Westlake’s offense appeared to have found its rhythm against Lake Travis despite scoring just three touchdowns, and that discovery couldn’t have come at a better time.

Based on the early-season showing by Friday’s foe A&M Consolidated, the Chaps (1-1) may have to score plenty of points to escape Chaparral Stadium with a win in Friday’s nondistrict contest. The Tigers (1-1) have scored 93 points in their first two games behind an explosive rushing attack but haven’t been able to overcome a pair of lackluster defensive efforts. Consol topped Round Rock McNeil 44-39 in the season opener and fell to Cypress Woods 55-49 last week.

Against McNeil, junior running back Chris Nutall had 195 yards on seven carries. Classmate Clinton Banks almost matched that performance with 181 yards on 23 carries and five touchdowns against Cypress Woods.

“We’re going to have to score some points this week, there’s no doubt,” Westlake coach Darren Allman said. “They [Consol] have an explosive running game, and they like to control the ball.”

The Chaps showed their own explosive running game in the 42-21 loss to Lake Travis. Allman has described his team as having a “power spread” running game, and Westlake ripped off 255 yards on 41 carries against the Cavaliers. Quarterback Tanner Price, who entered this year with an established reputation as a pure drop-back passer, showed the running threat inherent at the quarterback position in Westlake’s new offense. He rumbled for a career-high 131 yards, including a 48-yard burst on the Chaps’ second snap from scrimmage.

“Tanner can take advantage of some things the defenses give us,” said Allman, whose team ended the game with 429 yards of offense. “We moved the ball, but we just have to be more consistent finishing drives.”

Westlake should be able to move the ball against a Consol team that has allowed 989 yards of offense through its first two games, both against spread offenses. Consol head coach Jim Slaughter has admitted to the Tigers’ struggles against the spread, telling the Bryan-College Station Eagle “we’re not handling the spread very well right now.”

But those words bode a warning to Allman.

“I wish we could have gotten them in the first or second game,” he said. “They are well-coached, and I’m sure that they’re going to focus on stopping the spread.”

Allman also expressed admiration for the resiliency of the Tigers, who rallied from a 42-14 halftime deficit to tie the game in the loss to Cypress Woods.

“That speaks to the mentality of that team,” he said. “They don’t quit, and they’re not intimidated. It will be tough Friday.”

 

Chaps to cross-train players

Because of a virus that swept across the Westlake roster last week, the Chaps had to battle Lake Travis with a handful of players in unfamiliar positions.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Allman said. “We were playing guys in the secondary that had, maybe, one practice on defense.”

The team appears much healthier this week, but the Chap coaches are taking safeguards in practice. Several key offensive players spent up to half of their practice time this week working on defense, including receivers Collin Shaw and Campbell McCrea as well as Lewis Guilbeau and Brice Dolezal. All four practiced at defensive back.

The cross-training went both ways. Several defensive starters worked on offense, including linebacker Bryce Hager at running back and DB Louie Swope at receiver.

“It will help our depth in the long run, and it will help us avoid what happened last week,” Allman said.

 

Guilbeau to get some snaps at QB

Sophomore backup quarterback Lewis Guilbeau has been one of the pleasant early-season surprises for the Westlake coaches, tallying 137 yards rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries through the first two games. However, the bulk of those yards have come at running back, and Guilbeau didn’t play one snap behind center against Lake Travis.

That should change this week, said Allman

“We want to get Lewis some snaps [at quarterback] this week,” he said. “He can make some things happen with the ball, so we’ll probably get a couple of packages with him.”

 

Lightning delays Lake Travis contest

Without a drop of rain, a pernicious thunderstorm managed to delay the start of Friday’s game more than an hour.

The lightning detector at the Lake Travis Sports Complex didn’t give an all-clear signal until just after 8 p.m., which barely allowed the game to start by a UIL-mandated deadline of 9 p.m. If the lightning had persisted, the game would have likely been rescheduled for Saturday afternoon.

 

News and notes

Lake Travis has now won 32 games in a row. Its last loss came against Westlake in 2007. … Miles Berger had a career-high seven catches for 93 yards against Lake Travis. … The Chaps fumbled five times Friday but didn’t lose one. … Sean O’Farrell and Jesse Fender have split time at left offensive tackle during the first two games.