The Play-offs Round 3 - Vista Ridge vs Victoria West

Several games to choose from, none of them being played in the local Austin area.  I could have gone north to either Temple or Waco, but those games were on Saturday afternoon.  Instead I decided to head south to San Antonio to see the game between the Vista Ridge Rangers and the Victoria West Warriors on Friday night.

The Barbeque

I did not go for barbeque before the game.  I know, I know. . .  It was Thanksgiving weekend and my tummy was still full of turkey, stuffing, cheesecake, and all the other goodies we had for dinner on Thursday.  I’ll get some BBQ next week.

The Game

How they got here. . .

Victoria West entered the game as the runner up team in District 30.  They had a 7-1 record in district play, their only loss being to district champion Calallen.  Their overall record was 11-1.  The Warriors beat Nixon 56-10 in the first round and Veterans Memorial 70-8 in the second round.

Vista Ridge was the runner up in District 25.  They had an overall record of 10-2, their two losses coming in district play to district champion Cedar Park and to Vandegrift (also in the play-offs).  In the first round, the Rangers knocked off Austin LBJ 44-27 and they won their second round game against Lockhart 56-14.

Heroes Stadium is a very nice facility on the north side of San Antonio. Opened in 2009, it is very reminiscent of Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park.  When I first arrived an hour before the announced start time, it was 70 degrees and pouring down rain.  There was no one sitting in the stands, everybody under the stands taking cover from the rain.  Due to lightning strikes in the area, the game was delayed about an hour and fifteen minutes.  The temperature had fallen about thirty degrees and was in the forties as the teams took the field.  With a strong wind out of the north, it felt even worse.

Heroes Stadium in the rain before kick-off

And then it got cold

Vista Ridge took the opening kick-off and marched down the field.  The Rangers offensive line opened huge holes for quarterback Matt Snow and running back Isaiah Vilaire to run through.  After four runs by Snow, Vilaire ran 34 yards down the right sideline for the first score of the night.

Matt Snow barking out the signals for Vista Ridge

The two teams found it almost impossible to move the ball because of the weather and ended up trading punts.  A Ranger return man muffed a punt and the Warriors recovered deep in Ranger territory.  After changing ends of the field, the Warriors continued their drive into the second quarter.  Gamarquis Girdy scored from the two.  The extra point tied the game at 7 with about eleven minutes left before half time.

The Rangers took possession after a short kick-off.  Snow and Vilaire again led the way with strong runs.  Passing the wet, heavy ball seemed almost impossible.  Catching it was even more difficult, so the Warrior defensive backs started creeping up to stop the run.  From his own 56 yard line, Snow started right and faked a hand-off to Vilaire.  The Warrior defense bit on the fake.  Ryan Landrum was wide open over the middle.  Snow’s pass caught him in full stride and Landrum scored easily.  The Rangers were up 14-7 with about 10 minutes to play in the second quarter.

Victoria took the ensuing kick-off and was again unable to move the ball.  After the punt, the Rangers started another drive with their powerful ground game.  On a play identical to the last touchdown, Snow again faked to Vilaire and found Landrum wide open down the middle.  The 40 yard touchdown pass pushed the Rangers lead to 21-7.  The first half ended with the Rangers up by 14.

The weather conditions were so bad, neither school put on a half time show. Nobody would have seen it anyway as everybody rushed to get under the stands and out of the rain.  I walked over to the home side of the stadium and found shelter in the photographer's area just under the press box.  It was still cold and I had to stand for the second half, but I was at least out of the rain.

Victoria returned the opening kick-off of the third quarter down to the Vista Ridge 10 yard line.  Girdy scored from there.  The extra point made the score 21-14 with just 1 minute gone from the third quarter.

The Warriors needed a stop, but the Rangers were once again on the move after a short kick-off.  Their offensive line opened holes for Snow and Vilaire to make big gains on the ground.  Deep in Warrior territory, Snow took off on a twisting, weaving run for a 23 yard touchdown to push their lead back to 14 points.  With seven minutes left in the third, the Rangers were up 28-14.

Victoria West trying to move the ball

The two teams traded punts for the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth.  The Warriors always having to start from deep in their own end of the field.  Their offense could not sustain a long drive in the horrible weather conditions.  Late in the fourth quarter, the Rangers again marched down field.  Jeremiah Chambers crashed into the end zone with 3:54 to play from 2 yards out to make it 35-14 and seal the victory for the Rangers.

Matt Snow carried the ball 38 times for 222 yards rushing and threw for two touchdowns.  Isaiah Vilare ran the ball 19 times for 136 yards for the Rangers.  The Warriors could never unleash their offense, scoring only twice on short drives.  With the win, Vista Ridge will play their district rival Vandegrift in the fourth round of the play-offs.