As Lake Travis' streak ends, so does Eastside Memorial's

Hank Carter and Darrell Crayton had experiences last weekend that were at the same time alike and dissimilar.

Carter's night was less fun. Already missing their most experienced receiver (Conner Floyd, out since the season opener against Westlake), Carter's Lake Travis (Austin) Cavaliers went into Friday's home matchup with Aledo without quarterback Michael Brewer, who was injured the previous week against Hendrickson but was believed ready to return.

The result was a 14-10 loss to Johnathan Gray and the Bearcats in a battle of last season's Class 4A state champions. Aledo, which won 4A Division II, got 145 yards on 31 carries from Gray, who scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

The loss was Carter's first as the Cavs' head coach and was Lake Travis' first since 2007, a span of 48 games. The melancholy that descended upon suburban southwest Austin was all too familiar on the city's east side, and for reasons that only included football.

The Johnston Rams defeated Travis in their penultimate game in 2003, then lost or had to forfeit their next 41 games. Then there no longer was a Johnston High School — it was closed by the state for poor academic performance and re-opened as Eastside Memorial (Austin). The renamed Panthers hadn't played a varsity game since 2007: they played junior-varsity schedules in 2008-09.

In its first two games as a varsity team, Eastside Memorial (a 4A school) lost 58-0 to 3A Rockdale and 43-7 to 2A Lago Vista. But on Thursday, the Panthers got two rushing touchdowns each from Tylanedor Hill and Desmine Shaw and held off St. Andrew's, a small Austin private school, 42-34.

That ended the Eastside Memorial/Johnston streak at 43 consecutive losses. Next up for the Panthers? San Antonio Memorial ... which has lost 43 in a row on the field (one loss later was forfeited) and, in 1983-89, lost 51 in a row.

Elsewhere in Austin, San Antonio and South Texas ...

2. Manziel vs. Brown: Tivy (Kerrville) continued its spectacular start with a 54-45 victory over Steele (Cibolo). The teams' stars were at their best: Tivy quarterback Johnny Manziel was 34 of 42 for 428 yards with six touchdowns, and ran for 130 yards and two more scores. Steele running back Malcolm Brown, meanwhile, ran for a career-best 353 yards and four touchdowns.

3. Pfabulous start: In a game matching one of the Austin area's top teams with one of the best from San Antonio, Pflugerville outlasted Reagan (San Antonio) 44-35. Storm Woods of the Panthers ran for 194 yards on 16 carries, including touchdown runs of 54 and 75 yards. The injury-plagued Rattlers led 35-28 before Pflugerville — which eliminated Reagan from last year's playoffs — scored 16 unanswered points to end the third period, then hung on in the fourth,

4. No place like home: The O'Connor (Helotes) volleyball team is just 17-11 overall in a rebuilding season, but the Panthers have continued to make themselves at home in their own district. After defeating rival Brandeis, O'Connor is 4-0 in District 27-5A and has won 65 consecutive district matches overall.

5. Outside Austin/San Antonio: Victoria East, a new school, won its first two games and grabbed a quick 21-0 lead over Calallen before the traditionally strong Wildcats regrouped for a 39-35 victory ... King (Corpus Christi), the top-ranked volleyball team in Class 5A and No. 11 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard, continued to roll with victories last week over Beeville and Orange Grove.

TOP PERFORMERS
(Non-Johnny Manziel-Malcolm Brown division)

* Armando Aj Garza, La Villa: Against Brownsville St. Joseph, Garza completed 26 of 30 passes, three for touchdowns, and a Rio Grande Valley-record 525 yards in a 38-27 victory.

* Connor Sheehan, Anderson (Austin): Sheehan returns to the list with another stellar all-around performance. In the Trojans' 29-28 victory over Georgetown, he ran for 61 yards and a touchdown, recorded 12 tackles and a sack and also kicked a 42-yard field goal.

* Hasan Ali, O'Connor (Helotes): Led the Panthers to their first victory with 331 rushing yards and six touchdowns as O'Connor outlasted previously unbeaten Holmes 59-56.

COMING ATTRACTIONS
Among this week's top events ...

* In one of the last marquee non-district football matchups, 3-0 Tivy goes on the road to take on 2-1 Lake Travis. Will Brewer be back to turn this into a quarterback showdown?

* Churchill (San Antonio), a surprisingly strong 3-0, visits Judson (Converse), which rebounded from a Week 1 (really 2) loss to Leander with a 31-17 victory over Roosevelt.

* Westlake (Austin) 0-3? Yep, and the Chaparrals could be staring at 0-4 after meeting 2-0 Pflugerville.

MY $.02 WORTH
After 17 years in San Antonio, a new job will take me to Corpus Christi. I've seen some remarkable players and games over the years in S.A. and will miss it. But the Coastal Bend has its share of stars and rivalries, too, and figures to be just as fun. In any event, I'll continue to provide weekly updates from the Austin/San Antonio/South Texas region ... just from a different room.

Gaylon Krizak is putting a lot of miles on his truck. Catch him when you can at grkinsa@gmail.com.