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Vandegrift beats Cedar Ridge

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

Vandegrift allowed its first score of the season, but that was it as the Vipers corralled Cedar Ridge’s all-everything running back Duece Vaughn in a 28-7 victory Friday at Dragon Stadium in Round Rock.

“How you control someone like Duece Vaughn, because he’s a generational talent, he’s that good, is more than one person,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “So we found a way tonight to get more than one person to the point of attack. So when he looked up there were two or three Vipers there, and that’s a credit to our coaches for great schemes and our players for executing.”

Vaughn, a dynamic 5-foot-7 dynamo committed to Div. I Kansas State, was contained to 118 total yards (99 rushing, 19 receiving) after going for more than 200 against the Vipers last season. The rest of the offense produced just 99 as Vandegrfit held Cedar Ridge to 217 yards on 50 plays for 4.3 yards per play.

Senior linebacker Jax McCauley was all over the place, as usual, but it’s always a team effort with the Vipers. The secondary held Cedar Ridge quarterbacks to 9-of-19 passing for 87 yards (4.6 yards per attempt) and intercepted a pass. Meanwhile, the defensive line was in the backfield all night with Matthew Graham, Jordan Cochran and Rickey Sweeney leading the way.

“Our D-line over the years, if anybody watches us, is kind of our calling card,” Sanders said. “We have a bunch of guys who aren’t super impressive physically, but we put just great athletes that our kinda strong there and we use (that) they are faster than the offensive lines. So that’s what we do well and you saw that on display tonight. Hopefully we can keep doing that, and then as the game went on, we increased our pressure because we felt like they were getting more tired and we just rotate a bunch of guys. We have a bunch of guys that go in. We have like five or six guys that can play and you can see the freshness as the fourth quarter happened.”

Vandegrift stole the momentum early when McCauley recovered a blocked punt in the end zone on the first drive of the game.

“We worked that all week. We found something studying tape,” Sanders said. “My special teams coordinator Coach (Ed) Wolkind found something so we worked all week that block. I told everybody we were going to go for that very first punt. To get it is fun for the kids to be able to do that, what a great start for us to be able to go three & out, blocked punt for a touchdown. It’s about as good as you could do. We just kind of sent a message that, you know what, last year wasn’t a fluke. Hopefully, we’re here to stay.”

From there the offense grinded Cedar Ridge down with the run game and hit on three big pass plays to put the game out of reach. Junior running back Bowen Lewis rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries, his third straight 100-yard rushing game, and hauled in a 47-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Dru Dawson and Taylor Dummar celebrate one of their 2 TD strikes in Friday Nights victory over Cedar Ridge of Round Rock in the handsome win 28-7. Photo Jenna Friedrich for Texas Sports Monthly

Junior wide receiver Taylor Dummar had the other two touchdowns. He got wide open for a 40-yarder in the second quarter to put the Raiders in a 21-0 hole and then made a more contested catch on 3rd and 10 in the third quarter for a 31-yard score that re-established Vandegrift’s 21-point lead. Senior quarterback Dru Dawson finished 7-of-12 for 153 yards with the three touchdowns and one interception.

“It started with our run game. Our run game opened up our passing and our coaches put in a good game-plan. It’s pretty easy for me when the guy is wide open,” said Dawson. “We put in a lot of motions and shifts that get the defense to change and that’s one of our pride and joys and it came out tonight and worked really well… Very proud of our team but we have so much potential to show. So that’s the exciting thing, but it was a great win all-around.”

Read September Edition

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in TEXAS SPORTS, UT FOOTBALL.

FOOTBALL IS BACK! After a great year for the Texas Longhorns and a deep run in the State High School Playoffs for several local teams in central Texas, we dig right in to the ACTION! Dallas Cowboys and Texans revamp for playoff runs this season. Listen to our new RADIO SHOW on 104.9 THE HORN FM as THE FRIDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN RETURNS 6:30-7:15pm every Friday Night. Take a look at our preview edition and reserve your ad space this season!

Cavs lose week 1 but not out History Shows

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

AUSTIN — When a team as good as Lake Travis drops its season opener, it’s always going to become statewide news.

But does that mean that head coach Hank Carter’s Cavaliers are in for a rough go in 2019? A quick look at the history books offers a resounding no to that inquiry.

In fact, the last two times that Lake Travis opened a season at 0-1 under Carter — in both 2016 and 2017 — Lake Travis ended up playing for a Class 6A state championship on both occasions. Each season-opening loss came against perennial powerhouse Converse Judson.

Following a 35-28 setback against Judson to kick off the 2016 campaign, Carter and the Cavs responded by embarking on a 15-game winning streak that led to the program’s sixth state title. A year later, Lake Travis lost 65-45 to the Rockets in a shootout but managed to bounce back by advancing to yet another championship game.

In the end, the Cavaliers fell short of a seventh title, as Allen prevailed 35-33 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

It was another DFW-area team — Arlington Martin — that knocked off Lake Travis in the 2019 debut for both teams. Martin struck for three scores in the second half to break open a tie game and secure a 35-14 triumph.

It was just the second non-district regular season loss for the Cavaliers in the past three seasons combined. However, there’s no need for panic among the Lake Travis faithful.

The Cavs are still loaded offensively with Texas commit Hudson Card at quarterback and talented skill players such as wide receiver Kyle Eaves, tight end Lake McRee and running back Weston Stephens around him. Defensively, linebackers Maui Trevino and Nick Villarreal will look to help tighten a few screws after Martin quarterback Zach Mundell broke loose for 176 rushing yards and three scores in the opener.

Give Martin some credit as well. It’s not like Lake Travis lost to an upstart team or even a fringe playoff contender. From 2010 to 2017, Martin won 10 or more games six different times and was expected to compete for a state championship last season before limping to a disappointing 5-6 finish.

One of those losses was a 35-14 setback against the Cavaliers in the 2018 opener.

So while Martin exacted a bit of revenge and has the solid start it was after to 2019, it would be extremely foolish to write off Lake Travis or expect a down season from Carter and company.

The smart bet is that the Cavaliers will right the ship before District 25-6A play arrives and still end up playing past Thanksgiving once the playoff arrive. If that’s the case, the loss to Martin will be nothing more than a footnote — and also another example of why Lake Travis is one of the premier programs in Texas.

Hippos defeat Panthers AGAIN 42-14

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

Hutto’s defense has come a long way since last year’s Liberty Hill game. On that night, the Hippos got gashed by the Panthers’ Slot-T offense for 51 points and 531 rushing yards at 8.2 yards per pop.

But in Friday’s rematch in Liberty Hill, it was a different story. Hutto held the Panthers’ offense to just one touchdown and contained their rushing attack to 211 yards at five yards per carry in a 42-14 at Panther Stadium.

“Our defense has matured a bunch,” said Hutto head coach Brad LaPlante. “But we reflected last year even before we played them, some of these kids have never played the Wing-T, Slot-T kind of teams because even youth football for them, they’ve gone up against spreads. So not only do they have that style of offense, Liberty Hill runs it one of the best in the state… (This time) they knew what they were up against. They didn’t know last year.”

This performance came on the heels of Liberty Hill opening the season with 442 rushing yards and three runners hitting the century mark in a dominant victory over defending District 5A-13 DII champion Leander Glenn. Add in the fact that Hutto’s defense also forced five turnovers and stymied a solid West Mesquite squad last week, and it’s clear this Hippo defense isn’t messing around.

“Our defensive line controlling the line of scrimmage was huge and our backers filled really well tonight,” LaPlante said

The offense, meanwhile, churned out 575 yards at 9.6 yards per play. Senior running back Mekhi Kimble rumbled for 202 yards and three scores on 16 carries and senior wide receiver Dajon Harrison added an 88-yard touchdown run to give the Hippos 352 yards on the ground.

“Our offensive line going against the defensive line every day in practice, they’re getting better every single day, so now they’re starting to gain confidence against other opponents,” LaPlante said. “You saw the confidence with the offensive line, and then Mekhi just wiggles, he finds the holes, he makes good reads and he always makes something out of nothing, or something bigger than what it should be because he always keeps his feet moving.”

Hutto kept Liberty Hill in it until halftime with four turnovers. One of those was a fumble forced by senior cornerback Matthew Montes that got recovered and returned for a touchdown by senior defensive lineman Hadley Weems to make it 14-14. But the Hippos cleaned it up in the second half and ran away with the win.

“That’s just our kids. We play the next play. We had a pregame speech all about power,” LaPlante said. “Well, power is we’re always going to forget if it’s good or bad and go on to the next thing at hand. So our guys did a great job at that.”

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.

Hutto gets first Win over West Mesquite

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

Hutto looked a lot different than it did last year, but the results were still the same. While the offense needed some time to get going, the defense dominated as the Hippos ran away from West Mesquite in a 41-21 win Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium in Waco, TX.

West Mesquite scored on only one of its first ten possessions, and that came on a drive that started at Hutto’s eight. Junior LSU commit Landyn Watson combined with senior Lordswill Uwa and junior Braylon Sugg on a defensive line that didn’t allow the Wranglers to get the push up front necessary to move the ball consistently.

“To put 41 points on the board, you’d think that’s an offensive number, but let’s start with the defense and the way that they played,” said Hutto head coach Brad LaPlante. “You noticed that they weren’t running inside? They were throwing the screens outside to try to get downfield, or running to the outside edge… They were not going to line up at their own 25 and drive the length of the field all day.”

West Mesquite scored 14 of its points in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand and Hutto playing its backups on defense. The defense even got in on the scoring when senior Jordan Phoenix intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 43 yards for Hutto’s first touchdown.

That play helped spark a Hippo offense that started the game playing like it had a lot of new faces. Sophomore quarterback Grayson Doggett’s first pass was intercepted when he threw late on a short out route. West Mesquite scored on the next play to take a 7-0 lead.

But the offense dealt with few issues after that. Doggett rebounded nicely and finished with 278 yards and a touchdown on 19-of-26 passing. Senior Xavier Phoenix caught the lone score on a three-yard fade route. Sophomore Jairiez Lambert provided a pair of explosive plays with receptions of 40 and 41 yards. Senior Dajon Harrison, one of Hutto’s lone returning starters, caught five balls for 55 yards.

“(Doggett is) fine. If you’re ever going to judge a kid based on one play you’re probably not going to be in the business very long. If you saw our coaching staff, all we did was go back and coach,” LaPlante said. “His maturity is way beyond a sophomore, as well.”

Hutto was also able to lean on a run game that churned out 196 yards on 30 carries, most of which came in the second half. Senior Makhi Kimble (18 carries, 148 yards, three touchdowns) helped put the game out of reach with scoring jaunts of 68 and 26 yards in the third quarter. Senior Kendall Williams (five carries, 46 yards, one touchdown) scampered for a 19-yard score in the fourth quarter to cap a 42-0 run for the Hippos.

“Here’s the deal with Mekhi, he’s kind of been the secret,” LaPlante said. “Last year we had a different brand of offense with (former running back) Chux Nwabakou where we were throwing the ball a little bit more. But even though Mekhi is not a huge guy, he can run between the tackles. He’s got great feet. He’s got great vision. He keeps his feet going. He just moves the pile. I’m going to say he’s the reason our offensive line got better today because they believed in him, so that’s just how one player can make the guys elite around him… But I think that we made an identity for our offense through the game that we have not been able to do during fall camp.”

Maroon’s chew up Cougars

Written by River Tompkins on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

The sun sets in Pflugerville, the lights of the Pfield Stadium come on. You can hear the marching bands warming up and the counting off of the drill team. Welcome to Texas high school football. The Austin High Maroons and the Connally Cougars are about to run through the tunnels and take the field in their first official game of the 2019/20 high school football season.
The crowds in attendance were treated to a high scoring shootout that was neck and neck up until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Austin Maroons claimed victory over the Connally Cougars 51-49.


Austin receives the ball to start the half. The Maroons were given the opportunity to test this Cougars defense staring corner-back Jahdae Barron, a senior ranked 57 in TX, with a hard commit to Baylor. Both offenses were off to a slow start with Austin scoring on only one of their four red-zone trips. Connally was not having much luck either as they were not able to establish a passing game over the middle which allowed Austin to bring more pressure and cover the boundary side of the field. Lead by Head Coach Jason Cecil, Connally entered halftime with a 14-7 lead. 


Both defenses played well in the first half with Austin forcing two interceptions and Connally forcing an interception and fumble.
Both teams had improvements to make. Cougars passing attack left much to be desired, especially in the middle of the field. On the flip side, Austin had a problem with pass protection as the Connally Defensive Lineman could not be stopped. The Maroons solved this problem by changing up their blocking scheme as well as their personnel.


After halftime, the whole attitude of the Maroons team changed, it may have been Mike Rosenthal’s pep talk, the coaching adjustments or a mix of both. After a disappointing 1st half the Austin High Maroons came out firing scoring 30 points just in the third quarter. Everything looked much better, the pass protection was on point as well as the passing game which totaled 331 yards. What stood out was Austin’s running game led by senior Grayson Davis. With 222 rushing yards on 23 carries which amounts to an average of 9.65 yards a carry, Davis’s running game was truly spectacular, add on two touchdowns and Grayson Davis had a game.


Junior Quarterback Charles Wright did not let the pressure affect him as he threw for 331 yards as well as four touchdowns. Junior Receiver Nick Anderson stepped up in a big way making a 40+ yard catch on the first drive of the second half. He only improved from there posting five catches for 147 yards and a touchdown in the second half.


Scoring point after point the Austin High offense was unstoppable in a race against the Cougars offense who would not go down without a fight. Though Bernard Riley’s defense allowed 49 points, when it was imperative that the defense hold the offense – they held them. An example is when Connally went for a two point conversion late in the third quarter, Junior Quarterback Darius McGrew was stripped of the ball ultimately ending the two point conversion try and sustaining the Austin lead; this was one of many defensive stops by Austin’s defense.


I attribute the Austin High Maroons second half offensive success to the coaching staff specifically Offensive Coordinator Aaron Vanecek as well as both Offensive Line coaches Mike Rosenthal and Neil Abbott. 
“Biggest difference from last year is that this group listens to coaching and they want to improve.  They are buying into what we are teaching and they are making the adjustments. It is early in the season, but I am excited each week to get on the practice field and improve”, said Head Coach Michael Rosenthal. 


The Austin High Maroons carried their preseason momentum into the regular season clinching the win over Connally in an exciting matchup. Watch out Westwood the Maroons are coming.

Austin High 2019

Written by River Tompkins on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.

Friday night lights are about to turn on in Texas and every fan is wrapped in anticipation of what their team is going to look like this season. Yesterday we got a sneak peek of the Austin Maroons during their competitive scrimmage against Georgetown high school. 


The Austin Maroons, lead by Head Coach Mike Rosenthal, put on a real show at Georgetown High Football Stadium scoring 5 touchdowns compared to Georgetown’s singular touchdown. 


What stuck out was Austin high school’s passing attack. Quarterback Charles Wright showcased his arm talent with both the deep ball as well as check-down passes. Austin scored 4 touchdowns through the air coupled with 490 total passing yards proving the Maroon’s passing attack could not be stopped.


Having attended several Austin practices, I could see the emphasis offensive coordinator Aaron Vanecek put on ball security. At the beginning of the week Vanecek set a goal to have zero turnovers and his offense did exactly that. 


On the defensive side of the football, you could see all of the hard work and training the team and defensive coaches have been putting in. The Austin Maroons defense is much improved from last season and will continue to get stronger. The Maroon’s defense put Georgetown’s offense in high pressure situations causing Georgetown to throw two interceptions.
Defensive coordinator Bernard Riley has been working tirelessly with the secondary to create more turnovers and it paid off. The defense’s five takeaways massively contributed to the offense’s success as it placed them in an advantageous field position.


Another aspect of this game that stood out was Austin’s receiving core, starring Johnny Jenkins, Josh Garcia, Drew Morgan, and Matt Ruiz. The receiving core made plays all day such as Drew Morgan’s 62-yard touchdown catch and Johnny Jenkins 7 yard end zone catch to close out the game.


This Austin high team may prove to be a more formidable opponent than expected.

Cavs Baseball Future Bright

Written by Tucker Stephenson on . Posted in High School Baseball.

The 2019 baseball season appears to be the gift that keeps on giving for the Lake Travis Cavaliers.

Even as the highly-powered Cavs prepare to unveil another gridiron powerhouse, the ink on the final list of accolades from the diamond has barely had time to dry. 

Following a 37-5 overall campaign and a trip to the Class 6A state tournament in Round Rock, Lake Travis recently received word that four players — Brett Baty, Jimmy Lewis, Kal Edmundson and Austin Plante — had earned postseason honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association (TSWA).

Baty headlined the quartet by being named the 2019 TSWA player of the year. The third baseman batted .602 with 19 home runs this past season and was also selected 12th overall by the New York Mets in the 2019 MLB draft.

Lewis and Edmunson, both pitchers, landed on the TSWA first team.

Brett Baty, a third baseman from Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, places his name on the draft board after being selected No. 12 by the New York Mets in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 3, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Lewis, who was chosen 78th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2019 draft, compiled a 9-0 record with a minuscule 0.52 ERA and 83 strikeouts. Edmundson , a junior southpaw, went 5-0 this season with a 2.78 ERA and 26 punchouts en route to earning a first team nod as a reliever.

Plante, an outfielder, was selected to the TSWA second team after posting a batting average of .352 to go along with 38 runs scored, 38 RBIs and 11 doubles.

Westlake at Cedar Park: Friday Night Lights are back.

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

Westlake and Cedar Park went toe-to-toe in a competitive scrimmage between two of the area’s best teams Friday at John Gupton Stadium in Leander, TX. Cedar Park scored more points with three touchdowns compared to Westlake’s one touchdown and three field goals, but the Chaparrals seemed to move the ball better, especially when the first-teamers were on the field.

Westlake split reps evenly between three quarterbacks who combined to complete 33-of-46 passes for 317 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Head coach Todd Dodge may very well continue the quarterback rotation into the season as senior Kirkland Michaux (15-of-20, 196 yards, one touchdown), senior Drew Willoughby (7-of-12, 133 yards, one interception) and sophomore Cade Klubnik (11-of-14, 88 yards) all showed strong command of the offense while sometimes leaving a bit to be desired.

“We threw the ball a bunch tonight and… I can’t wait to get to the video to look at it,” Dodge said. “There’s going to be some really good things that were done by all three of these kids, and obviously some mistakes that were made. A lot of that has to do without getting out in front of somebody for the first time. When you play the position of quarterback, sometimes it feels like you’re in a blender, and for all of them it’s about making things slow down.”

No matter who’s throwing the ball, Westlake’s group of pass-catchers will make them look good as Friday’s scrimmage showed just how deep the Chaps are out wide. Westlake’s first six completions went to six different receivers. Senior Mason Mangun led the way with five catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, but senior Ryan Lindley (10 catches, 100 yards) and senior Jack Hoover (five catches, 101 yards) made it clear that defenses can’t key too much on Mangum without getting burned somewhere else.

“I was really pleased with the receivers,” Dodge said. “That’s the strength (of the offense). Our returning wide receivers and the depth that we have there… that’s where we have the most experience, and from a receiver standpoint, we want our offense to be a spread-the-wealth kind of offense.”

Cedar Park was able to contain Westlake’s offense, however, with some timely defensive play. The Timberwolves forced three turnovers (while committing zero) and held the Chaps to field goals on all three of their trips to the red zone. The best defensive play came from junior safety Joshua Bretz, who stripped and stole the ball from a Westlake receiver to set the Timberwolves up with a short field from which they scored one of their touchdowns.

“Defensively, I thought we played outstanding,” said Cedar Park coach Carl Abseck. “(Westlake is) huge up front, they got a phenomenal receiver core and they made some plays, but we made some plays, too… and we were very basic, so I really pleased with how we played with a very basic gameplan… To see our defense stand in there and stop them inside the red zone multiple times was fun and encouraging and give us a lot of confidence going forward.”

It looked like Westlake’s defense will pick up where it left off with its newly found tradition on that side of the ball. Former defensive linemen Braden Cassidy and David Neil helped fuel the Chaps to back-to-back district titles that last two years, and on Friday it was 6-foot-5, 230-pound Bobby Duncem who led the way as Westlake registered nine-touch sacks and regularly had the quarterbacks desperately running away on pass plays that didn’t call for a quick release. 

“The one unit I said I’ll go ahead and praise right now without looking at the video was the effort of our front on getting pressure,” Dodge said. “We were running a lot of people in there, and I think before it’s all said and done, we’re going to have some good depth on our defense line, and that’s something we’ve been blessed with over the last three or four years.”

Despite all the pressure, junior quarterback Ryder Hernandez showed out well by completing 14-of-24 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. An average quarterback would’ve done a lot worse.

“He’s a competitor, and he’s a good athlete and that’s part of the game,” Abseck said. “You’re going to get pressured at times, and there’s going to be times where we hold in there better and just let him sit in the pocket, but him getting out of the pocket is a good things for us, too, because that opens up passing game gives people a little opportunity to get open sometimes.”

Two of Cedar Park’s three touchdowns came when Westlake had its second-team defense on the field.