By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
AUSTIN, Texas – By claiming the Texas 4A state football championship last season, Lake Travis finally won the hearts and admiration of its hometown.
But, by defeating cross-town rival Westlake 38-17 on Thursday before 10,000 fervent fans and a national television audience at Ebbie Neptune Field, the Cavaliers finally earned the keys to Austin.
On an absolutely still and steamy short-sleeve night, with pageantry bursting and bright lights gleaming, All-State quarterback Garrett Gilbert used his surprisingly nimble legs more than his rifle right arm to account for four touchdowns as Lake Travis prevailed for the first time in three tries against the host and perennial 5A power.
It was a non-district game so by literal accounts just a warm-up, a chance for two local teams to test the waters.
But make no mistake, this was a huge Central Texas shootout and by the Cavaliers prevailing, the pupil conquered the teacher.
Westlake has made six state 5A final appearances, winning in 1996. Before last season, Lake Travis had never won a second-round playoff game.
“Westlake has always been the dynasty in Austin,” said senior 6-foot-5, 260-pound tackle Paden Kelley, who will join Gilbert at Texas next season. “And we’ve been the young and promising team. To have this opportunity on this stage was awesome. To win and play so well is just incredible. These are the kind of game you live for in high school football.”
Said Lake Travis senior fullback Chris Aydam: “Winning the state title was definitely the most memorable game I’ve ever played in. But this was a close second.”
The game was actually closer than the final score indicated.
Lake Travis, ranked 16th in the country by MaxPreps, outgained Westlake 428-386 and each team did largely what it wanted on offense, combining for 38 first downs.
But the Cavaliers made all the plays when it needed most, while Westlake faltered time after time in the red zone.
Experience – they returned 11 starters – plus a bigger and more physical offensive front, plus the enormous talent of Gilbert proved decisive.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior, who set a state record with 4,826 yards passing and 52 touchdowns last season, actually rushed for scores of 1, 4 and 2 yards and led his squad with 81 yards rushing on 10 attempts.
He set the tone with a 27-yard yard scamper on his team’s first play from scrimmage.
“All week we told Garrett we’re going to use his legs much more this week,” said first-year Lake Travis coach Chad Morris, who replaced Jeff Dicus who left to take the head coaching job at Duncanville. “He’s just a great kid and player. With him, we just try not to screw it up.”
Gilbert, one of the nation’s top 20 recruits according to almost every recruiting service, was also affective passing, hitting 13 of 26 passes for 208 yards and a 49-yard touchdown to fullback Aydam with 1:07 left in the half.
The TD was a backbreaker for Westlake (0-2), which just a few minutes earlier looked to be driving for a go-ahead touchdown.
But the young Chaparrals caught the penalty bug, dropping back from the Lake Travis 19 to the 37 and on third down, junior quarterback Tanner Price, an impressive 6-3, 176-pound junior, was intercepted at the 5 by senior safety Jack Hourin.
It took just nine plays and a couple minutes – Morris runs a no-huddle spread attack – for the Cavaliers to complete the 14-point swing as Aydam took a swing pass and turned into a long touchdown, making it 24-10. Aydam had earlier scored on a 9-yard run.
“I think that definitely turned the game around,” Gilbert said. “One minute they were driving, we get an interception and then we drive it right back down. That was huge.”
Price, a southpaw who finished with 163 yards passing and he rushed for a touchdown, said his team’s inability to score in the red zone was key. The Chaps were able to run the ball effectively with talented senior running back Ryan Swope (22 rushes, 139 yards), but every time they needed a big play, run or pass the Cavaliers were in the backfield, especially senior defensive end Ryan Erxleben, who is one of the nation’s top punters.
Erxleben (6-0, 190) had eight tackles, including three behind the line.
“It just came down to a few plays here and there and we definitely hurt ourselves in the red zone,” Price said. “We stalled and they scored. It was as simple as that.”
Said Erxleben: "The stage was so big I figured I needed to come up big."
Westlake senior receiver Mike Walker also came up big. He had four catches for 75 yards, including the play of the game, a diving, far-reaching 40-yard catch in the second quarter to set up a 32-yard field goal by Cody Rademacher:
“There were two great teams out there in a real dog fight," Walker said. "But the better team won. We hurt ourselves with penalties at opportune times.”
They also muffed a kickoff after Aydam’s long touchdown catch that was recovered at the Westlake 35 by Trevor Gillette. After an 18-yard completion to Cade McCrary (4 catches, 83 yards), the drive stalled but Kramer Fyfe drilled a 23-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the half, to make it 24-10 at halftime.
When Gilbert snuck it home from the 1 with 5:33 left in the third quarter to cap a 73-yard drive.
For all intents and purposes this one was done, though Westlake never stopped coming. They got a 3-yard TD run by Price with 6:04 left in the fourth, but the Cavaliers answered right back with a 97-yard drive capped by a 3-yard run by Price.
But it took a determined Lake Travis squad to put it all together with a 75-yard scoring drive, finished off with Gilbert’s third rushing TD.
“I think I was most please with how we were able to block and run the ball the second half,” Morris said.
That also pleased Kelley.
:”Physically we wanted to take it to them and I feel we did,” he said. “We fired off the line and down in the trenches we busted heads. I just felt we were the more physical team tonight.”
Lake Travis 38, Westlake 17
Lake Travis 14 10 7 7 - 38
Westlake 3 7 0 7 - 17
First quarter
LT – Garrett Gilbert 1 run (Kramer Fyfe kicks), 5:35
W – FG, Cody Rademacher, 1:32
LT – Chris Aydam 9 run (Fyfe kick), :50
Second quarter
W – Mike Walker 16 pass from Tanner Price (Rademacher kick), 9:03
LT – Chris Aydam 48 pass from Gilbert (Fyfe kick), 1:07
LT – FG, Fyfe 23, :21
Third quarter
LT - Gilbert 4 run (Fyfe kick), 3:23
Fourth quarter
W – Price 3 run (Rademacher kick), 6:04.
LT – Gilbert 2 run (Fyfe kick), 1:54
Team statistics
First downs: Lake Travis 18, Westlake 20.
Rushes-yards: LT 28-220, W 36-207
Passing: LT 13-25-0-208; W 12-17-2-179
Total yards: LT 428, W 386
Turnovers: LT 0, W 2.
Penalties: LT 5-35, W 4-30.
Individual statistics
Rushing
Lake Travis, Gilbert 10-81, Chris Aydam 8-63, Colton Volpe 4-42, Andy Erickson 5-26, Cade McCrary 1-18; Westlake, Ryan Swope 22-139, Bryce Hager 4-45, Tanner Price 8-20, Jeff Ballew 2-3, Henry Ramirez 2-0.
Passing
Lake Travis, Gilbert 13-25-0-208; Westlake Price 10-15-2-163, Preston Dewey 2-2-0-16.
Receiving
Lake Travis, McCrary 4-83, Aydam 4-80, Erickson 3-20, Austin Pollard 1-14, Floyd 1-11. Westlake, Mike Walker 4-75, Stephen Dawkins 3-27, Matt Featherton 2-54, Dunn 1-11, Swope 1-7, Potter 1-5.
