Back from shoulder injury, Clemson-bound quarterback accounts for five touchdowns while sophomore Jack Kayser adds 170 yards rushing in Chaparrals' victory.
The injured left shoulder of
Westlake (Austin, Texas) quarterback
Cade Klubnik looked healthy and repaired Friday after a three-week absence. His right one wasn't bad either as he accounted for five touchdowns and the No. 3 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 fired on all cylinders in a 63-21 home victory over crosstown rival
Lake Travis (Austin) at Chaparral Stadium.
It was the 34th straight win overall for the Chaparrals (10-0), who last lost in 2019 to of all teams, Lake Travis, which were never really in this one. Westlake raced to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes and boosted it to 42-14 by halftime. Klubnik accounted for more than 250 yards, threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more.
Besides a great performance from his offensive line, sophomore running back
Jack Kayser
rushed 21 times for 170 yards, caught two passes for 89 more yards and scored two long touchdowns.
He burst through the line for a 62-yard run late in the second quarter,
then somehow broke through the Lake Travis defense on an 85-yard
kickoff return for score in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Clemson-bound Klubnik rehabbed his non-throwing shoulder during the latter part of October, but the two-time defending 6A state champion didn't blink during his absence. They scored 77 twice and outscored their three foes by a count of 210-9.
Lake Travis (8-2) figured to offer more of a challenge, but Westlake breezed to the District 26 6A championship.
Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik accounted for four touchdowns in the first half as the Chaparrals took a 42-14 halftime lead.
Photo by Stan Martin
It didn't take long for Klubnik to show he was 100 percent. He capped a 68-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown run, giving Westlake a 7-0 lead.
After a Lake Travis three-and-out, Klubnik connected with favorite receiver
Jaden Greathouse on a beautiful 56-yard touchdown bomb, making it 14-0 with five minutes into the game.
Lake Travis quarterback
Bo Edmundson answered with an equally beautiful 31-yard touchdown strike to
Caleb Burton, closing the gap to 14-7.
A 1-yard Klubnik scramble, followed by a 50-yard, pick-6 from
Adam Sullivan made it 28-7 Westlake early in the second quarter.
Edmondson capped another long drive with a 1-yard TD sneak to cut the deficit to 28-14, but the Chaps took complete control with two late second-quarter touchdowns.
Klubnik threaded the needle on a 12-yard touchdown strike to
Keaton Kubecka with 2:51 left, and after a quick three-and-out, Kayser burst through the line for a 62-yard touchdown with 1:23 remaining in the half.
Jaden Greathouse hauls in a 56-yard touchdown pass from Cade Klubnik.
Photo by Stan Martin
By halftime, Westlake had 312 total yards and Klubnik was 8-of-9 passing for 134 yards and two touchdowns with 29 yards rushing and two more scores.
"He got hurt four weeks ago, went to work on his rehab and here he is," Westlake coach Todd Dodge told a KXAN stream audience. "He was ready to go. It doesn't surprise me one bit. It's who he is."
Dodge was even more complimentary of the players up front.
"It's the O-line," he said. "The offensive line played so well. They protected Cade; opened holes. .... But we can't blink. This is the best we've played in this game for a while. That's a really good football team and we have to come out play like it's 0-0 the second half."
Lake Travis struck first in the second half on an 18-yard touchdown run by Burton. But Kayser answered immediately with a spectacular 85-yard kickoff return for touchdown, making it 49-21 with 5:00 in the third quarter.
Klubnik fired his third TD pass, a 28-yard strike to
Bryce Chambers with 10:05 left in the fourth quarter, to give the Chaps a 56-21 lead. Chambers added a four-yard touchdown run to make it 63-21 with 5:50 left.
The last time the teams met, Lake Travis pulled off a 26-25 home win in 2019. That was the last meeting as last year's game was canceled because of COVID-19. The Cavaliers
had won 11 of the previous 15 meetings since 2006.
Westlake running back Jack Kayser rushed for a 62-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and added a remarkable 85-yard kickoff return for a TD in the third quarter.
Photo by Stan Martin
Lake Travis quarterback Bo Edmundson had a rushing and passing touchdown in the first half.
Photo by Stan Martin
