The first round of the playoffs is underway. . . I went to Ed W. Monroe Stadium to see the Tomball Memorial Wildcats in action against the Vandegrift Vipers. Sam Parker is the second year head coach of the Wildcats. They finished second in their district with an 8-2 overall record. Drew Sanders has been the head coach at Vandegrift since 2009. the ended the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record and claimed the title for their district.
The weather was perfect for this game. The temperature was in the mid 60s at kickoff and there was no threat of rain.
The format for the playoffs is very simple: win or go home. If your team wins five games, they have a berth waiting for them at the state championships at Jerry's World. The hunt for that championship berth started for these two teams with this game.
Before I go any further about football, let me show you the barbecue I had earlier in the day. . .
The
Barbecue
For barbecue this week, I thought I would try
something just a little bit different. . .
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue.
Evan LeRoy worked for several years as the pit master
at one of my favorite barbecue joints in Austin, Freedmen’s Bar (and
barbecue). He left there and partnered
up with Sawyer Lewis to open their own barbecue food truck at 121 Pickle Road,
just off south Congress. Their slogan is
“New school barbecue, old school service”.
They have won several awards for their barbecue and I figured it was
time to give them a try.
Their food truck is parked in a really neat trailer
park with other food trucks, lots of tables, shady trees, and music playing. Their menu changes frequently. I didn’t see my regular barbecue favorites
(brisket and pork ribs) listed, so I needed some help making up my mind. A nice young man named Travis was taking and
preparing orders and was kind enough to help me figure out what to get.
I ordered a quarter pound of the smoked beef cheeks
and a half pound of the barbacoa. Travis
also loaded me up with their homemade pickles. Those were good too. They do not serve drinks; you have to go to the Cosmic house to get
those. No worries. . . The beef cheeks were very tender and had a
deep smoky flavor. Different from moist
brisket, but still excellent. The barbacoa
was served with chopped onions, cilantro, queso fresco, and a jalapeno salsa. Very tasty.
The sauce they serve is also a bit out of the ordinary: ketchup,
mustard, and five kinds of peppers. An
excellent compliment to the barbecue.
 |
| Smoked beef cheeks |
 |
| Barbacoa |
If you are looking for smoked brisket at LeRoy and
Lewis, you need to wait for the weekend.
I have been told it’s worth the wait.
If you are looking for ribs and sausage, it’s best you look somewhere
else. But if you are willing to go
outside your barbecue comfort zone, LeRoy and Lewis serves up some delicious
smoked goodies.
I rate this barbecue two Hook ‘Ems!
The
Game
Vandegrift made it look easy as the game started. They forced Memorial to go three and out,
then made a huge gain on first down on a pass from Dru Dawson to Ryan Merrifield. Dawson finished the 41 yard drive himself to
give the Vipers an early 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats had two good drives in the first quarter,
but came up scoreless. Chandler Galban
threw to Jorden Gidrey for a big first down, but the Wildcats turned the ball
over on downs. On their next possession,
Galban connected with Gidrey for another big gain. The first quarter ended as Galban’s pass was
intercepted by DJ Streat.
In the middle of the second quarter, Isaiah Smallwood
popped through a hole and burst 50 yards to give the Vipers a 14-0 lead.
Down two scores, the Wildcats answered back. An option pitch from Galban to Gidrey moved
the ball into the Vipers’ red zone.
Galban scored on a 19 yard quarterback keeper to make it 14-7.
After an exchange of punts, Vandegrift took possession
on their 19 yard line. Smallwood carried
up the middle for big yardage, then Dawson threw deep to Merrifield. That set up a ten yard touchdown pass to Trey
Mongauzy. The Vipers took a 21-7 lead
into halftime.
Vandegrift received the third quarter kickoff and
wasted no time. Dawson connected with
Mongauzy for a 44 yard touchdown as the Vipers extended the lead to 28-7.
Memorial stormed back with a 75 yard touchdown drive,
capped off by a 19 yard pass from Galban to Jordan Grice to cut the score to
28-14.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats were forced
to punt. Drew Nelson muffed the punt,
but the Vipers recovered on their 17 yard line.
Had Memorial recovered and scored, they would have been right back in
the game. But instead, Dawson threw deep
to Brendan Bennett who was wide open behind the defense. The 70 yard touchdown sealed the deal for the
Vipers at 35-14.
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