After driving to San Antonio last week and sitting in
the freezing rain, I was hoping to avoid another long road trip. There were games played in the DFW, Houston,
and Waco areas, but fortunately for me there was one on Friday night in the
local Austin area. First things first, I need some barbeque. . .
The
Barbeque
Looking up on the Google, I found BBQ 512 not to far
from home. Located at 8650 Spicewood
Springs Road in Austin (just off US 183), it was just minutes from the house and on the
way to the stadium where the game would be played. I called on Thursday to confirm their hours
(I am learning from previous adventures).
The stars were lining up, so I headed there for some pregame barbeque.
The
Game
I headed back to Kelley Reeves Athletic Complex (the
Palace on Parmer) for the game between the Vista Ridge Rangers and the
Vandegrift Vipers. At Round 4, we’ve
reached the half way point in the play-offs.
For each division, we’re down to the Elite Eight teams still playing in
December. Unlike the week before,
conditions were great for this game: 55 degrees at kick-off, clear skies, and
no wind. And no rain! Especially no rain. And an actual crowd for both schools to see
the game.
How
they got here. . .
Vista Ridge entered the game with an overall record of
11-2, their two losses coming in district play to district champion Cedar Park
and to Vandegrift. In the first round,
the Rangers knocked off Austin LBJ 44-27 and they won their second round game
against Lockhart 56-14. Last week they
knocked off Victoria West 35-14.
Vandegrift had an identical 11-2 record on the season.
They had beaten the Rangers 63-55 in
district play back on 09 Oct 2015. They
defeated Cedar Creek 61-7 in the first round, San Marcos 63-14 in round two,
and downed Vela 49-39 in the third round.
 |
| The Rangers take the field. . . |
 |
| . . . as do the Vipers |
After the opening kick-off, Vista Ridge started from
their own 32 yard line. Isaiah Vilaire
had a nice run of 30 yards down to the Vipers 38. Facing third and 10,
quarterback Matt Snow ran to the Vipers 22 for a first down. After picking up two yards on first down, the
Rangers ran an option sweep. Snow was
hit before he could pitch the ball and fumbled.
The Vipers recovered on their 30 to end the Rangers opening threat.
 |
| Vista Ridge moving the ball early |
The two teams traded punts. The Vipers started their second possession on
their 39 following a 19 yard punt. After
quarterback Alex Fernandes connected with Parker Ausley for first down on the
Rangers 44, the Vipers served up a steady diet of runs by Travis Brannan. He would start up the middle, find a hole and
bounce outside, and pick up 4 to 5 yards on every carry. On first and goal from the 1, Brannan crashed
into the end zone for the first score of the night. The extra point made the score 7-0 with 4:20
to go in the first quarter.
After a sky kick to the 25, the Rangers returned the
ball to their 31. Snow was stopped for
no gain on first down and his second down pass was dropped. Snow dropped back to pass on third and 10,
but his throw was intercepted by Cody Walther on the Vista Ridge 40.
The Vipers needed only one play to score again. Bailey Middleton slipped behind the defense and
took Fernandes’ perfectly thrown pass into the end zone. With 3:27 left in the first quarter,
Vandegrift led 14-0.
Having lost to the Vipers earlier in the season, the
Rangers needed to put points on the scoreboard.
They returned the ensuing kick-off to their 23 yard line. On their first play, they were guilty of
holding, so the ball was moved back to the 10 yard line. Snow hit Jamil Pittman for a gain of 17. Facing third and 6, Snow found Ryan Landrum
for a first down on the 45. Snow moved
the Rangers downfield with strong runs and passes. After switching ends of the field, Vista
Ridge faced fourth and 1. Snow kept the
ball and ran to the Vipers 27 for a first down.
On third and 7, he picked up another first down with his legs and set
the Rangers up with fist and goal from the 9.
Snow kept the ball again and ran into the end zone from 9 yards out to
cut the Vipers lead to 14-7 with 10:24 to play before half time.
The Vipers started their next possession from their 30
yard line. The Rangers defense forced a
three and out. Vandegrift got a 47 yard
punt that rolled to the Vista Ridge 15.
After a pass interference penalty against the Vipers
moved the ball to the Rangers 30, Matt Snow went back to work. He moved the Rangers to a first and goal from
the Vipers 4 yard line. The Viper
defense stiffened, snuffing Snow for no gain on third and 5. The Rangers kicked a 28 yard field goal to make
the score 14-10 with 3:54 in the second quarter.
Vandegrift started from their 35 yard line. Fernandes again served up a healthy diet of
runs by Brannan. Fernandes connected
with Peyton Ausley for a first down and scrambled out of the pocket and ran to
the Rangers 16 yard line for another. Brannan
carried the ball to the Rangers 5 for first and goal with only 8 seconds left
to play. Brannan ran a sweep, but was
tackled on the 3 with just 2 seconds to play.
Vandegrift hit a 20 yard field goal to move the score to 17-10 as the
second quarter ended.
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| Vandegrift driving , late second quarter |
With the temperature at 51 degrees, the Vipers ran the
third quarter kick-off to their 8 yard line, then they started feeding the ball
to Travis Brannan. He consistently
picked up 4 or 5 yards per carry as he would start inside, find an opening, and
plow forward to move the chains. Faced with
third and 7 from midfield, the Vipers picked up the first down due to a pass
interference penalty against the Rangers.
As the Vipers ground down the Ranger defense, they were also grinding
down the clock. From the Vista Ridge 21,
Brannan picked up 4 and then another 3 yards on second down. After a gain of 1 to the Rangers 14, the
Vipers faced fourth and 2 with only 3:55 left in the third quarter. Another hand-off to Brannan, but this time
the Vista Ridge defense stuffed him for no gain. After eating up almost eight and a half
minutes off the clock, the Vipers turned the ball over on downs with no points
to show for their efforts.
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| Travis Brannan getting ready to carry the ball again |
The Rangers took over from their 14. Snow led them down field into Viper
territory. On fourth and 3, Snow was
stopped short of the first down yardage needed and the Rangers turned the ball
over on downs.
With 1:12 left in the third quarter, Vendegrift took
possession on their 38 yard line.
Brannan ran for 10 yards, then was tackled for a loss as the third
quarter ended with the Vipers leading 17-10.
After the teams flipped the field, a false start penalty against the
Vipers set them up with third and 14.
Fernandes’ pass was intercepted by Vista Ridge on their 30 yard line.
On first down, Snow threw a backwards pass to Jamil
Pittman who then lobbed the ball down field to a waiting Ranger receiver. The 39 yard gain gave Vista Ridge a first
down on the Vandegrift 31 with 11:27 left to play in the game. The Rangers picked up 5 yards when the Vipers
were offsides, then Snow connected with Pittman for a 26 yard touchdown. With 10:48 to go in the fourth quarter, the
game was tied at 17.
After the kick-off, the Vipers started their next drive
from the 23. Brannan was able to pick up
a first down, but the drive stalled. The
Vipers punt came to rest on the Rangers 12 yard line. With the clock winding down, Vista Ridge was
able to pick up a couple of first downs.
But their drive stalled and they were forced to punt. The punt only travelled 22 yards and was
downed at the 50 with 4:54 left in the game.
Two runs by Brannan set the Vipers up with third and 4
from the Rangers 44 yard line. Fernandes
was pressured by the Ranger defense and his pass sailed out of bounds. With 3:32 left to play, Vandegrift decided
not to punt, but instead try to pick up the first down. Fernandes passed to Brannan in the flat, but
linebacker RJ Phillips dropped him short of the first down.
The Rangers took possession on their 41 with 3:26 to
play. Passes and runs by Snow moved the
ball to the Vipers 28 yard line. On
first down, Snow ran the ball and was tackled for no gain. Vandegrift called time out with 1:52 to play
to set their defense. On second down,
Snow again found Pittman open, this time for a 28 yard touchdown. With only 1:44 left in the game, Vista Ridge
took their first lead of the night at 24-17.
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| The Rangers driving deep in Viper territory late in the 4th quarter |
Vandegrift started from their own 28 after the ensuing
kick-off. With so little time left in
the game, they could not use their Brannan battering ram to move the
chains. On fourth and 6, Fernandez
connected with Sean Dehne for a first down on the 44. Another pass from Fernandes gave the Vipers a
first down on the Rangers 46 with less than a minute to play. Facing third and 4 from the Vista Ridge 39,
the Vipers used their last time out to stop the clock with 33 seconds
left. Fernandes was pressured by the
Rangers defense as he dropped back and his pass was intercepted by RJ
Phillips. The Rangers lined up in the
victory formation to kill the clock and take home a 24-17 win.
Travis Brannan picked up 152 yards on the ground on 36
carries. He scored once, but was limited
by the Rangers defense to only three runs of 10 yards or longer. Matt Snow was again the man for Vista
Ridge. He ran for 178 yards and a
touchdown and tossed two touchdown passes to Jamil Pittman. A lot of credit goes to the Vista Ridge defense that held Vandegrift scoreless in the second half. The Rangers rallied from a 14 point first
quarter deficit to beat a team that had knocked them off earlier in the
season. With the win, Vista Ridge makes
school history with their deepest run in the play-offs and moves to the
semifinals (Final Four) to face Richmond George Ranch.
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