We still have some summer left, but we've made it to the Labor Day weekend and that means it's the start of football season. I went to Chaparral Stadium on the campus of Westlake High School to see the Chaps play host to the Belton Tigers. Sam Skidmore is the head coach of Belton. They made it into the play-offs last year and were eliminated in the first round. Todd Dodge is the long time head coach of Westlake. They made a deep run in the play-offs last year and are hoping for more this year.
The temperature at the start of the game was 95 degrees with a breeze out of the southeast. The temperature fell a bit after the sun went down, but it didn't cool off a whole lot.
This is the start of the 2019 season. Everybody is undefeated. Everybody still has dreams of making it to Jerry's World to play for a state championship. Tigers and Chaps. . . it should be a good one.
Before I summarize the game, let me tell you about the barbecue. . .
The Barbecue
For the opening game of the new football season, I
thought I’d go back to my roots and revisit a local favorite barbecue
joint. Brown’s Bar-B-Que serves up smoky
goodness and sides from a bright red food truck parked in front of the Corner
Bar at 1901 South Lamar. I last visited
them in December 2016 (Texas Passions episode 15), really enjoyed their que,
and was hoping to do so again.
I got there just after they first opened. A nice lady named Amaris took my order and
cut my ribs and brisket. She added some
pickles and onions to my tray, gave me a bottle of sweet tea, and I was set. I found a picnic table in the shade and went
to work.
I think the barbecue was even better than I remembered
and I thought it was real good to start with.
The brisket had a sweet smokiness to it, juicy, and oh so good. Almost buttery, it just melted in my
mouth. The huge pork ribs were also
great. The meat was full of flavor and
just fell off the bone. Not much chewing
effort required on these either. My order
came with samples of two kinds of sauce.
One was a typical red sauce – savory with not too much spice. The other was a sweet mustard based
sauce. Both were good, but I wouldn’t
have missed them if they weren’t there.
A lot of things have changed in the three years since
I was last at Brown’s Bar-B-Que. New
buildings downtown, the building going up across the street is almost finished,
I’m a lot taller than I used to be. But
a couple of things I am happy to report have not changed: Brown’s serves up
some super tasty barbecue and unlike some of the more famous barbecue joints in
Austin, you don’t have to wait in line for hours to get it.
I rate this barbecue two Hook ‘Ems!
The Game
The score was tied for the first five minutes of the
game. That’s only because it took
Westlake that long to drive 75 yards for the opening score of the season. Kirkland Michaux passed and ran for big
yardage. He finished the drive with a 25
yard touchdown pass to Ryan Lindley on a swing pass in the flat. That put the Chaps up 7-0.
Belton picked up a couple of first downs when they got
the ball, mainly on quarterback scrambles by Ruben Jimenez. The Tigers decided on a quick kick on fourth and
8 from midfield. The punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback. This time Westlake drove 80 yards for a
touchdown. Passes from Michaux and runs
by Gray Nakfoor moved the ball into the Tiger’s red zone. Michaux found Mason Mangum in the end zone for a 6
yard touchdown as the Chaps extended their lead to 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, Westlake hit a
27 yard field goal to make the score 17-0.
Facing third and seven, Jimenez rolled and threw, but his pass was
intercepted by Leo Lowin. Drew
Willoughby picked up right where Michaux left off, hitting Lindley for a 6 yard
touchdown. The extra point made it 24-0.
On Belton’s next possession, Jimenez and D’emante
Smith had trouble with a handoff and Westlake recovered the fumble. One play later, the score is 31-0 when
Willoughby threw deep to Luke Nicklos.
The Chaps connected on a 21 yard field goal to take a 34-0 lead into
halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half. Westlake scored in the third quarteron a 24
yard pass from Michaux to Jaden Greathouse.
Nakfoor got in the act, scoring on a 4 yard run in the fourth
quarter. That made the final margin
48-0.
Belton had trouble moving the ball all night. They might pick up a couple of first downs,
but could never sustain a drive. I think
their entire playbook could fit on the front and back of a 3x5 index card. Running back up the middle or have Jimenez
try to pass. Add in a couple of
turnovers and costly penalties, you’ve got a recipe for failure. . .
It was a good win for
Westlake. Three different quarterbacks
played and all led the Chaps to points.
Their defense totally dominated the Tigers. And there were no major injuries. Final score: Westlake 48, Belton 0.
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