NEW YORK – Every where Garrett Wilson has played at, he has been a winner. At Austin Lake Travis, he won a 6A-I state title in 2016 and lost in the finals in 2017 and semis in 2018, both to teams who would go on and win the title. He had a lot of success at Ohio State where the wins were plenty even though they did not win an SEC Invitational, I mean CFP, title. The great news for Wilson is that he will be in the NFL in 2022. The bad news is the team he is playing for hasn’t made the playoffs since Wilson was in grade school.
On draft night many thought he would end up in Green Bay, always a threat to play in February, or Atlanta, a team that has had a mix of successful and unsuccessful season. Instead he ended up with the New York Jets. The Jets haven’t made the tournament since 2011 and is a franchise known for many failures whose only success was Joe Namath’s guarantee in 1969.
Not only is his challenge playing a team that lost more games in 2021 than Wilson lost in all his years at Lake Travis and Ohio State combined, he also has the challenge of the New York media. The NY media is well known for crucifying teams and athletes. The Jets, Mets, Knicks, and Rangers have won next to nothing and are used to having awful seasons which the media and fans love to tee off on. Not only will Wilson have to deal with playing on a losing team for the 1st time in his career but also the headlines that the media will write.
Having gotten to know his dad Kenneth, Garrett is well trained and ready for what might come at him in the papers and on the field in the AFC East. Buffalo has had a great last few years after 18 years of poor play. New England is no longer the dynasty they were but are still almost always in the playoffs. Miami has been 1 win short each of the last 2 years of getting into the tournament. The wild cards will mostly come from the AFC West and perhaps the east though New York right now is just trying to find wins under coach Robert Saleh and 2nd year quarterback Zach Wilson.
Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson plays against Cincinnati during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Could Garrett Wilson be the savior that gets the Jets out of a 10-year dark hole? If he is, he might be working a miracle even Mother Theresa couldn’t do.
Greg Sherman Twitter @MrBowtie1982 Youtube The Texas High School Sports Machine
Chaps completed their 3-pete, but will start off the year without Todd Dodge in 2022. Photo Stan Martin
1. Austin Westlake (6A)
2. Galena Park North Shore (6A)
3. Duncanville (6A)
4. Southlake Carroll (6A)
5. Katy (6A)
6. Allen (6A)
7. Denton Guyer (6A)
8. Lake Travis (6A)
9. South Oak Cliff (5A)
10. College Station (5A)
By Tucker Stephenson
The summer has only just begun, but the eyes of Texas high school football fans are already glancing ahead to the dog days — and more importantly, two-a-days — of August. In a state packed with heavyweight programs that are loaded with NCAA Division I talent and top-tier coaching alike, it’s always tough to try and predict what will happen, but here’s a look at Texas Sports Monthly’s preseason top 10 list for the upcoming 2022 high school football season.
— The three-time defending state champion Westlake Chaparrals come in at No. 1 despite losing QB Cade Klubnik and legendary coach Todd Dodge. Even with those holes to fill, the Chaps look like a full-fledged football factory at this point. Junior Paxton Land will look to fill in at signal caller, and he’ll have reliable targets in senior WRs Jaden Greathouse and Keaton Kubecka. On defense, 6-foot-6 DE Colton Vasek is a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen.
Northshore will look to make it back to Jerry-world in 2022 and I’m sure Nemesis Duncanville will be waiting. Photo: Stan Martin
— At No. 2 is reigning UIL Class 6A Division I state champion Galena Park North Shore, which is bringing back a ton of talent. Sophomore QB Kaleb Bailey returns after an outstanding freshman season, and top wide receiver David Amador is also due back. The Mustangs will look to revamp the defensive side of the ball, but North Shore has plenty of athleticism.
— Duncanville is at No. 3 after losing a tight 17-10 battle to North Shore in last season’s 6A-DI title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Panthers need to replace RB Malachi Medlock, who graduated, but Duncanville’s defense will likely be stout again thanks to players like LB Vernon Grant.
— Southlake Carroll clocks in at No. 4 after suffering a 26-point loss to Duncanville in last year’s playoffs. The Dragons welcome back senior QB Kaden Anderson after he threw for 3,036 yards and 34 TDs a year ago. Running back Owen Allen is also set to return after he ran for 2,145 yards and 32 scores in 2021.
— No. 5 Katy will bring back senior Caleb Koger at QB, as well as the rushing tandem of senior RBs Seth Davis and Dallas Glass, who combined for over 3,600 yards and 48 TDs on the ground last year.
— At No. 6 is the school that boasts the largest enrollment in the Lone Star State, the Allen Eagles. Quarterback Mike Hawkins, who racked up nearly 3,500 yards of offense and 29 total TDs, is set to come back for his junior year.
Allen did not survive South Lake in 2021 but will definitely be back in full force as the states largest school. Photo: Pat Carrigan
— No. 7 Denton Guyer fell to Westlake 40-21 in the 2021 6A-DII state championship game and is reloading in 2022 behind senior QB Jackson Arnold and a solid defense.
— Austin’s other hometown powerhouse, Lake Travis, begins at No. 8 and is hoping that senior QB Bo Edmundson makes the leap to ignite the Cavaliers’ offense. Lake Travis will look to rebuild its receiving corps, although there are plenty of options.
Lake Travis were the 2021 Quarter finals Champs & QB Bo Edmundson (Michigan State commit) will look to finish his Cavs career strong his Senior. Year. Photo Credit Jenna Friedrich
— No. 9 South Oak Cliff, the defending Class 5A Division II state champion, is absolutely loaded coming into 2022 and has the potential to pass several 6A schools in the rankings once games begin. The Bears come into the preseason with 20 players on their roster that have received at least one NCAA Division I scholarship offer.
— College Station comes in at No. 10 despite falling 27-24 to Katy Paetow in overtime of last season’s Class 5A Division I state title contest. The reason for the Cougars’ elevated ranking is simple — senior RB Marquise Collins, who rushed for 2,826 yards and 39 TDs as a junior.
Everywhere you look in Cavalier Stadium six silver stars appear, each one representing a State Championship. Lake Travis came into the season looking to add their seventh star. To do this head coach Hank Carter says they will take it one game at a time. With their sights set on another championship the Lake Travis Cavaliers faced off against the Austin High Maroons in the third divisional game of the season.
The eruption from the Lake Travis tunnel could be heard and felt. The entire team was inside the iconic helmet tunnel jumping and shooting with a ferocity that would intimidate any opponent. After coming off a tough loss against Westlake, Austin High had another uphill battle against the Lake Travis Cavaliers. Ultimately Lake Travis walked away with a shutout victory winning 63-0 over the Austin High Maroons. Offensively Lake Travis dominated this game in both the ground and air totaling 770 yards.
Lake Travis had the ball to start the game, looking to seize the momentum early the Cav’s quickly picked up a first down. It got harder from there as Lake Travis would throw three straight in-completions resulting in the punter taking the field on 4th down.
Austin matched Lake Travis’ drive by picking up a first down but eventually stalling out. After Quarterback Charles Wright had quick-kicked the ball Austin had started winning the field position battle as they almost put Lake Travis on their own 1-yard line.
Despite bad starting field position Lake Travis placed together a steady drive working their way downfield. After the first three plays of the drive were runs; senior quarterback Hudson Card came back with a 17-yard strike off the RPO to Kyle Eaves setting Hudson Card up for another big throw down the right sideline. Running Back Marcelo Alanis capped off the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to put the first points on the board.
Following another punt from Austin, Lake Travis put together another methodical drive downfield, including a big 26-yard pass from Hudson Card to Grayson Sandlin. The drive was capped off with a 15-yard touchdown run by Wesley Erving.
One thing that worked all day for Lake Travis was the quarterback roll out. Numerous times the Lake Travis offensive line allowed opposing defensive linemen inward to the pocket while Hudson Card rolled out and delivered a perfect throw for a big gain. This was the go-to concept for Lake Travis as they primarily pulled it out on key 3rd downs.
On Austin’s third offensive possession they drove downfield, including a big 15+ yard run by running back Grayson Davis as well as a wide receiver screen to captain Colby Kalbacher to pick up a first down. Austin had finally gotten past the halfway point and now they were on the Lake Travis 31 yard line. With the end-zone in site, Austin’s center mishandled the ball leading to a fumble and recovery by Lake Travis. This ended the drive and put Lake Travis in yet another good spot to score.
For the rest of the half, Austin was not able to pass midfield but Lake Travis was able to score touchdowns including a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hudson Card to senior receiver Grayson Sandlin, a 15-yard touchdown pass on a roll out to Kyle Eaves and their biggest play of the half when wide receiver Grayson Sandlin broke a short slant for a 50-yard touchdown, his third so far. It was safe to say that the Lake Travis passing attack could not be stopped as they totaled 499 yards through the air. Despite all of this scoring Austin’s defense did come big on a forced and recovered fumble to stop Lake Travis.
Going into halftime Austin needed to improve their big play ability. Something that they had been great at all year was haunting them throughout the first half. One of the reasons that they often stalled out near midfield was they were not able to generate big plays. This was the deciding factor in the game. If Austin was able to generate more big plays they would have found themselves in closer competition.
Offensively, the second half was not much better for Austin as they once again stalled near midfield allowing Lake Travis to start chewing clock. Lake Travis hit a big 52-yard passing touchdown on just their 3rd play of the half, on this one Hudson Card connected with Kyle Eaves essentially putting the game away.
Lake Travis slowed their offense down as they put second string quarterback Nate Yarnell in. They also slowed down the tempo trying to run the clock out and claim another victory. The Cavaliers are now 3-0 in district play and 4-1 in the regular season.
Coach Hank Carter had this to say when asked which player he thought had a breakout game, “That’s a good question – I think several, Grayson Sandlin made an awesome run after the catch, this is something we have been working on with him and wanting to see him do. I also think Weston Stephens had a great game as well as Gary Gordon.”
Lake Travis walked away with another win, once again they look like divisional favorites. Lake Travis has a favorable matchup against the Lehman Lobos next Friday and then what we are all waiting for, the Battle Of The Lakes! Lake Travis vs Westlake on Oct 11th. Austin has a must-win matchup with Del Valle this Thursday that could determine the playoff contenders.
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.
With
most of their fans expecting a pitching prospect to be selected with
the 12th overall pick of Monday night’s MLB Draft, the New York Mets
surprised many by instead nabbing Lake Travis third baseman Brett Baty.
Perhaps
new Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen thought it was about time
his franchise found a suitable replacement for David Wright, who made
his last All-Star Game appearance in 2013.
“I’m
just so happy right now I can’t even explain it,” Baty said in a
televised interview on MLB Network. “I’m grateful to have my family and
friends here to celebrate it with me. They’ve had so much support for me
over the years.”
Baty
was called the “best high school bat” in the entire draft by MLB
Network analyst Jonathan Mayo. The 6-foot-3 senior definitely possesses a
ton of power, as he’s mashed 19 home runs during the 2019 season while
also batting over .600 and knocking in 50 runs with a slugging
percentage of 1.333. As a junior, Baty belted 12 homers for the
Cavaliers.
Impressed
by Baty’s offensive prowess, the Mets added to a growing list of prized
minor league infielders that they hope will one day transform their
lineup in the same way that the trio of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and
Alex Bregman have infused new life into Houston’s order.
Brett Baty, a third baseman from Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, adjusts his jersey 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)
Baty
and his family flew to New Jersey for the draft and will head back to
Texas soon so that he can pitch the opening game of the Class 6A state
tournament Friday against Southlake Carroll at the Dell Diamond in Round
Rock. Baty’s presence on the mound has helped ease the loss of injured
teammate Jimmy Lewis, who was taken 78th overall by the Los Angeles
Dodgers on Monday night.
Baty comes into the state semifinals with an ERA of 0.84 and 79 strikeouts.
The
Mets’ gain appears to be the Texas Longhorns’ loss, as Baty’s expected
signing bonus is in the ballpark of $4.37 million. It would be more than
a bit surprising to see the 19-year-old turn down that type of money,
but then again, it wouldn’t be an unprecedented move.
The
Mets’ decision to take Baty represents the first time the franchise has
chosen a third baseman in the first round of the draft since Wright in
2001. Coincidentally, Baty’s T-ball team as a youth was also the Mets.
Lake Travis one of the best baseball teams is set on winning a state championship
A year after losing in the 6A regional quarterfinals, Lake Travis High School’s baseball team has returned with a vengeance. At 27-3 (14-1 in District 25-6A) on the 2019 season, the Cavaliers, who are district champions and among the top teams in the state, have their eyes set on winning the whole thing. Lake Travis coach Mike Rogers said rankings aren’t at all important, because the school’s team has been ranked highly before, only to get knocked out of the playoffs prematurely.
“The purpose was not to maintain a ranking but to get ready for the playoffs,” he said. “Going in, there is no, ‘Hey, we have to do this now’ mentality. It’s just doing what we’ve been doing. We’re going to pitch really well, we’re going to play great defense. And we’re going to take advantage of offensive situations and try to put pressure on people.”
Coach Rogers said the team has increased its running game, amassing more than 100 stolen bases this spring, and also bunting the ball better than past years. But mostly his Cavaliers are strong on defensive and pitching. “We’re always going to be a pitching and defensive team first. You get in the playoffs, I think that’s the key,” he said. “You’re facing everybody’s number-one [pitcher], quality arms are solid there. So, we’ve done that. We’ve sure been blessed with offensive talent and just performed well throughout the season.”
Brett Baty at the Dell Diamond for our Photo-shoot with Texas Sports Monthly. Photo: CJ Bills
Powerhouse seniors Brett Baty and Jimmy Lewis, and junior Storm Hierholzer, are the team’s top arms. Baty, also the team’s third baseman when he’s not on the mound, was named Gatorade Player of the Year last year when he hit .435 with 12 home runs. But he pitches consistently in the low 90s; although he has committed to play next year at UT, he is expected to be a first-round draft pick in June and will likely sign on to play professionally instead of attend college. Lewis, who also plays first base, throws in the mid-90s and has committed to play next year at LSU. He is also expected to be drafted pretty high, which may also encourage him to choose professional baseball over college. Lastly, Hierholzer, who has already signed on to play baseball at TCU, throws in the low 90s and is dominating in his own right.
And with strong pitching and defense, the team’s offense has been able to loosen up at the plate, often putting up football score-type games. Baty alone is hitting over .650 with about 50 RBIs and more than 15 home runs. “Obviously, we’re happy. I think the kids have embraced the early-season expectations and their own expectations as well,” coach Rogers said. “They’ve put a great effort forward, and [our record] is pretty nice. … We have the same routine every day. I think kids respond to that and get confidence in what they’re doing. It’s worked well for us.”
But the team is not invincible, as seen in the April 2, 9-5 loss at home to Akins, one of the worst teams in the district. Coach Rogers said he threw some different arms and wanted to see some non-starters get some playing time, although he said it’s not excuse. “It happens in baseball,” he said. “It didn’t work out. Also it was a wake-up call. Sometimes people think success is easy and take it for granted, so it kind of refocused us.”
Nonetheless, the team is focused on what it has to do to win a state championship in 6A. “We’re right where we thought they would be. It’s one of those things that really separates this bunch from earlier bunches as teams; is just the closeness as a unit. That’s something we talked about again in August, trying to maintain that bond and that cohesiveness and togetherness throughout the season. It’s easy to talk about; it’s hard to do sometimes when you’re playing more or not playing as much. But they’ve done a really good job of making sure that we stayed together.”
It
was mostly smooth sailing for District 25-6A’s Lake Travis and Westlake
during a pair of best-of-three area round playoff series this past
weekend.
The
district champion Cavaliers (31-3), currently ranked fifth in Class 6A
by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, swept San Antonio
Brandeis by respective scores of 8-2 and 5-1, while the Chaparrals
(29-6-1) defeated South San Antonio 11-0 and 8-7.
In
Lake Travis’ opener on Friday, the Cavs plated seven runs in the bottom
of the fourth to erase a 2-0 deficit. Lake Travis outhit the Broncos
11-5 and saw Kyle Boyer go 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, while
Jack Lopez and Braden Olsen were each 2 for 4. Leadoff man Brett Baty
finished 1 for 2 with a double and two RBIs.
Storm Hierholzer worked a complete game in the opener and held Brandeis to a pair of runs on five hits while striking out five.
The
Cavaliers secured the sweep on Saturday after taking advantage of three
Bronco errors and riding the 11-strikeout performance of Baty from the
mound. The Longhorn signee allowed one run on three hits in the contest.
Jack Jalufka was 1 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, and the duo of Aidan Babinski and Austin Plante also drove in a run.
Lake Travis will now face San Antonio Johnson in the regional quarterfinals.
It
was a tale of two very different games for Westlake, which slammed
South San 11-1 in five innings in Game 1 before using a walk-off in Game
2 to prevail in 12 innings.
Leo
Lowin clinched a series sweep on Friday by smacking a double to left
field to drive in teammate Austin Schmidt from second. The extra-base
knock capped a huge rally from the Chaps, who plated seven runs in the
bottom of the sixth to come all the way back from a 7-0 hole.
The
big inning included two-RBI base hits by Ford Elliott and Taylor
Anderson in addition to RBI singles from Grey Harrison and Elliot
Schwarzbach and a South San error.
Dylan
Savino picked up the win in relief after tossing six scoreless innings
and holding South San to just one hit while striking out eight.
In
Thursday’s opener, shortstop Peyton Sanderson went 3 for 4 with two
home runs and five RBIs. Lowin went 2 for 3 with a home run, a double
and three runs driven in. Harrison was the winning pitcher in Game 1
after surrendering one unearned run on three hits and striking out five
batters.
The Chaps are now slated to face No. 2-ranked San Antonio Reagan in the third round of the 6A postseason.
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.”
It’s been a long time since Austin Westlake beat Lake Travis, and this is the year that they can unseat the massive demon in black and red.
Lake Travis is looking somewhat vulnerable after dropping a game to Converse Judson and having their defense exposed a little bit. No one has scored less than 31 on the Cavaliers, and with the emergence of Taylor Anderson at quarterback, the Westlake offense is as strong as it has ever been, especially with massive senior running back Nakia Watson.
Lake Travis still has the athletes to defend well, but they haven’t been anywhere near as dominant as they were the last two years. The Cavaliers still have plenty of time to get it together, but make no mistake, last year’s defense isn’t walking through that door.
The X-Factor in this game, and for the season for Lake Travis, is tight end Kyle Wakefield. The massive senior is capable of completely dominating a game, but if he can be corralled, it’s a huge part of the dominating Lake Travis offense that’s been taken away.
The biggest element that could tip the scales in Lake Travis’s favor is Garrett Wilson. The junior can do absolutely everything for the Cavaliers, and will assuredly make some very significant plays in the big game.
However, Westlake’s defensive line might be the strongest part of the team, and one of the best kept secrets in Texas high school football. Led by Braden Cassity, the line is definitely capable of doing some damage to the Lake Travis offense if they can’t hold down their defensive front.
In short, it’s definitely possible, but there will be some things that need to break Westlake’s way for it to fully come to fruition. Westlake has the Cavaliers at home this year, which will factor in, but if they can lean on their run game and pressure Lake Travis quarterback Matthew Baldwin, they’ll definitely have a solid chance.
