Hutto coach Brad LaPlante knows he has a special team with high aspirations. That’s why when asked how he felt about his team’s 38-14 win against Georgetown Friday at Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex in Georgetown, LaPlante didn’t exactly bask in victory.
“I would like to think we would’ve played better,” LaPlante said. “I’m going to give all the credit in the world to Georgetown, but there were times we didn’t play well enough on defense or offense. You saw it. Running backs and receivers running into each other. Those aren’t things that we normally do.”
The critiques may seem harsh for an undefeated team coming off a 24-point win. But LaPlante is aware it takes better efforts than that to win state championships. He’s not judging his squad by the scoreboard. He’s judging his squad against perfection.
Though LaPlante sees plenty to chew on in practice next week, most fans left happy after seeing their team win easily against an opponent they needed a last-second field goal to beat the year before. Senior Chase Griffin threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-27 passing.
His second touchdown pass came on a three-play, 68-yard drive that lasted about 30 seconds to end the half. He started it with a 26-yard dart down the right sideline to senior running back Chux Nwabuko, then threw a wide receiver screen to junior Dajon Harrison for 21 yards and capped it with a beautiful 21-yard toss to senior D.J. Baptist on a go route. The late score gave Hutto a comfortable 28-7 entering the break.
“When you get the ball at the end of the half, some people are afraid to screw up,” LaPlante said. “We have full trust in our quarterback that he’s going to make good choices. So when you have somebody that’s either going to run it and slide for a seven-yard gain, throw the ball away or make the throw like he did to Chux down the sideline to get us going, you can call higher risk plays… When you have a good decision-maker, it’s easier to be more aggressive.”
Senior Caleb Forrest led all receivers with eight grabs for 104 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown to get the scoring going in the first quarter. Nwabuko rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries and added 22 yards on four catches.
Griffin called his own number for two scores on the ground – one from five yards out in the second quarter and the other from nine yards out in the third. He worked with Nwabuko’s dad in the offseason to improve his speed and its added another dimension to his game. After rushing for just 65 yards and three touchdowns last year, he already has 106 yards and five scores in less than half as many games.
“Rick alluded to the question of ‘what do we need to do to get to state?’ We need to be more versatile in our offense,” LaPlante said. “You can’t drop back against the Cedar Parks and throw the ball 51 times a game. So when you have three good running backs, five or six good wide receivers, well now, they have to worry about Chase running the ball?
“That is an added element. So credit him No. 1 for getting faster and working on it, but No. 2 we realize that’s just one more way we’re dangerous.”
After surrendering 30-plus points in each of its first three games, Hutto’s defense has now held two straight opponents to 14. Georgetown gained only 319 yards on 62 plays for 5.1 yards per play. The Hippos blew a coverage on a fake wide receiver screen that left senior Noah Drum wide open for a 44-yard touchdown, but other than that points were tough to come by. Hutto’s young-but-talented defensive line of sophomore Landyn Watson, junior Lordswill Uwa and sophomore Braylon Sugg caused problems for the Eagles’ offense and allowed the rest of the Hippo defense to drop back into coverage and defend the pass.
“You saw (No.) 21 Landyn Watson. There was a time eight out of ten plays where he took over that game. That’s how good of a player he can be when he figures out he’s better than the kid across from him,” LaPlante said. “All three of those guys. We have a junior and two sophomores, so we’ve got a couple years with that good front left. (Watson) is the leader of that pack and his motor brings more intensity to those other kids.”
The dry Texas heat, the grass clippings, the pairs of cleats stabbing the dirt, and the yelling from coaches to play with more effort. It’s football season folks. On the outskirts of Austin lies Hutto a rural town that supports their Hippos, last season brought execution and success into the playoffs for this team.
A lot has changed for the school most notably a new coaching era. Meet Coach Brad Laplante, the former offensive coordinator who takes over the reins from recent retired Coach Steve Van Meter. Van Meter led the Hippos to a very impressive 11-2 record before losing to Fort Bend Marshall 35-32. Hutto is believed to be in great hands in Laplante who has great admiration for his formal coach.
“Coach VanMeter is a person that I will forever be thankful that our paths crossed. God put us in the position to meet when coaching colleagues of mine informed Coach Van about me and he trusted the coach and person I was during our interview. Coach got here in 2013, and after 1 season, I arrived to work with him. Our discipline, leadership, academics, standards, and level of play all rose because of his leadership, the good families we get to work with, and because of the good staff he put together here at Hutto. His biggest influence for his players and coaching staff was to have us all trust each other and “do what’s in your wheelhouse.” He wanted us all to be who we were and embrace that. Love that man.”
This will be Coach Laplante’s third coaching gig. Not much will change but he will get creative putting his players to make plays this upcoming season.
”Coach VanMeter and I worked side by side to instill our offensive philosophy, develop plays, and put our players in position to succeed. We lost 3 very good senior starters on offense. Other players will be asked to play an expanded role, some players may play both sides of the ball, and the experienced players coming back have great leadership to help out the new guys. As our team moves forward, we will be better because our defense continues to improve, and last spring ran to the ball really well. We don’t need to play mistake-free ball, but we hurt ourselves in the losses we had last year.”
A lot of that responsibility falls on junior quarterback Chase Griffin. Griffin recently committed to UCLA and looks to add to his resume this season. Making smart decisions and controlling the game is crucial for the quarterback to put points on the scoreboard. The past two seasons he has limited his mistakes committing less than ten interceptions in each of those seasons.
“Chase is the most complete QB on and off the field I have had the absolute pleasure to coach. Elite players make the other players better around them. His numbers, production, limit of turnovers won’t need to improve. His leadership, we expect, will rise to another level this year, and he will make other players around him better. For us to go deeper than we ever have, his checks at the line of scrimmage will need to be on point, and his ability to read the pocket pressure and get the ball out quickly will serve him well.”
It all starts in the off-season, practice, as well as the weight room. And it all starts with the coach.
“My vision for this season is to watch our players and see them play so hard, that I never have to question what the scoreboard says. The excitement level has to be high each and every day. Good, mature players understand that everything we do matters as a team, and everything we do is for the success of the team. I would love for our practice intensity to grow, and our football IQ to grow so we don’t understand just the play/coverage etc., but we understand the concept of it as a whole. We have had an awesome off-season. Our players have been hungry in the weight room, we did well in lineman challenges, our guys have shown out at camps, and we were very successful at 7 on 7. When our players work hard, positively affect the others around them, and play at their highest level, we are a tough group to beat.”
The Hippos open the season beginning with West Mesquite then go on to play Liberty Hill and Del Valle. Times are pretty exciting for the Hippo fans which expect a full house in every home game.
“As a head coach, my intention is to build on what our staff has been working on for 5 years. It’s a great time to be a Hutto Hippo, but we can still raise the bar in academics, recruiting, and our play. Our players have bought into #EverythingMatters!”
Everything will matter once they step on that field against Mesquite. One things for sure it all starts with their identity on both sides of the ball.
“Our style or brand of play won’t change, we may even try to play faster on offense. Defensively 2 big goals are to be better in 1 on 1 coverage situations and stop the big play. I truly believe teams will have a hard time moving the ball on our defense the length of the field without explosive plays.”
Everyone get ready. Central Texas high school football has come alive and is here to stay.
