I returned to Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park to see the
Timberwolves in action against their 5A District 19 rival, the Hutto Hippos. Carl Abseck’s T’wolves team is
7-1 on the season. Their only loss
coming in the first week of the season to 6A Waco Midway. The T’wolves are perfect in district
play. Steven Van Meter leads a Hippos
team that is perfect on the season at 8-1.
It was a beautiful Friday evening. The temperature at game time was about 83
degrees. No wind, just perfect for
football.
In the three years Carl Abseck has been the head coach
at Cedar Park, they have never lost a district game. Will this be the night?
Timberwolves and Hippos. . . It should be a good one.
But before I talk about the game, let me mention the
barbecue I had eaten earlier. . .
The
Barbecue
At the intersection of US 620 and RR 2222, just behind
the 7-11 store and across the street from the pharmacy, you’ll find Smokey J’s
Bar-B-Q. I had driven past this joint
many times on my way to and from Lake Travis over the years. This time I decided to stop in and give their
barbecue a taste test.
I walked up to the window and breathed in the smell of
barbecue cooking. I ordered my usual
half pound of brisket and a couple of pork ribs. While they have pulled pork, Smokey J’s does
not serve pork ribs. They don’t have
beef ribs either. You can order meat by
the plate or the pound, but the focus here is serving barbecue sandwiches. But they do sell sausage and I got myself a
smoked link.
\
The brisket was cut thin on a meat slicer. I could not see through it, but I do prefer
my brisket to be a thicker cut. Anyway,
it was tender and tasty. I can imagine
it would go down good on a sandwich. The
sausage link was very good: nice snap when I bit into it, good chew, not a lot
of fillers, and not a lot of grease squirting out of it. Very tasty.
They serve a typical, savory tomato based sauce. And best of all: I got decent brisket, a
tasty sausage link, and a glass of ice tea for just $9. Please note: they do not take credit cards.
Smokey J’s has a large outside area with covered
picnic tables and seating. It’s a good
place to get some barbecue to go as you head to the lake or a great place where
you can relax and unwind after a hard day on the lake. They have been here for years and it’s like
their prices are stuck in the 1980s. If
you’re hungry and near Lake Travis, give Smokey J’s a try.
I rate this barbecue a single Hook ‘Em!
The
Game
The Hippos connected on a 27 yard field goal on their
opening drive to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Timberwolves came right back. Ryan Fiala hit Brandon Breed in stride for a
62 yard touchdown. The extra point made
it 7-3.
Ryan Fiala hits Brandon Breed in stride for a 62 yard touchdown
Midway through the second quarter, Cedar Park drove
deep into Hutto territory. Luke Policke
rumbled 13 yards to push the T’wolves lead to 14-3.
Later in the second quarter, quarterback Chase Griffin
threw to Caleb Forrest for a 31 yard gain.
Pass interference gave the Hippos first and goal from the eight. The T’wolves defense stiffened and the Hippos
settled for a 25 yard field goal to make it 14-6.
On two different drives late in the first half, Hutto
had a chance to intercept a Cedar Park pass, but could not hang onto the
ball. With less than a minute to go in
the second quarter, Griffin found DJ Baptist for a 36 yard touchdown. The point after failed and the teams went to
the locker room with the score 14-12.
Chase Griffin and DJ Baptist hook up for a 36 yard touchdown
On the first play of the third quarter, Ryan Fiala
found Brandon Breed behind the defense for a 56 yard touchdown. The extra point extended the lead for Cedar
Park to 21-12. On the T’wolves next
possession, another big pass to Breed and a 16 yard run by Ibri Leal set up a
one yard plunge by Josh Walker to push the lead to 28-12.
Late in the third and into the fourth quarter, the
T’wolves were content to run the ball and kill the clock. That set up a play action pass from Fiala to
Carson Neel good for a 29 yard touchdown.
The extra point widened the lead to 35-12.
Fiala fakes a handoff, then throws to Carson Neel for a 29 yard touchdown
In the fourth quarter, the Hippo offense finally got
untracked. Griffin threw long to Baptist
who out raced the defense to the end zone.
On their next drive, Griffin threw to Baptist. He made a great spin move to get free of the
defenders and was pushed out of bounds on the one yard line. Jayden Medina scored the touchdown, but the
try for two failed making the final score 35-25.
Griffin to Baptist connection works again for a 62 yard touchdown
Cedar Park dominated this game on both sides of the
ball. Chase Griffin threw for 340 yards
and two touchdowns for Hutto, but he and his receivers were harassed all night
by the T’wolves defense. The Hippos
ended the game with -28 yards rushing.
The Hippos had more time of possession, but Cedar Park ran for 175 yards
and passed for another 227. Ryan Fiala
completed 11 of the 17 passes he threw with three touchdowns. With the win, Cedar Park claims the district
title once again.
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