Week Ten - Vista Ridge vs Cedar Park

This was the final week of the regular season.  I decided to see the game between the Vista Ridge Rangers and the Cedar Park Timberwolves.  Cedar Park was ranked #1 in class 5A in Texas and entered the game with a perfect 9-0 record.  Vista Ridge had a record of 8-1 and was ranked #10 in class 5A.  If they could knock off the T’wolves, Vista Ridge would claim the district 25-5A title.  With both teams being from Cedar Park, it should be a good rivalry game as well.  So now the question is: can I find any barbeque in the Cedar Park area?

The Barbeque

Looking for BBQ places in Cedar Park on the Google, I found two possibilities: Bigcat BBQ and J&J BBQ and Burgers.  If the place serves burgers in addition to BBQ, just how good is the barbeque going to be?  When I saw that Bigcat closes at 4 PM and J&J is open until 9 PM, my decision was made for me.

J&J is located at 300 W Whitestone (FM 1431) in Cedar Park, just west of US 183.  It is a family restaurant that sells breakfast tacos in the morning, burgers, fried chicken, and BBQ.  There was a small line to wait through before I could place my standard order: a half pound of moist brisket, two pork ribs, and a glass of tea.  I paid the bill and was given a number.  With the restaurant a wee bit crowded for dinner, I feared I might have to wait a while on my order, but a waiter presented me with my food as I was getting my tea and some pickles and onions.

The brisket looked more like the lean variety instead of the moist – sliced thin and a little dry.  In their defense, the restaurant was busy. My request for moist brisket might have gotten lost or mistranslated.  The brisket was sliced in the kitchen, out of my sight, so I didn’t have a chance to suggest any corrections.  But it did have a nice bark on the outside and a deep smoke ring.  Very tender and tasty.  The ribs were juicy and tender, with a peppery rub.  They served their sauce on the side (as it should be).  It was not too thick and had a nice tang to it.  Overall, it was some of the better barbeque I’ve had this season, but the brisket could have been a touch more moist.

Happy plate

The Game

The game was played at Gupton Stadium.  Opened in 2010, the stadium is used by both Vista Ridge and Cedar Park as their home field.  For this game, the Rangers were the home team and I started the game on their side of the stadium.  There was a light rain falling before the game started, with the wind blowing out of the north and the temperature at 58 degrees.

It was “senior night” for Vista Ridge.  Each of the senior players were escorted by their parents, girl friends, cousins, etc. and were introduced to the crowd.  The Cedar Park band started warming up across the way.  The stadium announcer asked that the band stop playing until after all the seniors had been introduced, but the T’wolves band kept on playing.  I took that as their way of thumbing their nose at their rival.  Then it was time for each band to play their school song.  Cedar Park went first as the visiting team.  When the Vista Ridge band began playing their school song, the T’wolves team ran onto the field.  With their band playing and fans yelling, the Ranger alma mater was drowned out.  Cedar Park 2, Vista Ridge 0 in nose thumbing. . .

The Rangers fumbled the opening kick-off, but were able to recover it.  They picked up a couple of first downs, but fumbled on the T’wolves 45.  Cedar Park marched down the field, with Jack Grimm going the last 14 yards for the first score of the game.  With 6:39 left in the first quarter, Cedar Park was up 7-0.

Vista Ridge took possession on their own 25 after the T’wolves kick-off.  Quarterback Matt Snow got the Rangers moving with his passes and his running.  Isaiah Vilaire Scored on a 55 yard dash and the extra point tied the game at 7-7.

Cedar Park drove deep into Ranger territory the next time their offense got the ball.  But the drive stalled and they settled for a 37 yard field goal to push the score to 10-7 with 1:39 left in the first quarter.

Timberwolves on the move

The Rangers went 3 and out on their next possession and had to punt.  The T’wolves set up shop on their own 33 and moved into Ranger territory as the first quarter ended.  Quarterback Mak Sexton connected with Grimm for a 43 yard touchdown pass.  With 10:39 left in the second quarter, the T’wolves were up 17-7.

The two teams traded punts in the second quarter as the rain stopped falling.  With 4:31 left to play, Cedar Park took over on their own 14 yard line.  Facing fourth and 1 from their own 23, the T’wolves lined up to punt.  Before the snap, they changed their formation.  A wing back went in motion and ran the ball on a jet sweep to the 29 to pick up the first down.  Sexton completed a 40 yard pass to Tommy Lavine to give the T’wolves first and goal from the Ranger 10.  On third down, Grimm crashed in from the two for his third touchdown of the half.  The first half ended with Cedar Park ahead 24-7.

Cedar Park awaits third quarter kick-off

The T’wolves received the opening kick of the third quarter.  On second and 13, Jav Guidry ran 68 yards for another Cedar Park touchdown.  That made the score 31-7 with 11:08 left in the third quarter.  They scored so quickly, fans getting popcorn during half time might have missed that play.  Too bad Gupton Stadium does not have a jumbotron where they can show replays.

Vista Ridge started their next possession from the 25.  Matt Snow completed some good passes and had a 38 yard run down to the T’wolves 13.  Facing fourth and 4 from the 7 yard line, Snow pitched to Vilaire.  He was stopped short of the end zone and fumbled into it.  A Ranger player recovered for what appeared to be a touchdown.  But by rule, a ball carrier cannot fumble the ball forward on a fourth down play.  The Rangers were given the ball on the 1 yard line.  Jeremiah Chambers crashed in for the score to cut the lead to 31-14 with 5:01 left in the third quarter.

Cedar Park wasted no time in responding to the Rangers score.  With the ball on the 31 yard line, Lavine started up the middle, bounced outside for a 25 yard run.  Later in the drive, Lavine ran a jet sweep for a 31 yard touchdown run to put the T’wolves up 38-14.

After a Cedar Park field goal of 28 yards made the score 41-14, Vilaire took an option pitch for 67 yards and a Ranger score.  The extra point made it 41-21 with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter.  The T’wolves scored yet another touchdown on an 11 yard run by William Richter to extend the lead to 48-21.  Vista Ridge was able to pick up a couple of first downs, but never threatened again.  Cedar Park took possession with under a minute to play in the game.  They lined up in the victory formation to kill the clock.  Final score 48-21 Cedar Park.

With the win, the Timberwolves ended the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.  They clinched the district 25-5A title and were awarded the Mayor’s Cup for beating Vista Ridge.  Both teams will now get ready for the “second season” as the play-offs begin next week.