We’re down to the semi-finals, the Final Four. The closest game to me is a 6A Division 1game
in Waco between the Westlake Chaparrals and the three time defending state
champion Allen Eagles. Sounds like it’s
time for a Road Trip. Is there any good
barbeque in Waco? I am about to find
out.
The
Barbeque
While I could stop off at Rudy’s Country Store for
barbeque, the question is: why? I could
get their BBQ in Austin, or Round Rock, or any of maybe twenty different towns. I want to try a place I’ve never been to
before and see what they serve. Per my
friend the Google, I’m headed to Vitek’s BBQ.
Located at 1600 Speight Ave (just off I-35) in Waco,
Vitek’s has been in business since 1915.
It is yet another place that started out as a country store and evolved into
a BBQ joint. They are known for a meal
they call the “Gut Pack”, but I ordered my usual moist brisket and ribs. The ribs were meaty and smoky, but a bit chewy. The brisket had a good bark and smoke ring,
but not consistently moist. Some slices
were juicy, while others were dry. The brisket was tender, but was lacking in
flavor. The sauce was a typical ketchup
based sauce that didn’t add much. The
pickles and onions were served together in a small Styrofoam cup. The pickles were buried under the finely
chopped onions and I had to dig down to get them. Overall the barbeque was not bad, but I have
had better this season.
The
Game
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon
at McLane Stadium where Baylor plays.
But with the threat of bad weather on Saturday, the schools agreed to
move the game to Friday night at Waco ISD Stadium. What a good decision – clear skies, 69
degrees at kick-off, and no rain. There
was a pretty strong breeze out of the south the teams would face.
 |
| Waco ISD Stadium |
How
they got here. . .
Westlake entered the game with a 13-1 record, their
only loss at the hands of Lake Travis during district play. Their play-off record:
- ·
Round 1 35-14
over Round Rock
- ·
Round 2 28-3
over The Woodlands
- ·
Round 3 56-7
over North Mesquite
- ·
Round 4 49-28
over Atascocita
Allen entered the game with a 14-0 record. The three time defending state champion had a
57 game win streak on the line. They
will lose at some point in time.
Likewise, the sun will explode and our solar system will be destroyed at
some point in time. The question is:
which will happen first? Allen’s
play-off record:
- ·
Round 1 50-14
over Byron Nelson
- ·
Round 2 41-40
over The Desoto
- ·
Round 3 36-11
over Arlington Martin
- ·
Round 4 48-27
over Denton Ryan
Westlake won the toss and elected to receive. With a strong wind behind them, the Allen
kick-off sailed through the end zone for a touchback. Starting from the own 25 yard line, the
Chaparrals picked up a couple of early first downs. On second down and 7, quarterback Sam
Ehlinger lofted a deep pass to Reed Klubnik who was tackled on the Eagles
27. Klubnik appeared to hurt his ankle
on the play and the Chaps all time leader in pass reception yardage did not
return to the game. Ehlinger completed
another pass down to the Eagles 16 for a first down, but the drive stalled
after that. Westlake settled for a field
goal and the kick from 26 yards was good.
With 8:05 to play in the first, the Chaps were up 3-0.
 |
| Westlake driving in the first quarter |
Going into the wind, the Westlake kick-off was caught
on the Eagles 9. A great return set
Allen up on the Chaps 49. Quarterback
Mitchell Jonke was sacked on third and 8.
Held to three and out, the Eagles punt sailed into the end zone, giving
Westlake the ball on the 20 yard line.
 |
| Allen begins a drive after a big kick-off return |
The Chaps were unable to move the ball and were forced
to punt after going three and out. The
Eagles took possession on their own 41.
The Chaps defense forced another three and out. This time the Allen punt rolled dead on the
Westlake 15.
Two runs by Ehlinger gave the Chaps a first down on
the 30. Ehlinger dropped back to pass,
found Kylen Granson open over the middle, and his pass connected with the
speedy wide receiver in full stride.
Granson beat the defensive back down the sideline and scored. The play covered 70 yards. The extra point was no good. The Chaps were up 9-0 with 3:39 to play in
the first quarter.
After a 21 yard return, the Eagles started from their
own 35 yard line. Since Jonke had been
ineffective, Allen put in Seth Green at quarterback. On third and 10, Green was pressured into
throwing a bad pass that was almost picked off.
For the third consecutive possession, the Chaps defense forced a three
and out. The Eagles punt was downed on
the Chaps 35. Westlake was unable to
move the ball and were forced to punt after going three and out.
Allen started from their 38 yard line with 1:15 left
in the opening quarter. Green rolled out
and completed a pass to the Chaps 39 for the first Eagle first down of the
game. When the first quarter ended,
Allen was facing a fourth and 6. Instead
of punting, they tried a pass play that was no good.
Westlake took the ball over on downs. They picked up a couple of first downs via
runs and passes by Ehlinger. They moved
to the Allen 32 where the drive bogged down.
On fourth and 14, the Chaps lined up as if they were going for the first
down, but Ehlinger pooch kicked the ball were it was downed on the Allen 1 yard
line.
The Eagles were able to get one first down out to
their 12, then the Chaps defense stiffened again and forced Allen to punt. The punter shanked the kick and it went out of
bounds on the Allen 20 yard line. After
the 8 yard punt, the Chaps took possession with 6:39 before half time.
The Chaps offensive line gave Ehlinger lots of time in
the pocket to find his receivers. He
connected on a quick slant over the middle that moved the ball to the Eagles 4
for first and goal. Ehlinger rolled to
his right, then found Granson open on the left for a four yard touchdown. This time the extra point was good. The Chaps led 16-0 with 5:58 in the half.
The two teams traded punts in the second quarter. Allen got the ball back on their 25 with 2:57
left to play. Kirby Bennett had a good
20 yard run to give the Eagles a first down on the 45. A wide receiver screen moved the ball to the
Chaps 36. Green was pressured on first
down and he threw a pass out of bounds to avoid a sack. On second down, he scrambled to the Westlake
29. Needing three yards, Allen was
unable to pick up the first down. Once
again, the Chaps took over on downs.
Ehlinger led the Chaps in a hurry up offense to move
the ball downfield. He connected again
with Grayson for a gain down to the Eagles 32 with 10 seconds left. His next pass over the middle was intercepted
on the Allen 15 with 4 seconds left.
Seth Green took a knee to end the half with Westlake up 16-0.
The wind picked up a little and the temperature had
dropped to 68 degrees when Westlake kicked-off to Allen to begin the third
quarter. The Eagles started into the
wind from their own 25 after the touchback.
Bennett picked up 13 yards on a run to the 38. Green threw a pass to the sideline that was
caught, but the receiver fumbled when he was hit. Chaps linebacker Levi Jones scooped up the
ball and rambled down to the Eagles 20.
It took Westlake only one play to increase their lead. Ehlinger found Chase Cokely in the corner of
the end zone for a 20 yard touchdown pass.
With the extra point, the Chaps extended their lead to 23-0 on the
defending champions.
After the Westlake kick-off sailed into the end zone,
Allen started from their 25. An offsides
penalty against the Chaps set up first and 5 from the 30. A deep pass from Green connected with Tevyn
Stevenson who was run out of bounds on the Westlake 7. On first and goal, Bennett carried to the
5. On third and goal from the 5, Green
was hit as he passed and the ball was nearly intercepted. Allen got their first points of the night
when their 22 yard field goal was good.
With 10:29 to play in the third, the new score was 23-3.
Kicking into the wind, Allen’s kick-off was caught on
the 2 and a nifty return set the Chaps up on the Eagles 38. Facing fourth and six, Ehlinger looked for
Cokley over the middle for the first down, but his pass was too high. Cokley was hurt on the play and had to be
helped off the field. Having already
lost Reed Klubnick, the Chaps would be in trouble if Cokley could not return to
action.
The Eagles took over on downs on their own 35 with
8:32 left in the third. Runs from
Bennett and Green moved the ball down field for the Eagles. They reached the Westlake 23 where they faced
third and 4. Green was again pressured
as he threw, his pass too long for an open receiver. The Eagles lined up to kick a 44 yard field
goal into the wind. The kick was blocked
and a Chaps special team player returned the ball to the Eagles 48.
The two teams traded possessions the remainder of the
third quarter. Westlake attempted a 40
yard field goal with the wind at their back at the end of the third quarter,
but the kick was no good. The Eagles
took possession on their 23 as the fourth quarter began. They went three and out and had to punt.
Westlake took possession on their 18 yard line. Wanting to kill as much of the clock as possible,
the kept the ball on the ground and picked up a couple of first downs. With 5:33 left in the game, the were forced
to punt.
The Eagles started from their own 24 yard line. Playing a hurry up offense, Green connected
on four consecutive passes to move the ball to the Chaps 3 yard line. On first and goal, Green lofted a pass to
Camden Harrison in the corner of the end zone for the score. The extra point made it 23-10 with 4:15
remaining to play.
Allen needed to get the ball back, so they attempted
an onside kick. The Chaps recovered on
their 47. Ehlinger carried for two, then
busted a run up the middle. He was
tackled from behind on the Eagles 6. On
first and goal, Ehlinger was tackled on the 9 for a loss of three. On second and goal, he threw into the end
zone where Allen safety Jaylon Jones was waiting. He intercepted the ball four yards deep in
the end zone, then cut to his left, and streaked down the sideline for a pick
six. With the extra point, the Eagles
had scored two touchdowns in a three minute span to make it 23-17 with 1:46
still on the clock. Would that missed
extra point come back to haunt Westlake?
Allen attempted another onsides kick. This time the ball went out of bounds. After the penalty, Westlake took possession
on the 50. Allen only had two timeouts
left and needed to prevent the Chaps from picking up a first down. After Ehlinger ran for 9, Allen burnt their
second timeout. Ehlinger picked up 2
yards for a first down. He carried the
ball again for 1 yard and Allen used their last timeout with only 1:09 to play
in the game. Ehlinger took a knee to
start the clock and Allen was powerless to stop it. Ehlinger took one final snap and dropped to a
knee. Westlake won 23-17 and stopped the
second longest winning streak in Texas football history at 57 games. Despite repeated warnings from the public
address announcer, many Westlake students and fans streamed onto the field to enjoy
the moment with their team. There were
not enough police in Waco from stopping the celebration.
Allen put up a tremendous fight as would be expected
of a team with their record of excellence.
Their defense slowed down the high powered Westlake offense, only
allowing 23 points (none after the third quarter touchdown at the 11:27
mark). Jaylon Jones 100 yard plus
interception return gave the Eagles some small hope in the waning minutes. But their offense never really got untracked
and only managed 10 points.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger has been given much of the
credit for the success Westlake has enjoyed this year. He threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns in
this game and picked up another 127 yards rushing on 30 carries. Kaylen Granson finished with 7 catches for
136 yards and two touchdowns, while Chase Cokley picked up 48 yards on 4
catches and scored once. But this win
really rested on the shoulders of the Westlake defense. They forced a total of five 3 and outs on the
Allen offense, four of those in the first half.
Three times they made Allen turn the ball over on downs when the Eagles
could not pick up the first down yardage needed. The fumble recovery to start the third quarter
set up the Chaps with a touchdown that proved to be the winning difference in
the game.
Led by Coach Todd Dodge, the Chaps head to Houston next
week where they will play Galena Park North Shore for the state
championship. Dodfge will be coaching in
his sixth state championship game where he has gone 4-1 in the previous
five. This is the deepest run Westlake
has made in the play-offs since losing the 2009 championship to Euless
Trinity. In 2006, they lost the
championship to the Southlake Carroll team coached by Todd Dodge, the last time
he won state.
