to pout, and for our guys to come and fight and block that extra point. It ended up being the difference in the game so I really think that guaranteed is one of the turning points.”


“Coach Sanders called a block middle and Bridgeland is a unique team,” McCauley said. “They take a step sideways on the blocks instead of stepping straight and I just found a seam and just hit it there.”

Central Texas Playoff Preview 2019: HS Football

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Cedar Ridge clinched a playoff spot with its win against Westwood Friday night, but Warriors’ junior quarterback R.J. Martinez didn’t make it easy. The magnificent Martinez accumulated 784 total yards (609 passing, 173 rushing, 2 receiving) and 10 touchdowns (7 passing, 3 rushing) in a 77-69 defeat.


Cedar Ridge was equally amazing on offense as senior running back Duece Vaughn racked up 352 total yards (302 rushing, 50 receiving) and five touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving). The Raiders seemed to have the game put away at multiple instances, but Westwood recovered three onside kicks to stay in it until the end. The Warriors’ ultimate undoing was four turnovers (two fumbles lost, two interceptions) to Cedar Ridge’s zero. 


The outcome served as bad news for Round Rock, who needed Westwood to win by at least seven points to make the playoff
Elsewhere in District 13-6A, Vandegrift finished off its second straight perfect regular season with a 20-17 win against Stony Point. The Viper defense bent, but didn’t break, allowing 400 total yards but only two trips to the end zone. The offense, meanwhile, got a big game out of senior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy (eight catches, 112 yards, 1 TD) and a steady 210 yards on 42 carries as a team.


According to the Austin-American Statesman, Vandegrift is just the third team in city history (at 5A or 6A) to pull off back-to-back 10-0 seasons. The other two (Lake Travis, Cedar Park) both won state titles in one of those years. Vandegrift begins its quest for a first state championship next Friday when it hosts Bridgeland.


Out in Pflugerville, Weiss fell short in its bid for a full worst-to-first turnaround in District 13-5A Div. II with a 38-21 loss to Brenham. The Wolves were winless last year in their first season as a varsity program. A big reason for that is they were playing without a senior class. With everyone back this year, Weiss rolled through district and had a chance at an outright district crown going into Friday night, but the Cubs spoiled the party with 24 unanswered points to finish the game.

Vandegrift Vipers QB Dru Dawson avoids a Cedar Park Defender in a home game in Week 1 to kick off the 2019 season. Vipers will host a home game this week against Bridgeland on Friday Nov 15th first round playoff contest.


Weiss still does get to share the district title, but will go into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and is set to host Lockhart in its postseason opener.
Down in District 25-6A, Bowie clinched the final playoff spot with Anderson’s loss to Lake Travis. This will be the Bulldogs’ 13th straight playoff appearance and possibly its most improbable during that streak. Bowie came into the season with only four returning starters and then lost its star quarterback, Trinidad Sanders, early in district play. But head coach Jeff Ables is considered one of the best in Central Texas for a reason and guided the ship to the postseason anyways. Bowie joins Lake Travis, Westlake and Hays and the playoff teams in that district.


LBJ clinched the No. 2 seed in District 12-5A Div. I with a 42-17 win against Sequin. Junior Andrew Mukuba returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and had two receiving scores to guide the Jaguars, who scored 28 straight points to close the game. LBJ will avoid a road trip to Hutto and instead host Georgetown in the first round of the playoffs thanks to the victory.


Down in the small school ranks, Lampasas beat Fredericksburg 47-35 to earn its first district title since 2011. The Badgers outscored the Battlin’ Billies 33-13 in the second and third quarters to pull away for the win. Lampasas senior quarterback Ace Whitehead threw for 317 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 91 yards.

Stony Point defeats Westwood 45-28

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Stony Point has been a second-half team all year. In a late-season, high-pressure game with huge playoff ramifications, that came in handy. The Tigers broke open a close contest with 21 straight points in the fourth quarter to pull away from Westwood for a 45-28 win Friday night at Dragon Stadium in Round Rock, TX.

The victory jumps Stony Point into a tie for second in the district standings at 5-2 and in good position to make the playoffs entering the final week of the season. A loss would’ve put them in a four-way tie for third and made things much more dicey considering its final opponent is district leader Vandegrift.

“We talk to our guys all the time, ‘we’re going to win the second half,’” said Stony Point coach Craig Chessher. “That’s always been our mantra. To be up three points at halftime, kind of feeling our way through it, I felt like we got a little momentum and really kept our foot on the gas. Offense took advantage of some opportunities that we didn’t the first half. But I will say this year if you’ve been keeping up with us, we are a second-half football team, and that’s’ served us well. I’d like to get off a little bit of a quicker start, but I’m just real proud of our guys.”

The second half charge came with a shift in offensive philosophy. Stony Point, a devout running team, mixed in 10 passes with 18 runs in the first half and moved the ball decently but had trouble finishing drives. In the second half, however, the Tigers stayed completely on the ground, and the results were glorious.

Senior running back Kendall Thomas rushed for touchdowns of 40, 59 and four yards to finish with 265 yards on 24 carries, with 179 of those yards coming after the break. Sophomore Jaden Leonard (8 carries, 102 yards) also scored from seven yards out as the Tigers found the end zone on four straight drives to finish the game. It also helped that the defense had two fumble recoveries to stymie Westwood’s prolific offense

“At halftime, we were real disappointed. We left I don’t know how many points on the board,” Chessher said. “Coach Lewinski, our offensive coordinator, it was tough on him at halftime. He’s such a good person. I’ve known him 25 years. He’s done such a great job. I just said ‘guys, let’s just see if we can run the football,’ and Kendall and Leonard and (quarterback Kyle) Overton, to a degree, played extremely well. Our O-line really did well, and keep in mind, we’re without two starters on their offensive line… Just real proud of our offense. We came out and said we got to run the football. they were playing us a little different coverage and we weren’t really functioning that well throwing the football. Real proud of our offense and the defense played lights out as well in a tough game.”

Westlake takes down Hays

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

For the second straight year, Hays went into the Westlake game undefeated and within reach of a district title. And for the second straight year, Westlake turned it into a laugher. The Chaps scored touchdowns on each of their first nine possessions and got another outstanding game from their defense in a 65-7 route Friday night at Bob Shelton Stadium in Buda, TX.

After spending the season’s first eight weeks rotating quarterbacks, Westlake finally handed the keys to senior Kirkland Michaux. The tall righty showed exactly why the coaches put their trust in him by completing 15-of-23 passes for 287 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also added a touchdown on the ground.

“There comes to be a point where you have to give one of them more reps than the others,” Westlake coach Todd Dodge said of the quarterbacks. “Kirkland has been in our quarterback room since he was a freshman. A lot of people don’t remember, but he was the guy that was a play away during his freshman season, so he’s been around a long time… I thought he played really well against Lake Travis before his injury. He led us on some big-time drives, ran the ball well, was very accurate and he continued it tonight.”

Most of Michaux’s completions went to senior wide receiver Ryan Lindley, a crafty slot-man who finished the night with nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. Arkansas commit Mason Mangum – also a senior – had two touchdowns on his three catches for 62 yards. Freshman Jaden Greenhouse (3 catches, 62 yards, TD) continues to flash talent beyond his years and junior running back Zane Minors (10 carries, 87 yards, 3 TDs) gave the running game a punch that will come in handy as Westlake chases down a state title.

“We’re becoming harder to defend by personnel. We’re spreading the ball around to a lot of different people. Our running game is starting to pick it up,” Dodge said. “We’re getting so many more people involved, not only in the passing game but in the run game. Grey Nakfoor and Zane Minors are really stepping up at the running back position. It’s a nice little 1-2 punch. Our quarterbacks are running the ball well. A lot of the night tonight, even though he made some big plays, they chose to double Mason Mangum and we went in some different directions and spread the ball around, so that’s where we are. We are getting a lot of production from a lot of different people.”

Hays came into the game averaging almost 400 rushing yards a game with its old-school slot-T offense. The scheme is so different from what most kids are used to that it can cause major problems, even for the most talented defenses. Westlake’s resistance, however, was ready for what came at them. Hays mustered only 112 yards on the ground on 2.4 yards per rush. The Chaps also got a blocked punt from senior Jackson Coker and an interception from senior defensive end Austin McClendon deep in Hays territory to set up easy touchdowns.

“Absolutely great preparation. This is a tough team to prepare for because of the slot-T. You only see it probably once a year, and I’m so proud of our defense,” Dodge said. “It’s just about kids just being gap sound, being unselfish. You really have to be unselfish when you play a team like this. The defensive line, we tell them, if you don’t make a tackle, you could play a great game just by holding up, not getting trapped, staying in your gap, getting hats to the ball. In today’s era of spread offenses, our kids are pretty physically. But, boy, you have to really turn it up against a team like this and put your big boys pants on in this kind of physical matchup.”

Cedar Park defeats Hutto

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Cedar Park’s 20-16 win over Hutto Friday night at John Gupton Stadium in Leander, TX, was far from a masterpiece. But as the Timberwolves have shown many times before, grit goes a long way in the game of football.
Cedar Park hung around with defense while its offense had an off night. Then, when it mattered most, that same offense flipped the switch with a decisive late touchdown to win the game and put the Timberwolves in the driver’s seat of District 11-5A Div. I.


“They just stuck with it,” Cedar Park coach Carl Abseck said of his team. “It’s a game of ebbs and flows. You’re going to have some good things happen and some bad things happen, but our guys stuck through it and fought until the end… We did enough at the end to pull it out but I couldn’t be more proud of them.”


Going into its final drive, Cedar Park had just 140 yards of total offense on 49 plays for less than three yards per play. The run-game was nonexistent and junior quarterback Ryder Hernandez was misfiring left and right. But with less than three minutes left, no timeouts and the game on the line, Hernandez fired darts of 15, 11 and 20 yards to juniors Josh Cameron, Gunnar Abseck and Preston Scott. A facemask penalty on the last of those got Cedar Park into the red zone, where Hernandez broke through the middle on a quarterback draw for the 15-yard game-winning touchdown.
“We just had to overcome a lot of adversity. (Hutto had) a great squad over there. It was a great game throughout the four quarters. We just came out on top at the end. It’s just a testament to what our coaches are about there. We just had to finish the game out,” Hernandez said. “Their front came after me the whole game. They did a great job of that, and I think on that last drive we were just getting out quick, letting the playmakers make plays.”

The Cedar Park defense did a magnificent job throughout, holding the Hippos to 271 yards on 57 plays for 4.8 yards per play and 4-of-15 on third downs. They also forced back-to-back three-and-outs before the game-winning touchdown drive, ensuring the offense got the ball back with enough time to score.


The unsung hero of the game was senior defensive back Caden Combs, who chased down Hutto senior wide receiver Dajon Harrison on a long pass play to prevent a touchdown in the third quarter. The next play, senior Ronald Caldwell got around the edge for a strip-sack fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Murray Robinson and returned to almost midfield. Without that sequence, the Timberwolves almost surely would’ve taken a loss.


“Defensively, I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Abseck said. “(Harrison is) one of the fastest players in Williamson/Travis County, and Caden’s pretty fast, too, but what he didn’t do was give up. To chase him down and make them snap it again and get the turnover, that’s huge… A lot of people don’t remember that. They just think, oh, the fumble happened right after that. But they don’t realize that that kid ran 60 yards to catch one of the fastest guys around.”

Cavs win Battle of the Lakes

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The Battle of the Lakes played out like a true rivalry between two great teams as Westlake and Lake Travis traded blows in a heavyweight bout that went down to the wire. In the end, the Cavaliers came out barely ahead in a 26-25 triumph Friday at Cavalier Stadium in Lakeway, TX

“We would answer, then they would answer,” said Lake Travis senior quarterback Hudson Card. “Those are the games that we look forward to. Being a rivalry and a one-point game, it’s crazy. I’m just happy with the way we fought and came out victorious.”

Card passed, ran, caught and kicked his team to victory in an all-around performance for the ages. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 224 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against a Westlake defense that wasn’t making it easy on him. 

He also led the Cavs in rushing, caught a key third-down pass on Lake Travis’s game-winning touchdown drive, and pinned a punt inside the five, which was followed by a game-changing safety.

The play everyone will remember, however, is the go-ahead touchdown pass to Grayson Sandlin. Facing 2nd & goal from the 9, Card threw a fade on an option route to the 6-foor-4 Sandlin, and Sandlin (11 catches, 99 yards) came down with it even as Westlake all-district cornerback Leo Lowin was all over him.

“I just knew the way he was playing me all game, I knew Hudson would put it where I needed it. That’s all it took,” Sandlin said. “It’s incredible… It’s the best feeling in the world, honestly.”

After getting dominated in the trenches last year, Lake Travis matched Westlake’s physicality and shut down the Chaps’ offense in a first half that had few fireworks beside a 30-yard touchdown pass from Card to senior Kyle Eaves (five catches, 89 yards, two touchdowns). Card rolled right, got the entire Chap defense to move with him, and then launched a ball downfield to a wide-open Eaves on the opposite side of the field.

“We just installed a lot of stuff early in the week to stop their run and it was working,” said senior Lake Travis linebacker Maui Traveino. “They told us to be physical and do that and it was working… Last year we definitely were not being physical enough and this year the seniors really stepped up.”

Westlake made some key halftime adjustments, however, and opened the second half with back-to-back touchdown marches to take a 17-10 lead. The Cavs picked back up some momentum when Raleigh Erwin and Trey Wright met at the quarterback on a zero blitz for a safety. Eaves got behind the Westlake defense on a play-action pass the next possession to put Lake Travis back ahead 19-17.

The Chaps got a third second-half touchdown when sophomore Cade Klubnik hit senior Jackson Coker over the middle for a 20-yard score, but with all the chips on the table in the final minutes, came up short on a 43-yard field goal.

“We finished the half with a lot of momentum and then they took the third quarter and owned it,” said Lake Travis coach Hank Carter. “In the fourth quarter we got it going a little bit and luckily were able to finish with the win.”

Vipers edge out Dragons

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Round Rock proved a worthy challenger for Vandegrift’s District 13-6A throne, but the defending league champs got a stellar game out of senior quarterback Dru Dawson and made a couple key defensive stops in the final frame to maintain their supremacy with a 32-25 win Friday at Monroe Stadium in Austin.

“We needed this,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “This is good development for us, and I told the guys all week that this is going to be a playoff atmosphere. This is going to be like a 4th round 6A playoff game, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Dawson completed 17-of-20 passes for 275 yards with four touchdowns and an interception while adding 69 yards with his legs in by far his best game of the year. He also made a pair of big plays on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to push the Vipers ahead for good.

After a 19-3 mid-game run allowed Round Rock to take a slim one-point lead, Dawson heaved a deep ball in stride to junior wide receiver Taylor Dumar for a 39-yard gain to the 15. Three plays later, he scrambled around to give his guys extra time to shake free and found senior tight end Brady Middleton wide open in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown. 

“His improvement just continues to go up, and up, and up,” Sanders said. “He was so accurate tonight. He made one bad throw the whole night, really. Other than that, when he couldn’t throw it, he took off and ran. He had several nice runs for us, too. And then on the sideline when we had a little of that lull… I heard him over to the side talking to his guys and encouraging them, and that’s just what I need from my senior quarterback.”

Round Rock rolled up 348 rushing yards and 23 first downs, by far the most Vandegrift had given up in either category all season. But the Vipers succeeded in their game plan to take senior wide receiver Collin Sullivan out of the game. The Division I signee (Purdue) finished with just one catch for nine yards (albeit, a touchdown).

“We were not going to allow them to big-play us,” Sanders said. “We were going to bleed a slow death and our philosophy worked.”

After retaking the lead with Dawson’s fourth quarter heroics, Vandegrift’s defense stepped up on consecutive possessions with a three-and-out and a fourth-down stop in the red zone. 

“We’ve been in kind of an odd front the last several games. We had to go back at key points in our game and go back to our even front on defense, made some adjustments there and stopped them,” Sanders said. “A critical stop that we had that we needed, was because we went back to something we’ve been doing for years. We just haven’t done it much this year.

“It was nice to see us be able to adjust and do it immediately. Our kids, I always tell them, their secret weapon is how smart they are, and they were able to really adjust to what we were doing and make plays. It’s hard for a defense, when you stop everybody all year long, and you come against an offense like this, that is scoring on you, it’s hard for you to not get down on yourself, and those guys found a way to rally, keep themselves mentally pumped up, and find a way to win.”

The offense proceeded to run the final 5:21 off the clock with some bruising runs by junior running back Bowen Lewis (24 carries, 118 yards, 47-yard TD reception), a fantastic catch on a deep ball by senior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy (7 catches, 132 yards, TD, 32 yards rushing) and pivotal seven-yard run on third down by Dawson.

“Round Rock is going to have a great rest of their year. Hopefully, we do, too,” Sanders said. “To be able to win a third or fourth round 6A playoff game, like what tonight was, that just speaks volumes to our kids, coaches and everybody else.”