The Friday games were fun, but today is the big
day. Saturday is the final day of the
championship games and always gets the largest crowds of the weekend. This is the day when the three Austin area
teams will be trying to bring the Championship trophies home. As described on Fox Sports, today it’s Austin
versus the World. It should be fun.
The
Barbeque
No time for barbeque.
I’ll get some BBQ on Sunday before I head back to Austin. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we got to
the stadium early to get good seats.
We’ll be eating lots of “stadium food” this day. It will be interesting to see how it compares
to the fare sold at Jerry’s World.
The
Games
Saturday,
game 1 – Cedar Park vs. Frisco Lone Star
This time we found seats in the club section of the
stadium near the 50 yard line. The seats
were more comfortable than on the lower level, the concourse more plush, the
view better.
 |
| NRG Stadium - Club level lounge |
- · Round 1 49-14 over Bastrop
- · Round 2 49-14 over Kerrville Tivy
- · Round 3 42-0 over Edcouch Elsa
- · Round 4 35-21 over Corpus Christi Calallen
- · Round 5 38-17 over Fort Bend Ridge Point
 |
| Lake Travis takes the field |
Frisco was making their first trip to the championship
game. They had a 14-1 record and were
representing district 9-5A. Their
play-off record:
- · Round 1 24-10 over Prosper
- · Round 2 55-13 over Forney
- · Round 3 56-7 over Marshall
- · Round 4 49-34 over Lancaster
- · Round 5 55-49 over Lake Dallas
 |
| Frisco takes the field |
The two teams traded possessions to start the
game. After a 19 yard punt by the
Rangers, the T’wolves took possession on their own 39. They drove into Ranger territory, but faced
fourth and 19 from the 37. Cedar Park
faked the punt. They had a receiver wide
open over the middle, but the pass was too long. It would have been an easy touchdown for the
T’wolves, but instead they turned the ball over on downs.
Lone Star took over on their 37 and drove deep into
Cedar Park territory. A wide receiver
screen from quarterback Jason Shelley to Matthew Woodson pushed the pall to the
T’wolves 11. That’s where the drive
stalled. The Rangers settled for a 41
yard field goal and took a 3-0 lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
 |
| Jason Shelley scrambles to avoid pressure |
Cedar Park lost two yards on the kick-off return and
started from their 33. They moved the
ball to the Ranger 45 as the first quarter ended. Two passes from quarterback Mak Sexton to
Jack Grimm picked up a couple of first downs.
Runs by William Richter set the T’wolves up on the Rangers 11. On third and 8, Sexton connected with Grimm
on a touchdown pass. With 9:04 to play
in the half, Cedar Park claimed a 7-3 lead.
The Rangers went three and out the next time they had
the ball. Cedar Park took possession on
their 48 after a 33 yard punt. On fourth
and 5, they again ran a trick play instead of punting. This time the snap went to the up back. The Lone Star defense stuffed him for no gain
and Cedar Park lost possession on downs.
The T’wolves defense again forced a three and out.
The T’wolves started on their 14 after a 32 yard
punt. Facing fourth and 3, Sexton hit
Grimm with a pass down to the 32 for a first down. A pass to Rocky Ferony set up third and 2 on
the Rangers 25. The Lone Star defense
stuffed a sweep to set up fourth and 2.
Cedar Park again tried to pick up the yardage needed for a first down,
but Sexton’s pass was incomplete.
With 1:43 to play in the second quarter, the Rangers
took possession on their 29. On third
and 5, Shelley scrambled and tried to throw the ball under handed to avoid the
sack. Instead he fumbled as he was
hit. Linebacker Mac McCaskill scooped up
the ball and scored on the 20 yard return.
The extra point gave the T’wolves a 14-3 lead with 1:14 left in the
second quarter. That’s how the first
half ended.
Cedar Park was set to receive the second half
kick-off. Frisco kicked a high sky kick
to the T’wolves 20. The Cedar Park up
back was a bit too casual when trying to catch the kick and muffed it. The Rangers pounced on the ball on the
T’wolves 21. Shelley connected with
Jaylen Dixon for first and goal on the Cedar Park 4. After picking up 2 yards on first down,
Shelley’s pass was blocked by the T’wolves defensive line on third and 2. They settled for a 20 yard field goal to cut
the lead to 14-6 with 10:29 to play in the third quarter.
After a short kick-off, Cedar Park took possession on
their 46. On second and 12, Sexton hit a
wide open receiver in stride, but the sure touchdown pass was dropped. The T’wolves went three and out and were
forced to punt.
Both teams traded possessions throughout the third
quarter. As the third quarter wound
down, the T’wolves got the ball on the Rangers 43 after a 36 yard punt. On third and 12, Sexton connected with Tommy
Lavine for a first down on the Frisco 14.
A false start penalty moved the ball back to the Frisco 19 as the third
quarter ended. Sexton was sacked for a two
yard loss, then passed to Lavine for a touchdown. Sexton’s pass to Richter was good for the two
point conversion to push their lead to 22-6 with 11:16 to play in the game.
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| Mak Sexton drops back to pass |
Frisco was unable to move the ball on their next
possession and was forced to punt. The
next time they got the ball, they picked up a couple of first downs, but again
their drive stalled. They turned the
ball over on downs on the Cedar Park 38.
With 5:52 left to play, Cedar Park worked to run out
the clock. As the old sports cliché
goes, the Fat Lady was warming up on the sidelines, getting ready to sing. Strong runs by Grimm and Hayden Craig moved
the ball to the Rangers 17. Frisco had
used up all their timeouts and Cedar Park went into the victory formation. The Timberwolves won 22-6 to end their
perfect season with their second championship trophy.
The Timberwolves were not the soul crushing machine I
had seen during the regular season. They
took chances (fake punts, etc.) in this game, but were just a little off. Jason Shelley was one of the most dynamic
players we saw the entire weekend. His
ability to scramble, buy time, then find an open receiver for big gains kept
Frisco in the game. But that was between
the 20s. As the Rangers got close to
scoring, the Cedar Park defense would slam the door.
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| Jason Shelley scrambling for Frisco |
Saturday,
game 2 – Westlake vs. Galena Park North Sore
The second game on Saturday was between the Westlake
Chaparrals and the Galena Park North Shore Mustangs for the Class 6A, Division
1 title. Westlake entered the game with
a 14-1 record (their only loss being to district rival Lake Travis) and
represented district 14-6A. They were
making their eighth appearance in the title game. Their only state championship came in 1996
when they were led by quarterback Drew Brees.
Their run through the 2016 play-offs:
- · Round 1 35-14 over Bastrop
- · Round 2 28-3 over Conroe The Woodlands
- · Round 3 56-7 over North Mesquite
- · Round 4 49-28 over Humble Atascocita
- · Round 5 23-17 over Allen (three time defending champion)
Galena Park was making their fourth trip to the championship
game. They had a 12-3 record and were
representing district 21-6A. Their
play-off record:
- · Round 1 52-17 over Pasadena Dobie
- · Round 2 42-14 over League City Clear Springs
- · Round 3 28-21 over Houston Cypress Falls
- · Round 4 45-14 over Dickinson
- · Round 5 23-17 over Converse Judson
The two teams traded possessions to start the
game. After a short punt, Westlake
started their second possession on their 20 yard line. On second and 2, the Chaps fumbled and the
ball was recovered by Galena Park. They
moved the ball to the Westlake 9, but could get no further. The Mustangs attempted a 27 yard field goal,
but the Chaps blocked the kick and ran it back to the Mustangs 24. Westlake was called for an illegal block in
the back on the return, so they took possession on their own 41. On third and 7, quarterback Sam Ehlinger beat
the blitz and connected with Chase Cokeley for a first down on the Mustangs
30. Ehlinger picked up a first down on
the Mustangs 20 as the first quarter ended with no score in the game. On second and 6, Ehlinger’s pass to Kylen
Granson was good for an 18 yard touchdown.
With 11:24 to play in the second quarter, Westlake led 7-0.
 |
| Sam Ehlinger barks out the signals for Westlake |
The two teams again traded possessions. Each might
pick up a couple of first downs, but neither team was able to sustain a
drive. After a 34 yard punt, Galena Park
got the ball on the Westlake 44 with 1:20 to play before half time. On fourth and 4, quarterback Maciah Long
found Tramaine Robbins open on the 25 for a first down. Long hit Eltroy Potts on a slant pattern for
a gain to the 13. Another pass from Long
set up the Mustangs with first and goal from the 1. Long pushed the ball over the goal on a
quarterback sneak. The extra point tied
the game at 7-7 with 4 seconds left before the half.
Galena Park got the kick-off to start the third
quarter. They picked up a couple of
first downs, but their drive stalled.
Their punt sailed 44 yards to the Westlake 19.
 |
| Galena Park on the move |
After picking up a first down on the 32, Ehlinger
connected with Cokeley for a big gain to the Mustangs 32. On third and 7, Ehlinger scrambled to avoid
the blitz and was brought down on the 25 for fourth and 3. The Mustangs were called for pass
interference to set the Chaps up with a first down on the Galena Park 12. Ehlinger ran a quarterback keeper to the
Mustangs 4, but he fumbled when he was hit.
Mustang linebacker Andrew Hyacinth scooped up the ball and rambled 96
yards for a touchdown. The extra point gave
the Mustangs their first lead at 14-7 with 5:06 to play in the third quarter.
The Chaps started their next possession from their 27
yard line. They were able to move to the
Mustangs 40 where their drive stalled.
On fourth and 8, Ehlinger’s pooch punt went 30 yards to the Galena Park
8.
Running back Tyler Boudreaux picked up 4 yards on
first down, then had a big run to the Galena Park 47 for a first down. On third and 8, Long’s pass was blocked in
the line. The Mustangs lined up to punt on
fourth down. Stephen Rioux blocked the
punt. Matthew Sams scooped up the
bouncing pigskin and returned it for a Chaps touchdown. With 21 seconds to play in the third quarter,
Westlake tied the game at 14-14.
The Mustangs and Chaps traded possessions through most
of the fourth quarter. With 4:59 to
play, Galena started from their 34. Long
kept the ball on two quarterback runs to move the ball to the Westlake 40. On second down, Bryant Badie took a direct
snap from center, ran to his left, and picked up a first down on the Chaps 27. The Westlake defense was looking gassed, but
they made the plays they needed to stop the Mustangs on the 21. With 2:13 to play, Galena Park lined up for a
38 yard field goal for the lead. The
kick was no good.
The Chaps got the ball on their 21 with 2:08 to
play. The Mustangs were guilty of pass
interference which gave the Chaps a first down on the 36. After a big tackle for loss on second down, Westlake
needed 14 yards for a first down. Ehlinger
found Noah Hodes open for a first down on the Westlake 49. Ehlinger hit Andrew Boykin for a first down
on the Mustangs 37 with 45 seconds to play.
On third and 10, Ehlinger hooked up with Granson for a first down on the
Mustangs 10 yard line. Ehlinger spiked
the ball to kill the clock with 16 seconds left. Westlake was called for a penalty which moved
the ball back to the 20. Rather than
waste any more downs, Westlake decided to kick a 26 yard field goal on second
down. The Mustangs called a timeout to
ice the kicker. It could not be any
simpler: Westlake makes the kick, they win state. But K’Lavon Chiasson blocked the kick to send
the game to overtime.
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| The Chaps start a drive late in the game |
We’re going to overtime in the 6A division 1 state
championship game. Wow. . . Westlake won the coin toss and decided to let
Galena Park try to score first. Galena
Park got to choose which end zone to attack.
They chose the one where their band was sitting.
The Mustangs got the ball on the 25. Their band sat quietly, waiting for their
turn to play. Runs by Long and Carl
Guillory moved the ball to the 14 and a first down. Badie carried twice to give Galena Park first
and goal. Long ran the ball to the 1,
then scored on a quarterback sneak. The
extra point made it 21-14.
 |
| Maciah Long scores the winning touchdown |
Then it was Westlake’s turn. They needed 7 points to keep the game going,
8 to win. And the Galena Park band was
playing louder than they had their whole lives.
Ehlinger scrambled on second down to avoid a sack, then tossed a pass to
Reed Klubnik for a first down on the 10.
Ehlinger carried the ball to the 5.
On second down, his fade pass to the corner of the end zone was
incomplete. On third and 5, Ehlinger
picked up 2 on a quarterback draw. The
Chaps called a timeout to discuss their options. One play to decide the state champion. Ehlinger barked out the signals. Hodes went
in motion to the right as the ball was snapped back to Ehlinger. Hodes took a hand-off, and started around
end. He looked like he was going to
throw back to Ehlinger, but the Mustangs defense blew up the play. Hodes was stripped of the ball and tackled
for a loss. Galena Park was state
champion with a 21-14 overtime win.
This game was much like the other Westlake games I had
seen during the season. Everything for
the Chaps revolved around Sam Ehlinger. Pressure
Ehlinger and make him hurry his throws. Westlake
had no running game except for what Ehlinger could pick up via quarterback
keepers and draws. Without a real ground
game, the defense could key on Ehlinger.
This was no more obvious than when the Chaps needed two yard to tie the
game in overtime.
The
Barbeque
They sold something that vaguely resembled BBQ at the
stadium. I knew better than to get a BBQ
plate, but I did try a couple of items: BBQ Nachos and a BBQ stuffed baked
potato. The nachos weren’t too bad, but
the ones served at Jerry’s World are better.
The baked potato (all the normal goodies – butter, sour cream, cheese,
chives – with chopped brisket and BBQ sauce thrown in) was pretty good and very
filling. I felt like I had swallowed a
football as we watched the last game of the weekend.
Saturday,
game 3 – Lake Travis vs. Katy
The final game on Saturday was between the Lake Travis
Cavaliers and the Katy Tigers for the Class 6A, Division 2 title. Lake Travis entered the game with a perfect
15-0 record and represented district 14-6A.
They were making their sixth appearance in the title game, having won
state a record five years in a row from 2007 to 2011. Their run through the play-offs:
- · Round 1 48-0 over Pflugerville
- · Round 2 28-21 over Spring Westfield
- · Round 3 55-14 over Waco Midway
- · Round 4 45-24 over Rockwall
- · Round 5 49-21 over Mansfield
Katy was making their fourth trip in a row to the
championship game, their fourteenth trip overall. They beat Cedar Hill in 2012 for the
championship, then lost to Cedar Hill the next two years. A win in 2015 would be their eighth and tie
them with Celina and Southlake Carroll.
Katy had a perfect 15-0 record and were representing district 19-6A. Their 2016 play-off record:
- · Round 1 77-0 over Houston Westside
- · Round 2 59-20 over Houston Cypress Ranch
- · Round 3 66-0 over Friendswood
- · Round 4 35-17 over Manvel
- · Round 5 38-0 over Cibolo Steele
After a twenty yard return of the game’s opening
kick-off, Lake Travis started on their own 35 yard line. Quarterback Charlie Brewer connected on a
pass to the 40, then connected with Cade Green for a big gain. Green made a great spin move to avoid a
tackle, then carried the ball to the Katy 18.
On third and five, Brewer scrambled to avoid a rush. He tried too hard to make a play, forcing a pass
into coverage where it was picked off by Matt Kissamis on the Tigers 15.
Unlike most high school teams in Texas that line up in
some variation of a spread offense, Katy is old school. They primarily line up in the I formation and
feature a power run game and play action passes. That was precisely what they did against Lake
Travis. A steady dose of runs by Kyle
Porter and passes to Zach Seidel and Jaxon Borowski moved the ball to
midfield. A quarterback keeper by
Garrett Doiron picked up a first down on the Cavs 35. The drive stalled on the Lake Travis 31, so
Katy settled for a 48 yard field goal.
The kick was good and Katy took a 3-0 lead with 4:57 to play in the
first quarter.
 |
| Kyle Porter about to take off |
Lake Travis took possession on their 23 after the
ensuing kick-off. Brewer hit a couple of
passes for first downs as the Cavs moved to midfield. The Tigers defense stiffened and forced the
Cavs to punt.
Katy started from their own 15 yard line. The Tigers ran a sweep (the old Student Body
Right play) and Porter ripped off a 43 yard gain to the Lake Travis 42. The Cavs were guilty of pass interference
which gave the Tigers a first down on the 37.
Facing fourth and 6, Doiron faked a toss, then threw to tight end Parker
Eichenberger for a first down on the 25.
The first quarter ended and the teams switched ends of the field. Porter picked up four yards to the 21. On third down, Doiron’s pass was low and not
enough for the first down. Katy tried a
36 yard field goal, but Lake Travis blocked it and recovered the ball on the
36.
The Cavs went backwards from there. After a loss of 4 on second down, the Cavs
faced third and 14. Two consecutive
false starts made it third and 24.
Brewer fumbled the snap which was scooped up by the Tiger defense and
ran back to the 5 yard line. It took
Kyle Porter only one play to score on a Student Body Left play. With 9:04 to play before half time, Katy was
up 10-0.
 |
| Charlie Brewer scrambles to avoid the Katy rush |
Lake Travis was in business at their 27 after a 22
yard kick-off return. Brewer connected
with Maleek Barkley for a gain of 5.
Katy was flagged for a late hit, so the Cavs picked up a first down on
the 47. Brewer dropped back to pass and
tried to throw a screen, but Michael Matus intercepted the pass and turned it into
a pick six. The extra point pushed Katy
to a 17-0 lead with 8:44 to play before half time.
The teams traded possessions in the second quarter. After a 32 yard punt, the Tigers got the ball
on their 32 with 2:36 to play in the first half. Two runs by Porter moved the ball out to
midfield. Doiron tried to pass, but the
ball was tipped and picked off by Austin Hiller on the Lake Travis 31. Brewer had time enough to throw and completed
a pass to Green good for a first down on the Tigers 36. With 36 seconds before half time, Brewer scrambled,
avoided a tackle, and ran for a first down on the Katy 12. From there, Brewer connected with Green again
for a touchdown. As the second quarter
ended, Lake Travis had cut the lead to 17-7.
 |
| Charlie Brewer with time to throw |
The third quarter kick-off went out of bounds, so Katy
started the second half on their 30. Despite
a couple of fumbles they recovered, Katy used its power running game to move
into Lake Travis territory. With the
ball on the Cavs 37, the Katy drive stalled.
They lost the ball on downs, but took over five and a half minutes off
the clock.
Neither team could muster a drive and traded
possessions into the fourth quarter.
Lake Travis kicked a 40 yard punt to their 44 yard line, but the Tigers
returned the kick to the Cavs 22. Katy
tried a halfback pass from Porter that was no good, but a pass interference penalty
against Lake Travis gave Katy a first and goal from the 7. Two runs by Porter pushed the Tiger lead to
24-7 with 7:15 to play. We could see the
Fat Lady on the sidelines warming up, getting ready to sing.
The Cavs fumbled the kick-of and the Tigers recovered
on the Lake Travis 18. Katy could not
move the ball, but did make a 29 yard field goal to make the lead 27-7 with
5:02 left to play in the season.
The Cavs ran the kick-of back to the 16, but a block
in the back penalty set the Cavs up on their 6.
They could not pick up a first down.
Their 32 yard punt gave the Tigers the ball on the 46. From there, Porter did the rest. He scored his third touchdown of the game
(second in the fourth quarter) to make it 34-7 with 3:36 to play. That’s how the game ended, with Katy claiming
their eighth state championship.
 |
| Charlie Brewer runs for his life |
Katy had a very simple defensive game plan: stop
Charlie Brewer. The high octane Cavalier
offense was built around Brewer. By
constantly putting intense pressure on him (Brewer ran for his life most of the
game), the Tigers effectively shut down Brewer and the Cavs. Katy’s offensive plan was equally simple: run
Kyle Porter. Over and over again. He ended up with 188 yards rushing and three
touchdowns and was named offensive MVP of the game. The effective ground game also made the play
action passing game work. Old school
football at its best, something you don’t see much anymore in Texas football.
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| Doiron's fake to Porter freezes the linebackers for a pass downfield |
Thus ended the 2015 Texas high school football
season. A great season and a fun set of
championship games.
