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Author: Steven Ryan

Hutto Thrash Cedar Park in Rain Game

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

Cedar Park’s 28-game district winning streak came to a resounding end Friday as it became the latest victim of Hutto’s deadly offense in a 65-21 thrashing at Hippo Stadium in Hutto.

Hutto senior quarterback Chase Griffin threw for 480 yards with six touchdowns and no turnovers on 23-of-29 passing in a game that was basically over at halftime.

“This isn’t just your average ballclub over there,” said Hutto coach Brad LaPlante. “This is Cedar Park. You’re talking 2012, 2015 state champs.”

Small but dynamic senior running back Chux Nwabuko scored four touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving) and had 131 total yards (70 on the ground, 61 through the air) on 19 touches (14 runs, five receptions). 

Senior wide receiver D.J. Baptist had his best game of the year with 227 yards and three touchdowns on five grabs. Fellow senior receiver Caleb Forrest added seven catches for 70 yards. 

“For Coach Kirklan, our offensive coordinator, it’s just a matter of time. We can dink and dunk and then finally we can get a matchup that we like, and then we can go for the home run ball,” LaPlante said. “Who are you going to defend? If you’re man-to-man over here, you might be zone over there. Fortunately, we’re good enough that we’re going to find that matchup.”

As good as the skill guys played, LaPlante made sure it was known none of it would’ve happened without some stout play from the offensive line.

“It starts with all that protection. There were a lot of passes over 50 yards tonight. You don’t do that without time,” LaPlante said. “At times they did a good job of catching us on a protection where they sent too many to one side, but we didn’t miss a lot of blocks up front.”

After trading touchdowns on their opening possessions, the Hippos went on a  38-7 run to finish the first half that sent most of the Timberwolves fans scrambling to their cars to get out of the rain and avert their eyes from the carnage.

Jacob Berry scored Hutto’s first defensive touchdown of the season with an interception return in the opening stanza off Cedar Park sophomore quarterback Ryder Hernandez. The Hippos held Hernandez to just 12 completions on 38 attempts as Cedar Park failed to reach five yards per play.

“I know the potential of this defense because I play against them every day,” Griffin said. “Going up against an offense, we’re sharp in practice, I feel betters them, and going up against a defense with a great front seven and defensive backs who have speed is a great test for us each week. So we get better. Iron sharpens iron, and it great walking out with that defense.”

It was a far cry from last year’s matchup, where Cedar Park sacked Griffin six times in a 35-25 win.

“We spent a whole another year working and that showed,” Griffin said. “We had confidence out training. As long as we rely on that each game and got out and execute a good gameplan, which we’ve been doing each week, we’ll come out victorious.”

Battle Of the Lakes – Westlake 41-14

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

Not many thought Westlake would beat six-time state champion Lake Travis for the second straight year. Not even the most fervent Westlake supporter would’ve predicted it to happen in a route. But that’s exactly what went down as the Chaps’ superior defense shut down the Cavaliers’ potent offense in a 44-14 win Friday at Chaparral Stadium in Austin.

Lake Travis turned the ball over three times, failed on three fourth-down attempts, mustered only 227 yards on 51 plays for 4.45 yards per play and scored on just one of 10 legitimate drives as Westlake proved last year was no fluke.

“Defensively, there was a belief. This time last year, we won 21-14, held this bunch scoreless in the second half and we believed that we could hold them to that kind of score,” said Westlake coach Todd Dodge. “I’ve got a defensive coordinator (Tony Salazar) who I wouldn’t trade for anyone in the state of Texas. Him and our defensive staff are great teachers of the game of football (on the) defensive side of the ball, and we’ve got a lot of veterans back from last year… and they’re all playing like they’ve played a lot of high school football.”

Westlake controlled the clock and used a couple trick plays to build a 20-7 halftime lead. The Chaps converted a fake punt on the opening drive that led to a 31-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Taylor Anderson to senior wide receiver Penny Baker (five catches, 52 yards) on a run-pass option they just installed that week.

They found the end zone in the second quarter on a clever call where Anderson rolled right, threw it backwards to the opposite side of the field for senior wide receiver Rhett Kelley, who then winded up and tossed a 36-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Jackson Coker (four catches 74 yards).

They also got a pair of field goals from senior kicker Gabe Lozano – one from 40 yards, the other from 38 at the halftime buzzer – and kept Lake Travis’s offense off the field by doubling them in time of possession and total plays.

Lake Travis still came out of halftime believing it could comeback and win, but those hopes took a serious hit when a miscommunication led to Lake Travis junior quarterback Hudson Card throwing to an area with no Cavalier receivers. Westlake senior safety Drew Webster, however, was in the area and turned it into a 61-yard interception return for touchdown that sent shockwaves throughout the stadium.

Card was intercepted again in the third quarter, this time by junior cornerback Leo Lowin, and Anderson dashed for a 64-yard touchdown three plays later to make it 34-7. Anderson added a 29-yard touchdown run in the final period to put the final nail in the coffin. While Card struggled most the night, the less heralded Anderson delighted his coaches with 321 total yards (158 passing, 163 rushing) and three total touchdowns.

“Taylor just continues to be the guy we’ve all known him to be,” Dodge said. “He is a fabulous, fabulous young football player.”

But the key to Westlake’s offense is that it’s a lot more than just Anderson. Senior running back Tripp Graham grinded for 74 yards on 28 carries behind an offensive line that played in complete unison, and the wide receivers repeatedly got open for Anderson downfield.

“Our offensive line continues to right before our eyes get better and better and better. Our wide receiver core is stepping up to make plays,” Dodge said. “We are starting to be an offense that is more difficult to defend by personnel. It’s just not just the Nakia Watson or Tripp Graham show. It’s not just the Taylor Anderson show. We’ve got about four or five skill guys that you’ve got to defend, and if you don’t they’ll make plays, and that’s what we did tonight.”

When Dodge first got to Westlake, his defensive game plans against Lake Travis centered around a heavy blitz package. Last year they decided to rush just three or four and focus more on coverage, which worked. They went with a similar plan again because he was afraid of the more mobile Card shaking off tacklers and creating problems. The secondary rotation of junior Sage Luther, senior Doak Wilson, Webster, Lowin, senior Peyton McDonnel and sophomore Lucas Mireur stepped up the plate and held Card to 4.3 yards per attempt. 

They even found a way to quiet superstar senior wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who got behind the defense for an early 42-yard score on a flea flicker, but was held to just six grabs for 31 yards the rest of the night. He did have a 101-yard kickoff return for touchdown, though.

“(Card) is a really, really good quarterback, and he’s going to be a really great quarterback but this was his first time that he played against us and Tony (Salazar) did a great job mixing things up and giving different looks and we were able to capitalize on some errant throws,” Dodge said. “(Limiting Wison was) a huge deal because people had been double-teaming, triple-teaming him all year and he’s still been making plays.”

Hutto Exploits Georgetown

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

Hutto coach Brad LaPlante knows he has a special team with high aspirations. That’s why when asked how he felt about his team’s 38-14 win against Georgetown Friday at Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex in Georgetown, LaPlante didn’t exactly bask in victory.
“I would like to think we would’ve played better,” LaPlante said. “I’m going to give all the credit in the world to Georgetown, but there were times we didn’t play well enough on defense or offense. You saw it. Running backs and receivers running into each other. Those aren’t things that we normally do.”
The critiques may seem harsh for an undefeated team coming off a 24-point win. But LaPlante is aware it takes better efforts than that to win state championships. He’s not judging his squad by the scoreboard. He’s judging his squad against perfection.
Though LaPlante sees plenty to chew on in practice next week, most fans left happy after seeing their team win easily against an opponent they needed a last-second field goal to beat the year before. Senior Chase Griffin threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-27 passing.
His second touchdown pass came on a three-play, 68-yard drive that lasted about 30 seconds to end the half. He started it with a 26-yard dart down the right sideline to senior running back Chux Nwabuko, then threw a wide receiver screen to junior Dajon Harrison for 21 yards and capped it with a beautiful 21-yard toss to senior D.J. Baptist on a go route. The late score gave Hutto a comfortable 28-7 entering the break.
“When you get the ball at the end of the half, some people are afraid to screw up,” LaPlante said. “We have full trust in our quarterback that he’s going to make good choices. So when you have somebody that’s either going to run it and slide for a seven-yard gain, throw the ball away or make the throw like he did to Chux down the sideline to get us going, you can call higher risk plays… When you have a good decision-maker, it’s easier to be more aggressive.”
Senior Caleb Forrest led all receivers with eight grabs for 104 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown to get the scoring going in the first quarter. Nwabuko rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries and added 22 yards on four catches. 
Griffin called his own number for two scores on the ground – one from five yards out in the second quarter and the other from nine yards out in the third. He worked with Nwabuko’s dad in the offseason to improve his speed and its added another dimension to his game. After rushing for just 65 yards and three touchdowns last year, he already has 106 yards and five scores in less than half as many games.
“Rick alluded to the question of ‘what do we need to do to get to state?’ We need to be more versatile in our offense,” LaPlante said. “You can’t drop back against the Cedar Parks and throw the ball 51 times a game. So when you have three good running backs, five or six good wide receivers, well now, they have to worry about Chase running the ball? 
“That is an added element. So credit him No. 1 for getting faster and working on it, but No. 2 we realize that’s just one more way we’re dangerous.”
After surrendering 30-plus points in each of its first three games, Hutto’s defense has now held two straight opponents to 14. Georgetown gained only 319 yards on 62 plays for 5.1 yards per play. The Hippos blew a coverage on a fake wide receiver screen that left senior Noah Drum wide open for a 44-yard touchdown, but other than that points were tough to come by. Hutto’s young-but-talented defensive line of sophomore Landyn Watson, junior Lordswill Uwa and sophomore Braylon Sugg caused problems for the Eagles’ offense and allowed the rest of the Hippo defense to drop back into coverage and defend the pass.
“You saw (No.) 21 Landyn Watson. There was a time eight out of ten plays where he took over that game. That’s how good of a player he can be when he figures out he’s better than the kid across from him,” LaPlante said. “All three of those guys. We have a junior and two sophomores, so we’ve got a couple years with that good front left. (Watson) is the leader of that pack and his motor brings more intensity to those other kids.”

Knights stuff Texans

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

Regents had its 26-game regular season win streak snapped last week by San Antonio Central Catholic. But the Knights didn’t let that get them down. Instead, they learned from the defeat and used it as fuel to start a new run of victories in a 48-13 demolition of Wimberley Friday at Knights Stadium in Austin. 
“We had a great practice week this week, but we had a great practice week last week,” said Regents coach Beck Brydon with his dry sense of humor. “The lesson there is just because you have a good practice week, doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good Friday night. But I think that the focus was a little sharper this week. We just went back to fundamentals and basics on a lot of things… We stripped down our playbook quite a bit this week. We used a lot of basic stuff and we repped a lot of basic stuff over and over and over again to ensure that what we did last week was not going to be repeated tonight.”
Regents doesn’t often get the chance to play a public school. The Knights last game against such a program was Florence in 2011. So when two-time state champion and 2017 Class 4A Div. I state semifinalist Wimberley came to town, five-time private school state champion Regents took advantage of the opportunity with 31 unanswered points to finish out the game.
“I think we were extremely motivated, especially after last week. We really didn’t play a clean game, played super sloppy, and them being a public school, and a bigger school, just totally motivated us even more to focus up, lock down and get our stuff right this week. I’m really proud about how everyone played and responded this week,” said junior quarterback Wilson Long. “We never want to lose, but in a way it was what we needed. I think we had gotten a little bit too high on ourselves. I think it was a good reminder that we’re human. We make mistakes, too. We’re not perfect, obviously, and I think that was just a great way to reset our focus.”
Long guided the offense with 262 total yards – 93 on the ground and 169 through the air. He completed 11-of-20 passes with a 14-yard scoring toss to senior wide receiver Jackson Mountain. Junior running back Andrew Adams added 114 yard and three touchdowns on eight totes.
“He’s a special player,” Brydon said of Long. “He’s got a great arm. He’s most dangerous with his feat, and he had a great game. With him, it’s shotgun for us on any given play, something special can happen and we know that.”
The defense held Wimberley scoreless for the last 32 minutes of play as the Texans mustered only a shade above four yards per play. Junior defensive lineman Dru Benson had back-to-back sacks at a crucial point in the third quarter that tilted the momentum decidedly in the Knights’ favor
“Really proud of (the defense),” Long said. “They played a great game. They really just stuffed them, gave us a chance. They played a great game like they usually do… Love those guys.”

Vipers Strike Hawks in Win

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

Many pundits thought the District 13-6A title would be decided between Pflugerville Hendrickson and Round Rock Cedar Ridge on Oct. 12. But that game might not matter at all after Vandegrift followed last week’s win against Cedar Ridge with a 29-20 upset of highly-touted Hendrickson Friday at The Pfield in Austin.
“All I know is we’re 2-0,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “We’re just going to take them one at a time but that’s a really good team we beat… so that’s a great feeling.”
The Vipers had fourth down at the Hawks’ nine-yard line with a six-point lead and barely more than two minutes remaining when a lightning delay sent the teams to the locker room for more than an hour.
Sanders kept his team fresh by feeding them Uncrustables and bananas and senior kicker Tim Barney kept his mind off the potential game-icing field goal by listening to rap music, specifically XXX.
Barney got to practice the kick from the exact spot during the 10-minute warm-up period in between the end of the delay and the resumption of play, and then calmly sent the 26-yard attempt through the uprights to send the few Vandegrift fans that stayed through the delay into a frenzy.
“Obviously (the kick) was on my mind (during the delay) but I was just sitting there, listening to music trying to get my mind right,” Barney said. “It felt amazing just to seal that win. It was a great win. We’re 4-0 now so we’re just going to keep it rolling.”
Hendrickson’s defense suffocated its first two opponents – Texarkana Texas High and Round Rock Westwood – in dominating victories. But Vandegrift found a way to handle the Hawks’ nasty unit.
The connection between junior quarterback Dru Dawson and senior wide receiver Ryan Merrifield was working all night. Dawson completed 17-of-24 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. Nine of those completions – including the touchdown – went to Merrifield for 144 yards.
“Coaches put in a great game plan and we had a great week of practice and we knew what we were doing and executed really good,” Dawson said. “Everyone just brought their A-game today. Even though we were playing Hendrickson, we stayed locked in the whole game and I’m just super proud of our team.”
While playmakers tend to get the headlines, nothing would have worked without the exemplary play of the offensive line who kept Dawson upright against a terrifying pass rush and did enough in the run game to help senior running back Isaiah Whitehead gain 65 yards on 24 carries, including a 28-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“Their defensive line is tremendous,” Sanders said. “When you look at the size of those guys and how hard they play. They’re well coached. So (I’m) just really impressed with our ability to just move the ball some against them, and overall I thought we did well and we had very sustained drives, too.”
The Hawks aren’t the types to make excuses, but it was clear they didn’t bring their A-game. They had a number of back-breaking penalties including a roughing the holder that gave Barney a second chance to ice the game after missing a 38-yard attempt. They also turned the ball over five times while Vandegrift didn’t give it up once. 
One of those turnovers was an unprovoked fumble near the end of the half that was picked up by Vandegrift junior defensive back Ryan Arnold and returned 27 yards for a touchdown that made it 23-6. Hendrickson also fumbled a snap on fourth-and-one from its own 19 in the fourth quarter. That play didn’t count as a turnover because it was recovered by the Hawks, but nonetheless gave the Vipers the short field they needed to hit the game-clinching field goal.
“We call them takeaways because we forced their hand on that. We did some run stunts that they hadn’t seen before so I’m proud of our guys for executing what we worked on all week,” Sanders said. “The biggest difference in the game tonight was our defense. We consistently did what we needed to do.”

Cav’s Defeat Bowie

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

Bowie is one of the best teams in Austin, but Lake Travis is one of the best teams in the state. The Cavaliers showed the distinction between the two in a 42-21 route Friday at Burger Stadium in Austin.

The game was more lopsided than the final score would indicate. Lake Travis junior quarterback Hudson Card threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns on 15-of-19 passing and added a 33-yard score on the ground as the Cavaliers built a 42-7 lead before pulling the starters at halftime.

“I’m really happy with how the offense handled against their No. 1 defense in the first half,” said Lake Travis coach Hank Carter. “That was exciting to see. We ran the ball. We completed some big throws. (We) had a couple of procedural penalties, which we got to clean that up. That’s an unforced error. But other than that really proud of who the offense responded. Special teams units were hit or miss. Our coverage units have got to be better. We’re not where we need to be there… But (we’re) 1-0 in district and that was the goal so that was a great job by our kids tonight.”

Superstar senior wide receiver Garrett Wilson got Lake Travis rolling early. He reversed the field on a wide receiver screen for a 32-yard gain on the second play from scrimmage and capped the opening drive with a 25-yard touchdown grab less than two minutes into the game.

He also caught an intermediate pass in the second quarter and cut it up the field of an 87-yard touchdown to finish with five receptions for 172 yards, and threw an 11-yard score on a double-pass. 

But he was not the only Lake Travis playmaker who go involved in the action as junior wide receiver Kyle Eaves and junior tight end Grayson Sandling each matched Wilson’s catch total. Eaves caught five balls for 94 yards with a score and Sandlin hauled in five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. 

“If we’re going to accomplish our goals this year it can’t be about any one or two guys,” Carter said. “It’s got to be a team effort and I was very proud of how Coach Stein and the offensive staff took what the defense gave us tonight. Hudson spread the ball around and did a great job of it. That’s who we’re going to have to play.”

Bowie marched down the field on its opening possession and tied the game at seven with a nine-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Trinidad Sanders.

But Lake Travis held the Bulldogs scoreless on their next seven drives, which is a good sign for a defense that struggled to start last season. The Cavs allowed 141 points in their first three games of 2017. After allowing only seven first downs in the opener to an Arlington Martin team that averaged 45 points per game last year, this is more proof the Lake Travis is better on that side of the ball.

“I thought our defense responded after the first drive. (Bowie) put a great drive together, went down and scored, and after that we made some adjustments and our kids just settled down and just played better,” Carter said. “Last year we had a ton of kids that started and were first-time varsity players or first-time players at that possession. So we have a little more experience so that helps and I think this collection of kids has responded. They’ve heard it from me and our staff all offseason and all summer and all fall camp that we have to play better defense. Hopefully, we’ll continue that trend.”

Bowie was playing without highly-coveted senior wide receiver Elijah Higgins for the third straight game because of a hand/wrist injury. The Bulldogs took another big hit on the medical front when Sander hurt his knee in the third quarter. Sanders was key to the team’s 2-0 start and gained 107 total yards (68 passing, 39 rushing) before leaving the game.

Hippos edge out Panthers in OT Thriller

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

Some games neither team deserves to lose. Friday’s non-district clash between Liberty Hill and Hutto at Hippo Stadium in Hutto, TX, was one of those games.
The Panthers and Hippos went punch-for-punch in a high-scoring bonanza before a two-point conversion stop in overtime gave Hutto the 52-51 win.
“We knew we were going to have a hard time stopping them,” said Hutto coach Brad LaPlante. “That team will play four or five rounds deep (in the playoffs). But I hope that’s also a sign that we’ll play four of five rounds deep, too. It’s not that their defense was bad. It’s not that our defense was bad. We’re two really good offensive football teams.”
Hutto had the ball at Liberty Hill’s 18-yard line with an eight-point lead and barely more than five minutes to go after senior linebacker Hunter Blair recovered a fumbled snap by the Panthers. A score likely would’ve put it away, but the Hippos gave it right back when senior running Chux Nwabuko fumbled a swing pass on the next play.
Liberty Hill took advantage of its second life with a 12-play, 66-yard drive that ended with junior quarterback Jacob Clearly sneaking it in from one yard out with 23 seconds left. Still needing a two-point conversion to tie, senior running back Shane Gonzalez powered through the Hippo defense to reach the end zone and silence a Hutto crowd that was getting increasingly raucous throughout the second half.
Hutto scored on the opening possession of overtime when senior quarterback Chase Griffin placed a perfect pass on the right cornerback’s back shoulder and senior wide receiver Caleb Forrest made the necessary adjustment for the 15-yard touchdown. Liberty Hill scored on its first overtime possession, too, with an 11-yard touchdown run from senior Kyle Harrison.
Rather than take the extra point and force another overtime, however, Liberty Hill coach Jeff Walker decided to go for the win. He called for a handoff to senior running back Connor Kuykendall, but the handoff was awkward and Hutto’s defense collapsed on the ball and made the game-saving stop at the one-yard line to send its sideline and crowd into a euphoric eruption.
“Well, you call a timeout, settle your kids down. Whatever else happened, it doesn’t matter to that point. If we can make one play, game’s over,” LaPlante said. “We just needed that one stop.”

Griffin completed 30-of-44 passes for 455 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions as he continues to make his case for best quarterback in the state. His top target was Forrest, who hauled in 10 grabs for 230 yards and four touchdowns. Nwabaku took six carries for 31 yards and added seven catches for 52 yards with a 16-yard score. Junior wide receiver Dajon Harrison had six receptions for 76 yards and rushed for 31 yards on three jet-sweeps.
“Offensively, I think I did a good job, along with the receivers, O-line and the running backs of just sticking to what we know,” Griffin said. “We know that we can take five yards and turn it into ten yards with our playmakers. Kudos to the O-line and kudos to all the playmakers who really extended yards after catch… They don’t blitz a whole bunch. They’re very steady. But we saw we had some athletic advantages on the outside so just kept on trying to get the ball to the perimeter.”
Liberty Hill racked up 585 total yards, with 531 of those coming on the ground, as its Slot-T offense flummoxed Hutto’s defense with its bevy of fakes and misdirections. 302 of those yards came on 21 carries from Harrison, who scored five touchdowns. Kuykendall also hit the century mark with 113 yards on 15 totes. Gonzalez plugged away for another 87 yards on 17 attempts.
“You don’t prepare for a team like that every week,” LaPlante said.  “Our defense can stop our offense in practice. They feel really good. They have a lot of confidence. They have to understand what they’re going against in that machine, and just the different type of offense that of these kids may have never seen. Maybe youth football, fourth grade. Some of them, they haven’t seen it, and that’s OK. That’s why you didn’t see our coaches get down. We kept on playing… and eventually, we got what we needed.”

Vipers strike Wolves in Cedar Park opener

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

There’s been a lot made about Cedar Park’s ‘Black Rain’ defense, and rightfully so. The Timberwolves have fielded one of Central Texas’s best defensive units for some time now. But on Friday at John Gupton Stadium in Austin, the Vandegrift resistance stole the show.
Missing its most experienced defender, the Vipers pitched a first-half shutout, gathered two interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown –  and held the Timberwolves to 251 yards on 56 plays (4.5 yards per play) in a convincing 29-13 season-opening win.
“Hey, it was our defense that showed up to play. That was from the very get-go,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “They talk a lot about Black Rain, but I’m really impressed with the Vandegrift defense tonight.”
Vandegrift used a defensive strategy it had never ran against Cedar Park, which helped mask that is what playing without senior linebacker Spencer Jones, who made 136 tackles (11 for a loss) and five sacks last year.
The tweak was going with three-man fronts instead of even looks, and the Timberwolves looked utterly confused as they tried to dissect it. Senior quarterback Ryan Fiala, who came into the game with much hype, completed just 4-of-11 passes for 55 yards with two interceptions before being pulled late in the second quarter. Each of his last seven throws either fell to the turf or ended up in the hands of the defense.
“I think we’ve got a great defensive line,” Sanders said. “We probably have six guys that can all play at a very high level. We rotated them all tonight. That was the difference. We didn’t get tired as the game went on. I’m just so dang proud of our defense because we always kind of take a back seat. It was really nice to see our defense show up tonight.”
The game was deadlocked at zero for most the first half before two quick touchdowns gave Vandegrift a 14-0 lead going into the break. Junior quarterback Dru Dawson completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy on a slant with 4:27 to go. About a minute later, senior cornerback Reese Watson intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards for another score.
“We schemed it very well. I knew I had to make a play on the ball to help my team just win,” Watson said. “It was absolutely amazing. We definitely set up our offense. Gave them confidence. Gave our whole team more confidence… We still have corrections to do and we still have work to do, but this means that this team can go really, really far.”
Dawson and Mongauzy hooked up again in the third quarter when Mongauzy got wide open for a 31-yard score to make it 22-0. Cedar Park got back within two possessions on the opening play of the fourth quarter when sophomore quarterback Ryder Hernandez (8-of-18, 98 yards, two touchdowns, 32 yards rushing) rolled to the right and threw a 12-yard scoring strike on the run to an open Carson Neel (five catches, 61 yards, two touchdowns).

But Dawson iced the game with a 19-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to senior running back Brandon Bennett with 3:02 to go. Dawson finished 8-of-13 for 111 yards with no interceptions and added 35 yards on the ground.
“(Dawson was) unbelievable, and he came back actually from kind of a so-so performance against Belton (in the scrimmage) and that shows his character or strength,” Sanders said. “He came back and that fourth down play to seal it (was a) beautiful pass. He was wide open. That’s hard to do as a junior (in your) first time starting in this game.”

Taco Shack Bowl

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

Anderson and McCallum came into the 2018 Taco Shack Bowl with the series tied 8-8.  It’s only fitting that a rivalry that’s been so competitive delivered an all-time classic to break the tie.

McCallum overcame a 13-point deficit in the final minutes to shock Anderson 21-20 in front of a packed crowd at House Park Thursday in Austin to kick off the high school football season.

“Give a ton of credit to these kids,” said McCallum coach Thomas Gammerdinger. “That was unbelievable. (For) an inexperienced group to play like that (is) absolutely unbelievable. (They had) poise and composure. Very, very impressed with this group of young men.”

With about eight minutes left, Anderson faced fourth-and-goal at the two nursing a 20-7 lead. In a decision the proved fateful, the Trojans elected to go for the kill but were stuffed at the one.

McCallum followed with a 99-yard touchdown drive that included a 47-yard burst from junior quarterback Cole Davis and was capped with a 16-yard touchdown run off a jet sweep by junior wide receiver Darius Lewis.

“Holding them on fourth down was big,” Gammerdinger said. “We just kept poised. Man, I kept telling them, ‘just keep competing.’ At halftime, these guys were cool. They understood it’s a long game and we felt like we played a really, really good game, and we just got some breaks to kind of not go our way. Some big plays, some missed tackles, and we just stayed the course and kept chipping, and knew eventually a couple things would break our way. That’s exactly what happened.”

The big game-changer happened on the ensuing drive when McCallum sophomore defensive lineman Connor Boggs sliced through the line and delivered a clean, bone-rattling hit that knocked the ball loose and had Anderson’s running back seeing stars. Junior Alvino Carvajal recovered the fumble, which gave the Knights a short field and a chance to take the lead.

The offense capitalized three plays later with a 17-yard touchdown run by junior running back Jalen Sutton. When Boggs and Carbajal combined for a fourth-down sack on Anderson’s final possession, the two teams’ fates were set. The Knights kneeled the clock out and celebrated like kids after the game.

“It feels great. I’m so happy. I just never gave up and I really believed in my teammates, and I’m glad we got the job done,” Boggs said while cradling the Taco Shack Bowl trophy in his arms. “(On the forced fumble) we got a slant call so I just bit the B-gap and I saw the quarterback hand it off to him and knew that I had him right there, and I just laid a hit on him. All I saw was him fall down, and I looked over, saw my boy Alvino get the ball, and I was just so excited.”

Davis finished with 208 total yards (140 rushing, 68 passing) and Sutton totaled 117 yards on 19 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown in the first half to go with his game-winning score.

For Anderson, season-opening losses don’t get much tougher than that. Junior quarterback Carsten Groos completed 8-of-12 passes for 122 yards and two scores. 

His second touchdown pass was an RPO throw to the flat where senior running back Coy Fullmer somehow managed to stay on his feet while fighting through three McCallum defenders and turn a short gain into a 32-yard score. Fullmer also had 66 yards on 16 carries, including a 40-yard touchdown dash early in the third quarter.

Senior fullback Tondrict Givens rumbled for 93 yards on 10 totes but couldn’t punch it in on fourth-and-goal in the final frame. Junior running back Rivas Wheatley gained 77 total yards (40 rushing, 37 receiving) and scored Anderson’s first touchdown on a 24-yard reception where most the yards came after the catch. But he also had the costly fumble that set up McCallum for its game-winning score.

Coach Dodge of Westlake

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

Q: You’re on the most respected coaches in the state. You could probably coach any school in any city but you choose to coach here at Westlake in Austin. What do you love most about coaching at Westlake and living in Austin?
A: My favorite part about coaching at Westlake is just the great tradition that this place has. I love being at places that have tremendous tradition. There have been a lot of great players and a lot of great coaches that have come before us. Just like we did when we were at our run at Southlake Carroll, we wanted to make sure that we honor what came before us by continuing to raise the bar and making sure that we’re keeping this program in the very top five to ten teams in the state of Texas year-in, year-out. It’s not just a team very year. It’s a program that people have built around here and we want to continue to do that.
Q: One of my favorite parts about covering you last year was seeing the extra respect you paid to your opponents after games. After the Niceville (Fla.) game, you brought all the Niceville kids together and thanked them for coming to Texas. After the Lake Travis game, you went up to (Lake Travis quarterback) Matthew Baldwin and gave him a few extra words of encouragement. Why do you go out of your way to do that and how do you feel about the state of sportsmanship today>
A: One of the things is we want our players always to absolutely respect our opponents. We’re going to prepare extremely hard over the course of the week. We’re going to study them. We’re going to know everything that we can about them. One thing that I think is the biggest form of flattery is that you respect your opponent, and you prepare as hard as you possibly can. The one thing that we want to always make sure that never happens is we don’t get beat because we disrespected someone. As far as the stuff after the games, I take a lot of pride in being in the brotherhood of high school football in the state of Texas. This is something very special. Just because you’re not on the same team doesn’t mean your not in the same brotherhood, and so when the game is over with I want our players, I want our coaches to show respect to the people that we played against. I’ve always got something to say. We’ve been watching them all week long and want to encourage those guys for the rest of the year and let them know what we think about them, that they did a good job, and that’s just something that hopefully will permeate through our entire team.
Q: How you do feel senior quarterback Taylor Anderson has grown since he was first thrust into the starting role as a young sophomore?
A: Taylor is a veteran now. Taylor has started 22 games for us. Probably no one ever expected him to start seven games as a sophomore but we were 6-1 in the starts that he had as a sophomore. Obviously, last year, led us to a 14-1 season. It’s not even close. He is truly an outstanding leader because of his toughness and the one thing about Taylor, Taylor is a guy willing to do whatever it takes for his football team. I think the epitome of mental toughness was in last year’s Lake Travis game. He had a really bad first half as far as production. He threw three interceptions in the first half, and a lot of guys could’ve gone in the tank right there. He comes in at halftime and tells his teammates, ‘hey guys, y’all keep playing. I’m going to be alright. I’m going to get my stuff together.’ He rushed for about 125 yards, a couple touchdowns in the second half, led us to a victory. So that’s who he is. There are a lot of dual-threat quarterbacks in the state of Texas right now. He’s one of them. He’s a guy who rushed for 1,100 and threw for 3,000 (yards) last year and he accounted for about almost 50 touchdowns.
Westlake at Pflugerville 2017
Q: What do you think makes Tony Salazar such a special defensive coordinator?
A: He comes from a great lineage of defensive coaches. He learned under Pete Fredenburg and the guys at Mary Hardin-Baylor that play tremendous defense. He’s very intelligent, very passionate. He’s a guy that’s a tremendous teacher of the game. A lot of times people don’t equate coaches as teachers. We’re all teachers. It’s just our classroom when we’re coaching football is a little bit different. It’s out here in the open. It’s here between the white lines. But Tony is (somebody) I wouldn’t trade for anybody in the world.
Q: Name one player that lot of guys might not know but you think has had a great preseason camp and could potentially turn some heads this season?
A: A guy that a lot of people probably haven’t heard of yet or is not a household name is Drew Webster. Drew played a bunch of football for us last year but he wasn’t a starter at safety. He played enough to almost be a starter. So on the defensive side of the ball, it’s him. On the offensive side of the ball, I think that Tripp Graham – our running back – is going to surprise a lot of people in the replacing of Nakia Watson.