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.
AUSTIN
— It’s common knowledge that Lake Travis spent the latter portion of
the season trying to work through an injury to starting quarterback
Hudson Card.
Thankfully for the Cavaliers, senior middle linebacker Maui Trevino is still there to command the other side of the ball.
Head
coach Hank Carter’s team kicked off the 2019 postseason by stifling
Smithson Valley 21-3 at home on Friday, Nov. 15 in Austin. In that game,
Lake Travis surrendered an early field goal to the Rangers but
absolutely clamped down on the visitors for the remaining three
quarters.
Trevino
was in the middle of the action all night and helped slow Smithson
Valley’s not-so-secret weapon — senior running back/wide receiver Greg
Eggleston, who came into the contest averaging 11.7 yards per touch.
The
Cavs limited the Rangers’ X-factor to just 15 yards on 12 carries,
while Trevino piled on 10 total tackles to bring his team-leading season
total to 91 prior to Lake Travis’ second-round matchup with San Antonio
Madison.
“Maui
is the leader of our defense,” Carter said. “He’s a three-year starter
and embodies everything you want from a middle linebacker. He’s smart,
tough, instinctive and is a great tackler. I’m proud of the player that
he’s become and he’s a huge part of our success this season.”
Of
course, there were still plenty of eyes fixed on Lake Travis junior
Nate Yarnell, who took over for Card during the week leading up to the
Del Valle game. Yarnell went 3-0 in the last three weeks of District
25-6A competition, but it was unknown if the playoffs would prove to be a
stumbling block.
However,
the 6-foot-6 junior stood tall when it counted and helped turn the tide
with a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter. The first was
capped by a 34-yard strike to Grayson Sandlin, while the second was an
81-yard march that saw Yarnell cover the final few feet on a 1-yard run.
“Nate
did a lot of good things,” Carter said. “He made some big throws and
runs when we needed them. He’ll continue to improve as he gets more
games under his belt.”
The
offense was also given a boost by running back Weston Stephens, who
churned out 160 yards on 27 carries to help the Cavs keep the chains
moving.
Defensively,
Trevino received additional support from defensive back D.J. Johnson
and defensive end Trey Sofia. Johnson shadowed Eggleston all night,
while Sofia caused a key fumble to help preserve the Cavaliers’ 14-3
halftime edge.
All of those players will be instrumental as the postseason rolls on.
Lake
Travis faces a matchup with Madison in the second round and will look
to slow the Mavericks’ one-two punch of quarterback Michael Garza (1,801
total yards, 23 TDs) and running back Darien Gill (1,131 yards, 10
TDs).
Garrett Wilson’s three second-quarter touchdowns helped Lake Travis pull away from San Antonio Madison last year for a 56-35 win in the 2018 Class 6A Division I Area playoff game.
There’s also hope that Card could return at some point down the line if the Cavs can keep on advancing. His prognosis, which initially stated that his injury required season-ending surgery, was changed to a four- to six-week timetable days after the Westlake game. It’s not known if Card will be healthy enough to get back on the field before he makes the move to the University of Texas, but even if he’s unable to return in 2019, Trevino and the defense will be ready for whatever comes their way.
Astros fans had plenty of reason to be nervous when George Springer left Sunday’s game against the Red Sox with back soreness.
After
all, Springer is off to a blazing start for Houston in 2019, as he came
into this week batting .313 with 17 homers, 42 RBIs, 41 runs scored and
an OPS of 1.050.
Luckily,
Springer’s MRI revealed no structural problems in his lower back, which
means the budding star outfielder will dodge a trip to the injured
list. Instead, he’s listed as day-to-day and could return for the
Astros’ current series against the White Sox, which wraps up Thursday.
However,
manager A.J. Hinch could choose to play it safe and keep Springer on
the shelf until this weekend’s three-game set with Boston at Minute Maid
Park. No matter what the decision, Houston can’t wait to see the
29-year-old back in the lineup launching “Springer dingers” at The Juice
Box.
As
of Tuesday evening, the Astros were in first place in the American
League West and held a comfortable 8 1/2-game lead over Oakland. That
enough is reason to believe that Houston won’t rush Springer — or
teammate Jose Altuve — back too soon.
Of
course, stellar performances are nothing new for Springer, who won the
2017 World Series MVP award while helping Houston outlast the Los
Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game showdown than neither fan base will ever
forget.
But
Springer has raised his game even more this season, which is reflected
by the fact that he leads the American League in home runs, RBIs, runs
scored and total bases while hitting in a deep Astros lineup. He’s on
pace for a career year across the board if he can stay healthy, but a
few days of rest likely won’t hurt him in the long run — even if he
can’t wait to get back out on the field.
“I
always want to play,” Springer told the Houston Chronicle’s David
Barron when asked if he would be back in the lineup on Monday. “I’ll see
how I feel and I’ll go from there.”
Springer’s
production hasn’t just helped Houston win games — he’s also becoming a
fantasy baseball hero nationwide. On Yahoo.com’s list of top performers,
Springer ranked third overall on Tuesday night and was ahead of big
names like Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper.
Houston Astros’ George Springer (4) watches his two-run home run in front of Boston Red Sox’s Christian Vazquez during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Boston, Friday, May 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Not bad for a guy making $12 million per season compared to more than twice that price for the newly-signed Harper.
If
Springer continues his current surge, his contract will surely balloon,
but for now, the Astros just want him back in center field as soon as
possible. Once he returns and Houston moves closer to being at full
strength, there will only be two worlds of advice for every team they
face from here on out.
