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Tag: Drew Sanders

Vandegrift Football off to great Start

Written by Tucker Stephenson on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The Vandegrift Vipers have already served notice to the rest of Class 6A that their program is an up-and-coming powerhouse in Central Texas.

While most teams hang their hats on an explosive air-raid attack or a dominant running game, Vandegrift is taking the opposite approach. Head coach Drew Sanders’ Vipers have become known for their suffocating defense, which has led to three district championships in the past four seasons.

Defeating Cedar Park this season 42-7 in week 1, Killeen Ellison 31-14 in Week 2 and San Angelo Central 45-13 in week 3 the vipers kicked off district play with a defeat of Stony Point 56-21 off to a 4-0 start.

During the pandemic-riddled 2020 campaign, Vandegrift finished second in District 25-6A behind a resurgent Round Rock team that stunned the state by taking out Lake Travis in the first round of the 6A Division I postseason. This year, Sanders and his retooled defense will look to regain their form following a fourth-round playoff exit against Hays in early January.

The Vipers graduated each of their top five tacklers from last season, but there’s no shortage of depth for Vandegrift. Along the front line, senior defensive end Tucker Harrison returns after a stellar year in 2020 that saw him register 79 tackles, five sacks and four forced fumbles en route to earning all-state honorable mention. Harrison will likely be joined at the point of attack by junior Oliver Yndo, senior Sterling Emerson, senior Lucas Cummings and senior Cristion Davis.

The linebacking corps will search for replacements for the trio of Austin Skoglund, Logan Arnold and Michael Mastrodicasa, who combined to make 342 total stops in 2020 while finishing as the team’s top three tacklers. 

However, there’s plenty of experience back in the secondary, which is led by senior Jaxon Oliver, senior Griffin Shaffer, senior Clayton Moore and versatile senior Reece Beauchamp, who might see more time on offense in 2021. Oliver tied for the team lead in interceptions last year with three.

Vipers Defense in 2020 gang tackel a Round Rock Dragon runner in last years game.

Beauchamp could end up taking the reins for 2021 graduate Ryan Back at quarterback — or perhaps it will be junior Brayden Buchanan. Whichever player settles into the signal caller role will allow the other to become an instant play-maker in a different spot, whether it be at wide receiver or in another position. 

The starting running back job appears locked up, as senior Ryan Sheppard returns after leading the team with 922 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. Sheppard is also a reliable receiver out of the backfield, as he made 13 catches a year ago.

Along the O-line, the Vipers will reload with one of the top groups in District 25-6A despite seeing only one starter — Ethan Barnard — return. Barnard is set to move from guard to center as a senior, and help is expected to be provided up front by senior Juan Gutierrez, senior Luke Collins and junior Ian Reed, who is a budding collegiate prospect at tackle.

When league play rolls around, the Vipers will look to battle past Round Rock and reclaim their familiar perch as district champs. Challenges from Hutto, Stony Point and Cedar Ridge are also expected, but Sanders’ team looks to have the inside track in the race for 25-6A’s top spot.

Vandegrift’s first 11 seasons of varsity competition have yielded an overall record of 94-40, and the Vipers’ 4-6 campaign back in 2010 — the program’s inaugural year — remains the lone losing season in school history. 

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.”

Vipers beat Raiders

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

This story has been written before, and will likely be written again. Vandegrift’s mighty defense went up against a high-scoring offense, and like it usually does in these situations, shut it down. The Vipers used a solid game plan, maximum effort and near-flawless execution to keep Vista Ridge (4-1) off the scoreboard for the first two-and-a-half quarters in a 31-12 win Friday at John Gupton Stadium in Leander, TX.

“We knew we’d be depending on our defense tonight,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “We felt it was strength versus strength because they came in averaging over 40 points a game and for us to do what we did tonight, shut them out in the first half really I thought set a tone to our guys. We had a great week of work. We didn’t play particularly well last week in a win over Hendrickson and everybody kind of got down on us. I think the kids took that personal, came out and played really well tonight.”

The outcome might’ve been different if not for some costly mistakes by the Rangers. Vista Ridge marched down the field on its opening drive before Vandegrift stiffened up right before the goal line. Facing 4th & goal from the 1, the Rangers surprised the Vipers with a perfectly drawn up pass play. The execution fell short, however, as the wide receiver dropped a ball that hit him right in the numbers. On the ensuing possession, Vandegrift punched the reeling Rangers right in the mouth with junior running back Bowen Lewis (23 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD) breaking loose for a 48-yard score.

“We worked all week on our train check,” Sanders said, “which is the adjustment to their big, heavy set, and we executed it to perfection, and so I was really pleased to see that. It was first & goal from the 1, and it just shows a lot of guts on our defense to, first of all, do what you’re coached to do and then stop them four downs in a row. Huge credit to our defense, just unbelievable heart.”

The Rangers also had two back-breaking mistakes on special teams and a pair of lost fumbles, while Vandegrift played a clean game with zero turnovers and only two penalties. Vista Ridge had a deep snap sail over its punters head to set-up a five-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Ryan Sheppard to open the second quarter. 

“That’s kind of what our defense does, it makes plays, and then our offense is opportunistic, and it’s also very specific and organized, and they do a great job of making the plays count,” Sanders said. “We’re not a super explosive offense, but we’re a very efficient offense that gets things done and it’s a recipe for winning ball games… I don’t know how people view us, but I think as I look at my own team I see us as a team that plays really sound, fundamental football. We don’t make many mistakes. We play good defense, we play efficient offense, we play solid special teams, and I think we’re a tough out for anybody we play.”

A lost fumble later in the period gave the Vipers another short field, which they took advantage of as senior quarterback Dru Dawson (8-for-13, 82 pass yards, 2 TDs, 48 rush yards) hooked up with senior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy for a 14-yard score. Vista Ridge opened the second half with another botched punt snap. The Vipers scored three plays later with Dawson finding Mongauzy (3 catches, 46 yards, 2 TDs) again to make it 31-0 and send the more casual fans scrambling to their cars.

“We get a great week of work in. We trust our coach’s game plan. They work really hard to put a great game plan in and we stay locked into the game. Good things happen when we stay locked in,” said senior defensive end Matthew Graham. “We (the defensive line) are not the biggest, but we play really hard, we believe in each other, we believe in our D-line coach, who’s an awesome guy, and we’re relentless. We always find a way.”

Rodney Vincent Vista Ridge Head Coach Talk with us on The Friday Night Countdown before facing the Vipers Defense.

Vipers shut out Timberwolves 17-0

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

No. 2 Vandegrift started its season right where it left off. The Vipers delivered a dominant defensive performance, just like they did so many times last year, in a 17-0 shutout of No. 6 Cedar Park at Monroe Stadium on Friday in Austin.

“It’s impressive,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “My defense surprised even me tonight because we replaced a lot of guys. We didn’t have everybody back. We replaced several guys on the defensive line, both corners, replaced a safety and replaced a linebacker, and for us to come out and play like that is just total belief in our system, and they really played with great effort.”

Vandegrift held Cedar Park to 140 yards on 49 plays for 2.9 yards per play and completely stuffed the ground game for two yards on 24 carries. Going back to last year’s matchup, the Vipers have kept the Timberwolves off the scoreboard in seven of eight quarters.

Cedar Park didn’t even cross midfield until the fourth quarter and needed a fake punt to do so. Junior defensive back Kaleb Lewis had two interceptions, the second of which came in the end zone late in the game to extinguish the Timberwolves’ best scoring threat.

“Our coaches really drilled it into our head to stay in coverage and a lot of those two plays were (Cedar Park quarterback) Ryder (Hernandez) scrambling around and I just kept my eyes on him and read his eyes, and when he threw it I was just sinking into place,” Lewis said. “It was just super exciting because I get to trust all those guys and I really trust them and you can tell with how we all play and communicate and I was just in the right position because we trust the coaches and they gave us good play calls.”

Vandegrift leaned on two players for almost all of its offensive production with junior running back Bowen Lewis and senior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy combining for 252 of the Vipers’ 275 total yards. Mongauzy broke the Vipers out of an early funk by breaking free for a 59-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter and finished with 10 grabs for 125 yards. Lewis iced the game with a 54-yard scoring burst in the final minutes while posting 127 yards on 23 carries.

“That’s a play we ran against Klein Collins in the second round (of the playoffs) last year and I caught it for a lot of yards. (Cedar Park) is super aggressive and they tried to undercut, so just putting a double-move corner-post on them, we knew it was going to work,” Mongauzy said of his score. “Just a lot of studying. Throughout the game, we were finding holes in their defense and we kinda just attacked them. We found good rhythm and were just hitting everything.”

Vandegrift follows its resounding season-opening win with a Thursday night road game at Killeen Ellison next week. Cedar Park will hope to rebound with a home game against Round Rock Cedar Ridge on Friday.

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.”