Jeff Cheatum to have his kids in top shape this season as Round Rock looks to make a run at District play in 2024.
The Dragons are led by Mason Cochran at the QB spot this year and the Senior QB will use his arm and legs to move the ball this season. He has already rushed for 3079 yards since 2021.
Round Rock proved a worthy challenger for Vandegrift’s
District 13-6A throne, but the defending league champs got a stellar
game out of senior quarterback Dru Dawson and made a couple key
defensive stops in the final frame to maintain their supremacy with a
32-25 win Friday at Monroe Stadium in Austin.
“We needed this,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “This is good
development for us, and I told the guys all week that this is going to
be a playoff atmosphere. This is going to be like a 4th round 6A playoff
game, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Dawson completed 17-of-20 passes for 275 yards with four
touchdowns and an interception while adding 69 yards with his legs in by
far his best game of the year. He also made a pair of big plays on a
fourth-quarter touchdown drive to push the Vipers ahead for good.
After a 19-3 mid-game run allowed Round Rock to take a slim one-point lead, Dawson heaved a deep ball in stride to junior wide receiver Taylor Dumar for a 39-yard gain to the 15. Three plays later, he scrambled around to give his guys extra time to shake free and found senior tight end Brady Middleton wide open in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.
“His improvement just continues to go up, and up, and up,”
Sanders said. “He was so accurate tonight. He made one bad throw the
whole night, really. Other than that, when he couldn’t throw it, he took
off and ran. He had several nice runs for us, too. And then on the
sideline when we had a little of that lull… I heard him over to the side
talking to his guys and encouraging them, and that’s just what I need
from my senior quarterback.”
Round Rock rolled up 348 rushing yards and 23 first downs, by
far the most Vandegrift had given up in either category all season. But
the Vipers succeeded in their game plan to take senior wide receiver
Collin Sullivan out of the game. The Division I signee (Purdue) finished
with just one catch for nine yards (albeit, a touchdown).
“We were not going to allow them to big-play us,” Sanders said. “We were going to bleed a slow death and our philosophy worked.”
After retaking the lead with Dawson’s fourth quarter heroics,
Vandegrift’s defense stepped up on consecutive possessions with a
three-and-out and a fourth-down stop in the red zone.
“We’ve been in kind of an odd front the last several games. We
had to go back at key points in our game and go back to our even front
on defense, made some adjustments there and stopped them,” Sanders said.
“A critical stop that we had that we needed, was because we went back
to something we’ve been doing for years. We just haven’t done it much
this year.
“It was nice to see us be able to adjust and do it immediately.
Our kids, I always tell them, their secret weapon is how smart they
are, and they were able to really adjust to what we were doing and make
plays. It’s hard for a defense, when you stop everybody all year long,
and you come against an offense like this, that is scoring on you, it’s
hard for you to not get down on yourself, and those guys found a way to
rally, keep themselves mentally pumped up, and find a way to win.”
The offense proceeded to run the final 5:21 off the clock with
some bruising runs by junior running back Bowen Lewis (24 carries, 118
yards, 47-yard TD reception), a fantastic catch on a deep ball by senior
wide receiver Trey Mongauzy (7 catches, 132 yards, TD, 32 yards
rushing) and pivotal seven-yard run on third down by Dawson.
“Round Rock is going to have a great rest of their year.
Hopefully, we do, too,” Sanders said. “To be able to win a third or
fourth round 6A playoff game, like what tonight was, that just speaks
volumes to our kids, coaches and everybody else.”
Saturday was another great afternoon to be an Eagle, as No. 1-ranked Georgetown blasted Pflugerville Weiss 13-0 at home in a winner-take-all Class 5A bi-district playoff contest.
The Eagles (32-2-1) invoked the 10-run mercy rule after notching 11 hits and doing all of their damage offensively in the first and third innings.
Georgetown took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the opening frame thanks to RBIs from Ty Tilson, Jackson Sioson, Wesley Dixon and Grant Wood in addition to a double steal that allowed Wyatt Childress to swipe home.
With starting pitcher Jack Brinley in cruise control mode, the Eagles struck for eight more runs in the third. Dixon posted an RBI triple before he was brought in by a single from Wood, and Jeffrey David soon added an RBI double. Georgetown also received an RBI single from Cole Posey and saw Sioson cap the game’s scoring with an RBI triple to right field.
Sioson finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Wood was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs as well.
Brinley got the win after tossing four scoreless innings and striking out six. Ryan Courtney worked the final inning and fanned two.
Head coach Adam Foster’s team is now slated to battle College Station in the area round.
Rouse sweeps Bastrop Cedar Creek
The Rouse Raiders made short work of Bastrop Cedar Creek after notching 8-3 and 2-1 wins this past weekend to move on to the second round of the 5A postseason.
Rouse (21-10) overcame a 2-0 deficit in its bi-district series opener on Thursday by scratching across six straight runs in the third and fourth frames. Connor Bennett was a huge part of the triumph, as he went the distance from the bump with 10 strikeouts and also finished 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.
Dalton Porter launched a two-run home run to tie the game in the third, and the Raiders plated two more runs on an error to take a 4-2 lead. Rouse took advantage of seven Cedar Creek miscues in the opener.
Game 2 on Friday was much more closely contested, with the Raiders finally breaking through for two tallies in the bottom of the sixth. Down 1-0, Rouse saw Fischer Kingsbery deliver a two-run triple to right field to bring in both Robert Mount and Lance Little.
Kingsbery, who started the game, then slammed the door shut on Cedar Creek by retiring three of the four batters he faced in the top of the seventh. Kingsbery allowed just four hits and notched five strikeouts in the win while also going 3 for 3 from the plate.
The Raiders will now turn their attention to the Porter Spartans in a second-round matchup.
Dragons roast Bridgeland 13-2
District 13-6A champ Round Rock belted Bridgeland 13-2 this past Thursday in a one-game bi-district playoff.
The Dragons (25-10) jumped out to a 10-0 lead and brought the mercy rule into play by plating three more runs in the top of the sixth and then silencing Bridgeland in the bottom half of the frame.
Reagan Doss crushed a three-run home run to left in the first inning to help his team take a 4-0 lead, and he finished with four total RBIs. Colton Regan added a solo shot to increase Round Rock’s advantage to 7-0 in the third.
Jared McKenzie and Cameron Dayton also had big outings at the plate for the Dragons. McKenzie, the team’s leadoff hitter, went 2 for 3 with a triple, a double, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Dayton was 2 for 4 with a double and one run driven in.
Dayton also collected the victory from the hill after throwing five innings and giving up two runs on four hits while striking out three. Sean Swain tossed a scoreless sixth and struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Up next for Round Rock is a matchup with Conroe Oak Ridge in the upcoming area round.
After a subpar start to begin the 2019 season the Round Rock Dragons have steamrolled their district rivals losing just once to Stoney Point. In a season where mediocrity began to set the tone for the Dragons, they buckled down and prepared to take over the district. Coach John Carter has done a fantastic job adjusting this season and playoffs are now a thought for this team.
The change in mindset has allowed Round Rock to focus and close out wins and even dominate in some instances. A complete 180 from a mediocre group of kids to a team that plays together to make sure they close games and leave each field with a win. The constant grind in district is precious and with just a couple of games left in the season they cannot allow themselves to get comfortable but use this momentum to evolve to another level come playoff time.
Round Rock currently has a three game lead in district over Stoney Point and should take home the district title once all is said and done. A district title will give them the confidence to begin the playoffs on the right foot therefore presenting them the opportunity to go deep in the playoffs. They know what mediocrity is but they also have a taste of what winning can feel like as well in the tough 6A competition.
April is the last month of the regular season; Round Rock has made a name for themselves in the Central Texas high school area. They have earned every local high school’s respect from digging themselves out of a hole to claiming their spot in the playoffs. Anything is possible for this team based in Williamson County.
Aside from the fact there are other elite juggernaut teams in the Central Texas area, Round Rock for now is currently knocking on the door and will eventually bust through in the playoffs to make themselves heard.
