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Tag: Hudson Card

North Shore too much for Cavs 2nd year in a row.

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

The final score didn’t come close to telling the whole story of Galena Park North Shore’s 49-38 win against Lake Travis Saturday at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in the Class 6A Div. I State Semifinal in Round Rock, TX. A year after getting run off the field by the same team in the same round of the playoffs, Lake Travis scored 35 second-half points to give North Shore a legit scare before falling valiantly in the end.

The Cavs return to the field in the second half and despite being down 28-3 made a valiant effort to come back but, Galena Park North Shore’s 49-38 win against Lake Travis was too much for the Cavs Saturday at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in the Class 6A Div. I State Semifinal in Round Rock, TX

“What a great response by our kids,” said Lake Travis coach Hank Carter. “Football coaches get up there and they talk about being resilient and mentally tough, and I think a lot of people that don’t get it would say that’s just a bunch of coach speak. But this is what it’s about. The way our kids came together and our coaching staff got together with the kids at halftime, made some adjustments, and we fought and clawed. We at least made them nervous and that’s more than we did a year ago. They’re a great team. They’re very well-coached. They’re extremely talented, and they’re very deserving of the victory. But I’m very proud with how our kids responded.”

The big mystery at the start of the game concerned North Shore senior running back Zach Evans, who was nowhere to be seen at kickoff. The 5-star prospect who is almost universally considered the No. 1 tailback in the country was taking the SAT and didn’t check in until the final minute of the first half. Once he finally got on the field, he showed exactly why he’s sought after by almost every major college football program in the country by rushing for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries

His absence, however, wasn’t much of an issue for North Shore’s offense in the first half. Instead of giving it to Davis, the Mustangs handed the ball off to senior Roger Hagan, who rumbled for 117 yards on 22 totes. Junior quarterback Demetrius Davis was also dialed in. He finished with 234 total yards (125 passing, 109 rushing) and four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) as North Shore built a 28-3 halftime lead.

“They went to the bullpen and brought out a guy (Hagan) throwing 105 miles an hour,” Carter said. “The Evans kid is tremendous and everyone obviously knows about him. I think, to me, though, the guy that makes them unique and special is their quarterback. He runs the ball as good as any running back that I’ve seen and he’s making great decisions with the football and he’s throwing it on the money. Coach Kay does an excellent job with his team and they played like champions tonight.”

Lake Travis never found a way to truly stop North Shore’s ground game as the Mustangs rushed for just a shade under 400 yards, but the Cavs’ offense got into a groove in the second half and almost sparked an incredible comeback. After throwing for just 26 yards on the first half, senior quarterback Hudson Card left it all out on the field after the break and finished with 357 total yards (290 passing, 67 rushing) and three total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). 

His determination shined on Lake Travis’s final two drives. With the Cavs trailing by 25 in the fourth quarter, Card broke off an electric 28-yard scoring run where he fought through arm tackles, reversed the field against one of the fastest defenses in the state, and successfully dove for the pylon as a Mustang play tried dragging him down. On the next possession, he made eyes almost pop out of their sockets as he seemed wrapped up by the North Shore pass rush, only to break free, tip-toe the sideline, and complete a 26-yard pass that set up a three-yard touchdown run by Weston Stephens.

“Early on I think they were getting a little bit of pressure on us so we’re probably holding on to the ball for just a little bit longer than we needed to,” Carter said. “They were covering us well. Again, credit to North Shore. But he settled in, made some great plays. I told him on the one that he scored there, ‘oh man, I guess you still can run.’ And he’s doing all that on probably about 50 percent of how his foot oughta work.”

Lake Travis also recovered an onside kick and forced two second-half turnovers to keep hope alive. The first turnover was a leaping interception by sophomore defensive back DJ Johnson, who went up and snagged a hard pass in zone coverage that Davis thought he could get over him. There was also a fumble out of the end zone. And, of course, senior wide receiver Kyle Eaves, who did as much as anybody to keep the Cavs alive with eight catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Cavs defeat Madison 49-21

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

Lake Travis has been San Antonio Madison’s bugaboo for some time now. That proved to be the case again on Friday when the Cavaliers knocked the Mavericks out of the playoff for the fourth straight year with a 49-21 victory at Rattler Stadium in San Marcos, TX.

With star quarterback Hudson Card still on the shelf from the foot injury he suffered against Westlake, Lake Travis leaned on junior running back Weston Stephens, who paced the offense with 20 carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns. It was the fourth time in five games he’s hit the century mark in rushing after doing it zero times before. He also had five catches for 61 yards.

Junior quarterback Nate Yarnell was 19-of-25 for 239 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. With 1:41 left in the half and Lake Travis leading only 14-7, Yarnell engineered a perfect two-minute drill. He completed five-of-six passes to march the Cavaliers 58 yards on nine plays, the last a four-yard touchdown toss to senior Grayson Sandlin (six receptions, 78 yards) with 15 seconds left on the clock.

Lake Travis’s defense had the Mavericks’ attack completely out of sorts until the fourth quarter. Madison scored on only one of its first nine possessions, and that scoring drive was aided by two 15-yard face-mask penalties and culminated with a strange touchdown pass on a broken play. 

Maui Trevino makes a tackle in the the 3rd Quarter at Rattlers Stadium against the Madison Maverick’s in a decisive win for the Div I 6-A Area Playoff. Cavs will face Weslaco next week in San Antonio likely the Alamodome on Friday Nov 29th at 1pm.

With the score 35-7 late in the third quarter, senior linebacker Maui Trevino intercepted a pass and returned it to Madison’s 12. Three plays later, Lake Travis gave one of their big guys some love as senior guard Andrew Salem (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) rumbled four yards for touchdown to effectively ice the game.

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.

Lake Travis vs. Cedar Ridge Scrimmage

Written by Steven Ryan on . Posted in HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL. 1 Comment on 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.