By Thomas Jones, Sports editor

SAN ANTONIO – A blitzing and gambling Harlingen defense became the first in the playoffs to hold Westlake’s Ryan Swope to less than 100 yards.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals’ upset hopes, their special teams couldn’t say the same.

Swope, the Chaps’ all-district senior running back, returned the first two Harlingen kickoffs for touchdowns as Westlake opened up a double-digit lead without a single offensive snap and cruised to a 49-23 third-round playoff win Saturday in the Alamodome.

The victory set up a Class 5A Region IV Division I final against San Antonio Clark Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Alamodome.

Don’t expect Clark to kick deep to Swope, based on what happened in the first quarter against Harlingen. On the opening kickoff, Swope hauled in the ball at the 4-yard line and raced 96 yards down the right sideline for the score.

Harlingen answered with a lengthy 14-play play that produced a field goal, but another kickoff that ended up in the hands of Swope produced a familiar result.

“Maybe they were going to test me a second time, I don’t know,” Swope said. “I took advantage of it. I saw a hole and went full blast. It was sweet.”

Swope credited key blocks by his younger brother, Louie, and fullback Hank South for that big hole and the 87-yard return. Westlake coach Derek Long added credit to a good bounce.

“I think that they thought Ryan was so tired from the first one that he couldn’t run the second one back,” he said with a laugh. “I think they did try and avoid him, but the ball bounced right back to him, and he took it from there.”

The returns symbolized a game that looked askew from its statistics. Harlingen had to work for each first down, while the Chaps raced down the field in little time. The potent Cardinal spread offense amassed 457 yards of offense on 81 plays from offense. Shifty tailback Pablo Garza grinded out 186 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, and quarterback John Murphy completed 19 of 37 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

In comparison, the Chaps had relatively paltry totals of 275 total yards on just 44 plays.

But the sound and fury of Harlingen’s stats signified very little on the scoreboard. Westlake scored touchdowns on three of its five first-half drives to take a 35-9 halftime lead. Two possessions into the second half, the Chaps had a 49-9 lead and began to substitute with frequency.

“When our offense got in there, we took care of business,” said Swope, who ended the game with 77 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. “And we took care of business quick.”

Tanner Price took plenty of punishment from Harlingen’s relentless blitzing, but the Westlake quarterback threw for 170 yards and four touchdowns on 8-of-10 passing. Mike Walker paced the receivers with four catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns, and South and Chris Knight each added scoring receptions.

Westlake’s defense spent little time on the bench, but it showed few signs of weariness while chasing down Gomez and the flock of Cardinal receivers. 

The Chaps forced three three-and-outs in the decisive first half, and safety Chase Womack set up a 15-yard touchdown reception by Walker with a 58-yard interception return late in the first half. Markham Sayers also had an interception late in the game

“It was fun tonight, playing a team that likes to air it out,” Womack said. “It was really a tough game, but we’re in shape.”

Long credited his secondary and a pass rush led by Omar Ontiveros, David Durham and Sam Moore for slowing the Cardinals.

“It was physical, and it required a lot of energy,” he said. “But it doesn’t get better next week. Clark has a huge offensive line and the top running back in San Antonio. It’ll be tough, but there are no easy ones at this point.”