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Author: Steven Ryan

Westlake Keeps Rolling

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

Westlake’s football tradition was built on prolific offenses led by legendary quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Nick Foles, and Sam Ehlinger. But for the last two years, the defense has taken over. That was never truer than on Saturday night in Alamodome, where Westlake held San Antonio Brandeis to just three first downs and 52 total yards in a 26-0 win for the Class 6A Div. II Region IV title in San Antonio.

“It’s what we’ve become accustomed to,” said Westlake coach Todd Dodge. “You don’t take it for granted, though. Our kids have played well all year. Our defensive coordinator (Tony Salazar), I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in the state of Texas. That’s our bell cow. They have been from day one.”

The defensive performance was more needed than at any point this season. Westlake has suffered a rash of injuries on the offensive side of the ball. Senior center Blake Webster, a 38-game starter, got hurt late in the regular season. Senior running back Tripp Graham, who had rushed for 1,266 yards and 15 touchdowns, went down earlier in the playoffs. And senior quarterback Taylor Anderson, who Dodge called “the heart and soul” of the team, fell to the injury bug last week. All three won’t be back.

“They now have to take an extra burden,” Dodge said. “We’re just finding ways to win and riding that defense.”

Westlake Todd Dodge coaches his team after winning the Class 6A Div. II Region IV title.

Westlake used two quarterbacks in place of Anderson. Junior Drew Willoughby started the game and threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mason Mangum on the Chaps’ second drive. He finished 4-of-8 for 54 yards with an interception. But junior quarterback Kirkland Michaux got his chance in the second quarter and played at another level.

Michaux can thank junior wide receiver Jackson Coker for his first touchdown pass. Coker came down with a 36-yard bomb in triple coverage to put Westlake up 14-0 with 8:19 left in the second quarter. But Michaux’s ability to run the ball got the offense going and reminded everyone of the fallen Anderson, who had 771 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing. Michaux rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while totaling 99 yards through the air on 7-of-12 passing.

“I told (the quarterbacks) at the beginning of the week that if we’re going to do something special these last three weeks, it’s going to take both of them. The quarterback room is going to quarterback us to something special,” Dodge said. “There’s no ego with those kids. We went with Kirkland a little bit more because of his ability to run the football, obviously, and we got the ‘W.’”

Senior Rhett Kelly and sophomore Jax Crockett were in charge of taking on Graham’s workload. Crockett churned out 37 yards on nine carries before injuring himself. Kelly totaled 62 yards on 16 carries while catching four passes for 26 yards. Coker led all receivers with 59 yards on three receptions. Mangum had two grabs for 38 yards. Senior Penny Baker and sophomore Chapel Stewart hauled in one ball apiece, Baker for 19 yards and Stewart for 11 yards.

Brandeis didn’t pick up a first down until its seventh drive, and that possession ended with junior safety Sage Luther picking off his fourth pass of the season. Westlake’s defense got a safety late in the third quarter when senior safety Drew Webster tackled a Brandeis player who had just recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a 16-yard loss. The Broncos’ only first down in the second half was immediately followed by a 10-yard sack from junior defensive lineman Bobby Duncum. Westlake finished the game with nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

“This is what we expected,” Dodge said “This is a tough blue-collar team. It’s all about next man up… No one is going to feel sorry for us… This is a real special game. The tradition at Westlake High School long before we ever got here was if you make it to the final four, your picture gets on the wall (in the football offices). That’s a big deal. This was wall week for us. These kids go on the wall.”

Lake Travis edge out Judson: Garret Wilson 3 TDs

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

Converse Judson is about to have a second straight offseason full of nightmares about Lake Travis senior wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Just like last year’s loss to Lake Travis in the area round, Wilson had a monster game to knock the Rockets out of the playoffs. The Army All-American had eight receptions for 139 yards and three touchdowns to help guide the Cavaliers past the Rockets 38-21 in the Class 6A Div. I Region IV Final Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.

“Garrett’s incredible,” said Lake Travis coach Hank Carter. “He fought today and he’s not 100 percent. What a warrior he is. He doesn’t get enough credit for the type of competitor and warrior that he is.”

Wilson helped aide junior quarterback Hudson Card in a game where he was getting pressured from all directions. Converse Judson’s defensive line, which features talent like five-star Texas A&M commit Demarvin Leal, had Card on the run. But Wilson went Spiderman on his defender for a 16-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter and got behind the defense for 60 and 29-yard scores in the second half. Junior Kyle Eaves hauled in seven balls for 121 yards with a 64-yard score, and Card ended the game with four touchdowns and 311 yards on 19-of-35 passing.

“That was as tough as front as I would imagine we’ll see,” Carter said. “Those guys were incredible and they got after us some. They really kept him bottled up. Hudson’s a great athlete… and he didn’t have many times he got loose at all. I’m proud, especially in the second half, how Hudson settled down and made some throws. Our offensive line battled all night. It’s hard to have a ton of success against them because of their physicality… That’s how it’s going to be. Everybody we’re playing is going to have Division I guys all over the place, but we have some too.”

Lake Travis got a nice break before the half. Converse Judson drove the ball to the Cavaliers’ one-yard line with two seconds left. But instead of taking the chip shot field goal, Judson head coach Sean McCauliffe decided to go for the touchdown. The ensuing handoff was botched, however, which kept the score even at 14 entering the break and elicited a deep sigh of relief from the Lake Travis sideline.

The Cavs took that positive energy into the locker room, and then came out and outscored Judson 24-7 the rest of the way. Following the 60-yard touchdown pass from Card to Wilson, junior defensive back Copeland Gothard intercepted a tipped pass on the sideline, which set up a 37-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Hays McCannon. The teams traded a pair of touchdowns to start the fourth quarter, and then junior Mauricio Trevino forced a fumble on a Judson kick return. Lake Travis recovered and Wilson caught his final touchdown pass with 6:49 to go to put the icing on the cake.

“(The final play of the half) was big. You never know how that’s going to pan out. They gave us a little bit different look. I’m proud of my kids. I called a timeout and the kids adjusted to it,” Carter said. “We just made some adjustments (after halftime). I think our kids settled down on both sides of the ball and just played a little bit cleaner and a little bit sharper. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half and we cleaned up some of it. We made some plays. There was some close plays. One of them (Eaves’ 64-yard touchdown reception) could’ve been a knockdown (for a) incomplete pass, turned into a touchdown.”

Special teams played a big role in Lake Travis’s first touchdown. Card placed a beautiful punt near the goal line that was downed at the three. The defense forced a three and out and Eaves provided a solid return to the 30. A facemask penalty tacked on 15 yards to put the Cavs in the red zone, and sophomore running back Weston Stephens dashed for a 15-yard score to knot things up at seven.

“You got to play all three sides of the ball,” Carter said. “You got to play offense, defense, and special teams if you want to play championship level football and that’s a championship level team we just played… I’m proud of our bunch. Judson is a great program. We knew it’d be a battle. I’m excited about the way our kids are playing. It’s awesome. I’m very, very fortunate to be sharing it with such an awesome group of kids. Our coaches, our fans were awesome today.”

New Year’s Six Bowl Previews (not including Texas)

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in Football.

Orange Bowl: #1 Alabama v.s. #4 Oklahoma

The selection committee chose against putting two SEC teams in the playoff for a second consecutive year and instead went with Big 12 champion Oklahoma for the final seed. Oklahoma brings a historically great offense that ranks first in yards per play (8.6, a full yard ahead of second place) and points per drive (4.2). It’s led by junior quarterback Kyler Murray, a terrific athlete whose produced 4,981 total yards and 52 total TDs. The defense, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The Sooners rank 91st in yards per play allowed (5.9) and 107th in points per drive (2.75). Alabama brings a more balanced squad to the table. The Crimson Tide sit one spot behind OU in yards per play (7.6) and points per drive (4.04), but unlike their opponent have a defense to match it. Stocked with next-level talents like linemen Quinnen Williams and Raekwon Davis, safety Deionte Thompson and linebacker Mack Wilson, Alabama’s defense is second in points per drive (1.01) and sixth in yards per play (4.3). Alabama is on one of the most dominant runs in college football history with four national championships in the last nine years. Yet its somehow done that without a truly great quarterback (sorry, A.J. McCarron). Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagobailoa has brought an explosiveness to Alabama’s offense that’s never been seen, which makes some people think this version of the Crimson Tide is the best yet.

Cotton Bowl: #2 Clemson v.s. #3 Notre Dame

This is the only bowl that features two undefeated teams. Clemson is in the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight year. Those last three trips include a runner-up finish in 2015 and a national championship in 2016. Clemson is led by a nasty defensive line that starts three All-ACC first teamers (Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence) and a third-teamer (Austin Bryant) who will all have their names called early in April’s NFL Draft. The offense has a game breaker at running back in Travis Etienne (1,308 yards, 19 TDs) and a young but talented in quarterback in true freshman Trevor Lawrence, whose completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,606 yards with 24 TDs and only 4 INTs. This is Notre Dame’s first invitation to the playoff party and it comes into this matchup as a double-digit underdog. This is because the Fighting Irish’s undefeated run was less dominant, with half of their 12 wins coming by eight points or less. Clemson had only two such close calls out of 13. Notre Dame’s defense, which ranks fifth in points per drive (1.28) and eighth in yards per play (4.4), is ahead of the offense. But if junior quarterback Ian Book and senior running back Dexter Williams get hot, watch out. Book didn’t start until the season’s fourth game and Williams was suspended until the fifth, which negatively skews the offensive numbers a little bit.

Rose Bowl: #6 Ohio State v.s. #9 Washington

For the second straight year, an embarrassingly lopsided loss to a mediocre team cost Ohio State a chance at the playoff. Last year it was a 55-24 defeat to 7-5 Iowa and this year a 49-20 shellacking at the hands of 6-6 Purdue. The Buckeyes sported their worst defense in some time as they allowed 5.6 yards per play (66th in the country) and 1.89 points per drive (40th). Big play prevention was a major problem. Going into the Big 10 Championship game, Ohio State had given up 36 plays of 30-plus yards, seventh-worst in the nation. Washington doesn’t exactly have the explosive type of offense to take advantage of that, though. The Huskies’ senior backfield duo of quarterback Jake Browning and running back Miles Gaskin has been a bit disappointing. Browning threw just 16 touchdowns, 27 less than he had when he guided the Huskies to the college football playoff in 2016. Gaskin’s 1,147 rushing yards on the season are the lowest of his career and his 4.9 yards per carry don’t even rank in the top 100 of NCAA backs. The matchup of Ohio State’s offense v.s. Washington’s defense should be strength on strength. Sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins set a Big 10 record with 4,508 passing yards. Washington’s D finished 16th in yards per play and 12th in points per drive.

Peach Bowl: #10 Florida v.s. #7 Michigan

UCF finished its second straight undefeated season and again wasn’t seriously considered for inclusion into the playoff. This means the Golden Knights will be miffed and pumped up to prove their doubters wrong against an LSU team that might not be as excited for this matchup in the desert. UCF lost its best player when quarterback Mckenzie Milton went down with a serious knee injury in the regular season finale, but backup Darriel Mack Jr. was good enough to lead the Golden Knights to a come-from-behind victory in the AAC Championship Game with six total TDs (four rushing, two passing). LSU is a big step up from Memphis, however, and that could be incredibly problematic for UCF’s defense. The Golden Knights fall well short of the gold standard in stopping the run, where they rank 96th in yards per carry allowed. LSU prides itself on being a tough, physical football team and will certainly test that front seven early and often. Group of five teams are 3-1 in New Year’s Six Bowl Games since the advent of the College Football Playoff. UCF beat Auburn 34-27 in last year’s Peach Bowl under similar circumstances and claimed a “national championship” to much uproar. If the Golden Knights do it again, expect another “national championship” parade in Disney World.

Peach Bowl: #10 Florida v.s. #7 Michigan

With the inclusion of LSU and Florida, the SEC became the first conference to get multiple three-loss teams into New Year’s Six Bowls, which seems a bit unfair considering the season 10-2 Washington State had. But alas, here we are. The Wolverines’ defense was considered tops in the country for most of the year but had a disastrous outing in its final game, a 62-39 loss to rival Ohio State. They still put five players (linemen Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary, linebacker Devin Bush, DBs Lavert Hill and David Long) on the All-Big 10 first team and will be frothing at the mouth to rebound from the Ohio State performance. Offensively, Michigan improved from 102nd to 27th in yards per play and 95th to 20th in points per drive behind the leadership of junior quarterback Shea Patterson, who transferred in from Ole Miss. Senior running back Karan Higdon made All-Big 10 first team with 1,178 yards and 10 TDs. Florida was solid but unspectacular in its first season under head coach Dan Mullen, the revered offensive coordinator from the Gators’ Tim Tebow years. The future is bright in Gainesville but Mullen is still in the early stages of building his program. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is 38-13 in four seasons, is much farther along and enters this game as about a touchdown favorite.

Vandegrfit season ends with Longview

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

Vandegrift (12-1) completed its first perfect season with a team that wasn’t super athletic, but as smart, tough and well-coached as they come. In the playoffs, however, being exceptionally smart, tough and well-coached only gets you so far. Against a Longview (13-0) team that blended next-level talent with a tailor-made system, Vandegrift came up short in a 56-28 defeat Friday in the Class 6A Div. II Regional Semifinals at McLane Stadium in Waco.

“They just big-played us,” said Vandegrfit coach Drew Sanders. “We planned all week to try and not allow that to happen and so I guess they were just a little bit faster than I expected, probably. But they executed well. Hats off to them.”

Vandegrift hung tough for two and a half quarters. It scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions to take a 21-14 lead. Senior running back Isaiah Smallwood took a direct snap for a seven-yard touchdown to cap a 10-play, 74-yards drive on the Vipers’ opening possession. After Longview muffed the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by a hustling Jonathan Scott, senior quarterback Dru Dawson scrambled and wildly tossed a pass that fell into the hands of senior Ryan Merrifield for a 25-yard score.

Longview tied the game with a quick drive that lasted only six plays and less than two minutes. But Vandegrift struck back with a 10-play, 90-yard drive where a 36-yard bomb from Dawson to senior Reese Watson set up a six-yard touchdown run by Smallwood. From that point forward, however, Longview outscored the Vipers 42-7.

“Offensively, we kept pace with them for a little bit but just couldn’t keep that pace,” Sanders said. “That’s not how we’re built.”

The Lobos gained 517 yards on 58 plays for 8.9 yards per play and made Vandegrift’s defense, which allowed less than 14 points per game going into the contest, look one step too slow. It didn’t help that senior linebacker Spencer Jones, the Vipers’ leading tackler, didn’t play after suffering an injury last week and that senior cornerback Timmy Hanna was lost for the game in the second quarter.

But Vandegrift would’ve had trouble containing Longview regardless. Junior quarterback Haynes King completed 13-of-16 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions while adding 78 yards on the ground. Senior running back Keilyn Williams carried 17 times for 118 yards and score and tallied two receptions for 28 yards and score. Senior running back Jessie Anderson bulldozed his way for 54 yards and two touchdowns on 10 totes, and senior wide receiver Kamden Perry caused all sorts of problems on the outside with nine receptions for 153 yards on a touchdown.

“We only stopped them three times the whole game. They had to earn every yard, but they were able to really keep us off balance with the run and the pass. Every time I thought it was a run, it was a pass, and vice versa, so hats off to them,” Sanders said. “They’re definitely a little bit faster than us, but we’ve beaten teams that are faster than us. The difference with these guys is they’re fast and they have an excellent offensive system that kind of played on what we’re weak at. They were able to max protect, work the edges on the corner and throw it really deep and we had a hard time handling that, and then they have really two nice running backs that we had a hard time stopping.”

Smallwood ended his prolific career with 141 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Also in their last games wearing the Vandegrift jersey, Dawson completed 13-of-20 passes for 131 yards with one touchdown and two picks, and Merrifield hauled in five receptions for 75 yards and a score.

“Winning percentage, it’s the best season we’ve ever had. But I’m really proud of our guys. To go undefeated in our district. We go 10-0 in the regular season and then get to the third round. We wanted to prove that we belong in 6A and we’re slowly and surely doing that. We met up with a good team tonight, but I’m really, really proud of my guys,” Sanders said. “Hopefully we’ll continue to build on this. Tonight I’ll thank the seniors for all the stuff that they’ve done. I’m really proud of the senior class, and we’ll take a deep breath and start to go to work on Monday.”

Liberty Hill over Sealy 35-21

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

In a round of the playoffs that typically separates the men from the boys, Liberty Hill showed what it was made of. The Panthers overcame a disastrous play at the end of the first half and rattled off 21 unanswered points to beat Sealy 35-21 in the Class 4A Division I Region Semifinals Friday at Bastrop Memorial Stadium in Bastrop.

Sealy took a 21-14 lead into halftime after a 41-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from senior quarterback Garrett Zaskoda to sophomore wide receiver Hunter Clarke as the clock hit zero. A play like that can sometimes linger in the locker room and cause the team that gave it up to come out flat in the second half. But Liberty Hill showed maturity in brushing it off and punching back harder.

“I told them ‘A lot of teams come back from 35 down at half. Teams that are up 35 fall apart.’” said Liberty Hill coach Jeff Walker. “The halftime score, we just forgot it. I told them to get out there, just forget what the score is. Yea, they got a big play. So what? They can’t get them all night. Just keep playing and our kids did that… We got a lot of seniors that didn’t want to play their last football game. When you got that, you got a good chance.”

After trading two punts a piece to open the second half, Liberty Hill senior running back Kyle Harrison (21 carries, 253 yards, two touchdowns) found running room and dashed 56 yards down to the 10. That set up senior running back Shane Gonzalez (18 carries, 126 yards, one touchdown) to score on the next play and tie it at 21.

The defense forced a third straight punt on the ensuing drive. When the offense got the ball back, they went right back to what they do best: run that ball. The Panthers put it in the hands of Harrison, Gonzalez and senior Kristian Taggart (11 carries, 56 yards) for a 10-play, 53-yard touchdown drive that ended with Harrison finding paydirt from eight yards out.

“(The plan was to) keep the ball away from them and get in the end zone,” Walker said. “Unfortunately, we fumbled the football and had penalties that cost us. Other than that I thought we moved the ball well. We just didn’t do it consistent enough because we turned the ball over or we got called for holding. Penalties and turnovers got us, but other than that I thought we played well.”

Sealy thought it tied the game in the fourth quarter but a four-yard touchdown run was called back by holding. Two plays later Liberty Hill’s pass rush got to Zaskoda and forced an intentional grounding penalty. On fourth down, the pass rush got home again with senior Mason Ogle bringing down the quarterback for his third sack. The Panthers had five sacks as a team.

“I’m real proud of our defense. They stepped up in the second half and played outstanding. We knew they were able to do it,” Walker said. “We have a 6-foot-4, 225-pound (defensive end in Kory Schmidt) and a 6-foot-5, 260-pound (defensive end in Williams Baty) on the edge and (Schmidt) is real fast, and (Baty) is not slow so they give people some problems with match-ups. Defense played lights out.”

Liberty Hill junior quarterback Jacob Cearley didn’t throw a pass but ran seven times for 39 yards with two touchdowns – the second of which came from 26 yards out with 1:37 on the clock as he fooled the defense with a beautiful fake and bootlegged out for the walk-in score. Any hope of a mad comeback was dashed when Sealy fumbled the ensuing kick and Liberty Hill recovered.

 

Lake Travis knock out San Antonio Madison

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

Lake Travis senior wide receiver Garrett Wilson is back and badder than ever. The prodigal Ohio State pledge had eight catches for 169 yards with three total touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in the Cavaliers’ dominating 56-35 area round playoff win against San Antonio Madison Friday at Cougar Stadium in New Braunfels.

Wilson missed four of the five last regular season games with a back injury and his absence had started to cast doubts on Lake Travis’s state title aspirations. But he returned in time for the postseason and has looked spectacular with 313 yards in two playoff games, which means the Cavaliers are as dangerous as ever as they chase down a seventh state championship.

“Garrett’s incredible. There’s probably not another athlete like him in the country so we’re certainly better with him and he’s getting more and more back into shape,” said Lake Travis coach Hank Carter.

Lake Travis scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions to build a 35-14 halftime advantage. The first score came on the Cavs’ first offensive snap. After starting with the ball at Madison’s 28-yard line following a shanked punt off a three-and-out, the Cavaliers motioned Wilson out of the backfield into a diamond quad formation of receivers to the left, which took the Mavericks’ attention away from the right side and allowed junior quarterback Hudson Card to rumble that way for a long touchdown run. 

The Cavs second touchdown came off another short field thanks to a shanked punt following a three-and-out. Starting from the Mavericks’ 40, Lake Travis needed nine plays before finding pay dirt on a five-yard touchdown pass from Card to sophomore running back Weston Stephens. Card was wheeling and dealing all day, and finished 21-of-27 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while adding 57 yards and a score on the ground. Stephens led all rushers with 82 yards and a score on six carries as Lake Travis hit the 200-yard mark both on the ground and through the air.

“We started out fast and that was a goal,” Wilson said. “Once we start out fast, it’s really just on us from there. (Card) didn’t miss a lot of throws. We made some good runs. It was a really balanced attack, which made it easy.”

Wilson scored all three of his touchdowns in the second quarter. Wilson had been known for using his versatile athleticism to affect the game in a number of ways. He showed that off when he took a toss out of the backfield for a five-yard touchdown on the opening play of the second period. He also got an easy 39-yard touchdown catch on a trick play when the defense bit on a double pass and hauled in a 14-yard score and an inside-breaking route.

His best catch, however, came in the third quarter when he went over the top of his defender on a deep pass down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain to the two that set up a one-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Sean Brown-Nixon to make it 56-14.

“Once I see the ball – ‘it’s mine’ – that’s what’s going through my head,” Wilson said of his acrobatics catch in the third. “I see it go up there I got to get it.”

The 35 points given up by Lake Travis is a bit deceiving as three of the five touchdowns came with the outcome well in hand and some of the defensive starters standing on the sideline. Lake Travis’s pass rush was harassing Madison senior quarterback Dante Haeggins much of the day. Haeggans was taken down for three sacks and rushed out of the pocket a number of times. While the Cavs didn’t get a takeaway until the final seconds of the game, they did force seven three-and-outs.

Vandegrift beats Tomball Memorial 35-14

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

District championships are won in the regular season, but the greatest of high school football glories are achieved in the playoffs. After polishing off its first perfect season in school history last week, Vandegrift (11-0) took the previous sentence to heart and started the postseason with an exclamatory 35-14 win against a strong Tomball Memorial squad (8-3) in the bi-district round of the playoffs Friday at Monroe Stadium in Austin.

In what Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders called a “total team win,” the Vipers held the Wildcats 28 points below their season average and to 283 yards on 50 plays for 5.7 yards per play, while the offense totaled 488 yards on 60 plays for 8.1 yards per play in what was their greatest scoring output against a playoff team all season.

“They’re a good opponent,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “For us, we just needed to go out and play our game, and we did that. (I’m) really impressed… Offense was very good and defense was outstanding.”

The Vipers are used to getting outstanding performances from their defense, which ranks among the top in Central Texas, but it was the offense getting career-best performances from senior quarterback Dru Dawson and senior running back Isaiah Smallwood that allowed them to win by a comfortable 21 points.

Dawson threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions on 16-of-19 passing while adding 24 yards and a score on the ground. Smallwood pounded away for 180 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown.

“(Offensive balance) opens everything up,” Sander said. “When you can throw, then they start to widen and it allows you to run, or vice versa. When you start running, they hunker down, and it allows you to throw… I’m really proud of (Dawson). He threw the ball well… (We) protected well. We ran the ball well.”

A seven-yard run touchdown run by Dawson and 44-yard scoring dash by Smallwood gave Vandegrift a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Tomball Memorial cut the lead in half with a 19-yard touchdown scamper from sophomore quarterback Colton Marwill. 

The Vipers reasserted themselves, however, with two touchdown passes from Dawson to Trey Mongauzy (five catches, 76 yards). The first came in the final minute of the first half, the second in the opening minute of the second. 

The Wildcats got the deficit back down to 14 with a 19-yard touchdown connection between Marwill and senior Jordan Grice. But Vandegrift put the nail in the coffin when Dawson faked one of the short perimeter throws he had been completing all night, got the defense to bite and unleashed a beautiful 71-yard bomb which senior Brendon Bennett hauled in on the run for the game-sealing score.
Vandegrift senior Ryan Merrifield led all receivers with six catches for 105 yards. The Vipers will play Klein Collins in the area round next Friday at 1 p.m. at Waller.
 
“We’ve never made it past the second round in 6A. It’s right here in front of us” Sanders said. “We’re playing a very strong 6A team. Klein Collins has been one of the better 6A teams for probably the last eight years so this is a great matchup for us. If we really want to prove that we’re elite in 6A, because we said that’s one of our goals, we got to beat an elite team, and here we go.”

Bastrop over Glenn w/Elgin loss equals Bears Playoff Birth

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

Bastrop had too much on the line to fold following a disastrous start. After spotting Leander Glenn a 14-point lead in the first four minutes, the Bears stormed back with 35 unanswered on their way to a 42-28 victory Friday at Bastrop Memorial Stadium in Bastrop.

The win, combined with East View’s 38-7 conquest of Elgin, catapulted Bastrop into the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

“We preached it all week that we could play with Glenn,” said Bastrop coach Todd Patmon. “They’re a good team, not taking anything away from them. But we just felt like, we’re 4-0 at home, want to be 5-0 at home. We wanted to be 4-3 (in district). We wanted to be 6-4 (overall). That’s all we talked about. We didn’t talk about playoffs or anything like that. We said ‘we take care of our business. Everything else will take care of itself.’”

Bastrop’s first offensive play couldn’t have gone worse. After Glenn marched down the field for a touchdown on the opening possession, Bastrop junior quarterback Desmond Young had the ball slip out of his hand while winding up to throw. Glenn senior defensive lineman Jeff Francis Diaku recovered the fumble on the run and jaunted into the end zone to make it 14-0.

Less than six minutes later, however, the score was knotted up. Bastrop junior running back Jhe’Quay Chretin had 24 and 20 yard runs to set up a one-yard touchdown plunge by Young. Following a Glenn fumble, Chretin had a 24-yard run and Young completed a 13-yard pass to junior wide receiver Nathan Blair on third-and-six that led to four-yard score for Chretin.

Young had a 12-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter and Chretin found pay dirt on a 44-yard dash a minute before halftime to give the Bears a 28-14 lead into the break. But the Bears weren’t done there. Senior defensive end Zevon Burnett got a sack on fourth-and-five with Glenn inside Bastrop’s red zone. Four plays later on fourth-and-one from their own 35, Patmon elected to go for it and Young broke through the line on a QB power and blasted off for a 65-yard touchdown.

“(The quick, resounding response to the early deficit) talks about our kid’s character,” Patmon said. “Sometimes, we don’t get that label placed on us, but our kids showed character. They didn’t blink. They believe in the scheme and they just kept fighting.”

Glenn got back within seven on a pair of long touchdown drives that were aided by four unnecessary roughness of personal foul penalties by the Bears. But Bastrop regrouped and got a fourth down stop with less than four minutes to play, which was followed by a sharp four-play, 36-yard drive (all Chretin runs) that ended with an eight-yard score by Chretin to ice the game.

Young and Chretin’s gashing of Glenn’s usually stout defense was the biggest culprit in the Bears’ win. Young finished with 88 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and Chretin sliced up the Grizzlies for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 31 attempts.

“(Chretin is) amazing because everyone knows that’s who you come to stop,” Patmon said. “I’m so happy for him because he had a hamstring (injury) early in the year and now he’s just slowly starting to get healthy… (He has a) strong lower body. He has quick feet, and then he has a burst. He’s worked his tail off to get where he is. Our O-line has done a great job, and I tell you who else we forget about a lot is Eddie Brown, our H-back. He blocks for Jhe’Quay. He called that last play. It’s an awesome team win.”

Leander Glenn defeats Brenham

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

When preseason camp started in August, Leander Glenn coach Rob Schoenfeld made sure his team had no plans on settling. Yes, the Grizzlies were a first-year varsity program. But in no way did he think his team’s goal should been anything less than a district championship.

The players listened and buoyed by that belief became the first Austin-area school to win the district title in its inaugural season by beating Brenham 21-7 Friday at A.C. Bible Jr. Memorial Stadium in Leander.

“All of it,” said Glenn coach Rob Schoenfeld when asked how much of this accomplishment was based on belief. “That belief (is) not only on the field on Friday night. That belief has been the last three summers in the weight room with the phenomenal attendance and the accountability that they placed on each other and believing what we as coaches started this deal told them what could happen if you did this. If you deserve to win and you put in the effort commensurate with that, you can. Because we knew we had enough talent to do that, and like I said, all the credit goes to the kids because they believed it. They believed it and they worked it, and they worked the plan. They didn’t waver and the result right now is what it is.”

Glenn came swinging out of the gate with two consecutive touchdown drives to take a 14-0 lead roughly eight minutes into the game.

The first was a 12-play, 64-yard jaunt with 12 runs and no official pass attempts (though there was a helpful defensive pass interference on third-and-five) that ended with senior running back LaMont Slade finding the end zone from two yards out.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense scored again with a quicker five-play, 69-yard march (with no pass attempts) where junior running back Julian Morris got a great block on the edge and raced for a 35-yard touchdown. 

“We’ve started slow the last two games and after the way we started district that was frustrating,” Schoenfeld said. “We made a big point that we got to start fast. They believed it. They came out and executed it. We can talk about it and every play looks great on that whiteboard with a marker. Every play works. But it’s about 11 human beings smashing themselves against 11 other human beings, and that takes a lot of will and a lot of courage and a lot of love for each other, and I kind of just challenged them this week not to worry about last week (when we lost to Marble Falls) because it had no bearing on tonight, and I challenged them to commit and live up to our values, which one of them is (to) play for each other, and if you do that we’re going to be OK.”

That early cushion was enough as the Grizzlies’ physical defense took over from there and held Brenham to 191 yards on 50 plays for 3.8 yards per play.

The Cubs only score came on a short field in the second quarter where they started with the ball at Glenn’s 45-yard line and needed eight plays to find pay dirt with a five-yard run by junior Daylonn McCowan.

Glenn forced Brenham into five three-and-outs in the first three quarters and then got two key turnovers in the final period. 

On the inaugural play of the fourth quarter senior running back Tyree Jackson got popped and coughed up the ball in Grizzlies’ territory for it to be recovered be Glenn senior Sam Martin. 

Jackson, who came into the game hot with 527 yards and four touchdowns in his last three games, had to be helped off the field multiple times because of injuries and finished the game with only 47 yards on 13 carries.

Brenham drove the ball into Glenn territory one more time before Martin came up big again with the game-sealing interception that allowed the Grizzlies to run the final minutes off the clock.

“The defense did an outstanding job against some very talented players over there,” Schoenfeld said. “My impressions of Brenham all year long seeing them on film was, they look like Brenham. They look like a bunch of guys who grew up in a championship-pedigree program who are very athletic, fast, big. Everything that you need to be successful, they got. We knew going in preparation-wise that we were going to have to play our best game and the defense really stepped up… I felt like, defensively, we played great team defense. (We) swarmed to the football. We knew they were going to have their plays because they’re good. They’re well-coached and they’re talented and they got a great tradition. But we just kept on chopping and came out with it and I’m very proud of them.”

While Brenham struggled to get its run game going with just 101 yards on 28 carries for 3.6 yards per carry, Glenn enjoyed a splendid night in the rushing department with 322 yards on 61 totes for 5.3 yards per attempt.

Morris was featured the most with 20 carries for 103 yards but Slade (14 carries, 64 yards), junior Shamir Nichols (12 carries, 59 yards) and junior Rondrick Stubblefield (nine carries, 67 yards) were all sprinkled in and produced behind Glenn’s meat-grinding offensive line.

“Our offensive line did a great job of opening holes for the backs and the backs closed the deal,” Schoenfeld said. “We were the more physical team on both sides of the ball.”

Glenn junior quarterback Drew MaGuire completed 7-of-19 passes for 80 yards including a 18-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jarvis Henderson late in the third quarter.

“What a hard thing it was for kids who started out at Rouse as freshmen to be told, no choice, you’re going to a new school next year because of where you live,” Schoenfeld said. “You thought you were going to go to Rouse but you’re going to have to go to this new school, and for them to start this and believe they could get it done, I just can’t say enough about our kids, our parents, our community.”

Chaps “Shellacked” Rebels in District Route

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL. 1 Comment on Chaps “Shellacked” Rebels in District Route

Westlake raced out to a monster first quarter lead and never looked back in a 70-14 beat-down of Hays Friday at Chaparral Stadium in Austin.

The Chaps (7-1 overall, 6-0 District 25-6A) got three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Taylor Anderson and a pick-six from senior linebacker Ben Pankonien to build a 28-0 advantage in the opening period. 

From there, it was smooth sailing as the Chaps were able to empty the bench late in the third quarter of a game that was supposed to be more competitive.

“(Getting off to a strong start) is what we talked about all week because against a team like that you never know how often you’re going to get the ball back,” said Westlake coach Todd Dodge. “Every possession has got to be crucial. Sometimes, it’s running the ball, keeping the ball away from them. Tonight, it was we got the matchups we wanted in the passing game. We were able to exploit that.” 

Hays (7-1, 5-1) came into the game undefeated but had yet to play an opponent of Westlake’s caliber. The Chaps quickly put the Rebels back in their place.

Typically reliant on a stingy defense and powerful run game, Westlake decided to let loose on this night and Anderson threw for more yards (199) in the first quarter than he had in a single game all season.

He finished the evening 11-of-14 for 260 yards with five touchdowns and no turnovers. Senior wide receiver Mason Mangum led all pass catchers with five receptions for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Jackson Coker had two highlight-worthy scoring grabs in the first half and finished with three catches for 60 yards as the extra attention the Rebels gave to Westlake’s leading wideout, senior Penny Baker (two receptions, 14 yards), freed things up for his speedy teammates.

“They ran man coverage a lot, which can be effective if you have the defensive backs for it, but I don’t think any team has the defensive backs for our four wide receivers,” Anderson said. “If they try to double one guy and leave another guy in man coverage, it’s going to be a touchdown every time and I think tonight showed for that… (Mangum and Coker) are both track guys. They run 4.5s. They’re the fastest guys I’ve ever seen. I trust them every time beating a guy one-on-one even if he knows he’s going deep.”

Westlake’s defense proved ready for the challenge of Hays’ run-heavy offense as they forced five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumble recoveries), had four fourth-down stops and held Hays to 265 yards on 63 plays for 4.2 yards per play.

The first two turnovers were especially crucial. Hays had driven into the red zone on its first possession before senior safety Drew Webster got in the backfield and forced a botched exchange which he jumped on to extinguish the threat.

Down 21-0 late in the first period, Hays went away from its base slot-T look and instead threw the ball out of a shotgun, four-receiver set. The results, however, were catastrophic as Pankonien read the quarterback and stepped in front of his pass for a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown that felt like a Mike Tyson first-round knockout punch.

“All year long you watch (Hays) and they put 15, 16-play drives together, and you look up and the first quarter is over with. Hats off to our defense for not allowing that to happen,” Dodge said. “It helped that we played against a similar type of offense last week. We prepared for Del Valle and played that game, so I think that’s part of it. The second thing is we got a lot of veterans on defense. A lot of kids that got a lot of pride. A very intelligent bunch over there (that’s) very much in tune with what (defensive coordinator) Tony Salazar is putting into a game plan and we came out and executed.”