Lake Travis vs. Cedar Ridge Scrimmage

The real games don’t start until next week, but that doesn’t make what Lake Travis did to Round Rock Cedar Ridge Friday night any less impressive. The Cavaliers scored four touchdowns to the Raiders’ one in a scrimmage at Cavalier Stadium in Austin.

Each team ran 60-65 plays, and to no one’s surprise, Lake Travis senior wide receiver Garrett Wilson was the star of the show. The Ohio State pledge caught six balls for 184 yards and four touchdowns while being on the field for only half of his team’s offensive snaps.

Wilson showed his ability to high point the ball on Lake Travis’s third play when he out-leaped the defensive back on a slightly under-thrown deep ball for a 44-yard gain. On the next play, he flashed his aptitude to get yards after the catch with a ten-yard touchdown on a screen pass to the flat.

His third catch highlighted his route running and breakaway speed as he got behind his man on a deep post, caught the ball in stride and zoomed to the end zone for a 72-yard score. For his last grab, he used his physical prowess to outmuscle his defender for a 50-50 ball at the one-yard line and power through him for a 31-yard touchdown.

“It’s awesome,” said Lake Travis junior quarterback Hudson Card with a chuckle. “I know if I throw it up there he’s going to go get it. He’s a great target to throw to.”

Lake Travis has a new offensive coordinator in former University of Texas offensive quality control coach Will Stein, but things didn’t look much different. The Cavs No. 1 offense still threw it a ton, played at a quick pace and had no problems scoring.

Card completed 15-of-18 passes for 295 yards with four touchdowns (all to Wilson) and no interceptions. It somehow could’ve been better. Two of his incompletions were dropped passes on balls that were 30-plus yards down the field.

“It was good to get out here with all the guys and face someone other than our team,” Card said. “(The new offense) is a little different but we practiced a lot of it over the summer and obviously in fall camp so we’re all getting the hang of it and it’s going good so far.”

From the other perspective, Cedar Ridge’s defense may have some problems – especially on the backend. The Raiders lost 10 starters from a unit that allowed 18.2 points per game last year. The pass rush was still there with Texas State-bound Edgerrin Williams and others able to get pressure off the edge, but Lake Travis receivers found a lot of open space in the secondary.

Cedar Ridge’s only score came right off the bat. The first play of the exhibition saw speedy senior wide receiver Jaylen Ellis – a Baylor commit – get behind the defense on a play-action pass for a 66-yard gain. That set up a four-yard touchdown scamper on the next play by senior running back Duece Vaughn. But Ellis was quiet the rest of the scrimmage, and so too was the Raiders’ offense.

Lake Travis sophomore defensive lineman Raleigh Erwin had a sack, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hurry and a number of other stops that had the Lake Travis home crowd hollering his name. Junior linebacker Mauricio Trevion also seemed to be getting his nose in a lot of plays.

Though Lake Travis clearly outplayed its opponent, nothing from the scrimmage actually counts toward the 2018 season. Both teams will be 0-0 and favorites in their respective districts when the season kicks off Friday, Aug. 31. The Cavaliers open at Arlington Martin, and the Raiders at Temple. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m.