Brandon Carter’s winning catch in overtime came on a slight defensive lapse, according to players and coaches on both sides of the field.

The Chap defense rotated a safety to Carter’s side of the field throughout the game while holding the big-play threat without a catch until the final play.

“They were doubling him the whole time,” Trinity quarterback Willie Hubbard said. “On that touchdown [in overtime], our coaches thought we’d have single coverage. He did, so I just threw it up and let him make the play.”

On second-and-three from the 18-yard line, Hubbard lobbed the ball high into the air toward the left front corner of the end zone. Chap cornerback Sean Potter made a valiant effort to paw the ball loose before Carter pulled it to his stomach while straddling the side of the end zone.

“We didn’t get exactly the coverage that we wanted, but it doesn’t matter now,” Westlake coach Darren Allman said after the game.

Punting game proves profitable for Trojans
Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver has earned a reputation as a special-teams gambler, and that status paid dividends Saturday – without the risks.

Lineweaver, whose call for a fake punt helped Trinity beat Round Rock Stony Point in the state semifinals, has a history of making such decisions. Accordingly, the Chaps played Trinity’s fourth downs in defensive mode rather than drop a return man.

The Trojans responded by punting on all three of their fourth-downs inside Westlake territory. In each situation, Trinity downed Carter’s punt after the ball hit the turf and bounded inside the Chaps’ 10-yard line. The Trojans forced three-and-outs twice, which both resulted in short Trinity touchdown drives.

One such score came after a controversial downing with 5 minutes, 4 seconds left in the third quarter, It appeared that a Trinity player slid across the goal-line after downing the ball, but the officials ruled the ball dead at the 1-foot line.

Trinity held Westlake to four yards on the subsequent possession and scored a touchdown on an eight-play, 41-yard drive that cut Westlake’s lead to 28-21.

DB Robison adds to collection of scores
Westlake defensive back James Robison scored his fourth defensive or special-teams touchdown of the season when he intercepted Trinity quarterback Willie Hubbard and raced 25 yards for a first-quarter touchdown. The pick gave Robison his fifth interception and eighth takeaway of the season, which tied him with Campbell McCrea for team-high honors.

Rademacher gets hat trick in prep finale
Chap kicker Cody Rademacher ended his Westlake career with an impressive game. The Air Force recruit made all three of his field-goal attempts, including ones from 21 yards, 39 yards and 31 yards. The 39-yarder came with one second left on the clock in the second quarter and capped a 70-yard drive by the Chaps.

Few miscues still prove costly
Aside from two interceptions by Tanner Price, Westlake made few mistakes in the game. However, two of the miscues came at most inopportune times.

On Westlake’s first drive of the game, the Chaps reached Trinity’s 10-yard line after a 10-yard run by Price in third down. A play later, Price rolled left and rifled a pass to Jason Prideaux in the corner of the end zone. The ball slipped through the grasp of Prideaux, and the Chaps had to settle for a field goal.

On the Chaps’ only drive of overtime, a false start – Westlake’s first penalty of the game – changed a second-and-five from Trinity’s 8-yard line to a second-and-10 from the 13. After an incompletion, Van Gramann lost a yard on a draw play up the middle before Rademacher’s final field goal.

Sayers stop forces OT
When Price hit Miles Berger for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds left in the game, almost everyone in the Alamodome assumed overtime.

But Hubbard had other ideas.

After a pooch kick by Westlake gave Trinity the ball at its own 24-yard line, Hubbard took a snap and sprinted around left side of the Westlake defense for 50 yards. Only a shoestring tackle by Chap defensive back Markham Sayers saved a touchdown.

Trinity lined up for a game-winning field goal before a false start pushed them back to the 31-yard line. Tony Perez, who hadn’t made a field goal all season, then left his kick about 10 yards short of the crossbar on a 48-yard attempt.

News and notes
Senior fullback Tim Johnston scored his first touchdown of the season when he hauled in an 8-yard pass from Tanner Price in the second quarter. … Lewis Guilbeau, a sophomore reserve quarterback who has received plenty of snaps in Westlake’s wildcat formation, had his first playing time of the year at receiver and had three catches for 44 yards. … Linebacker Bryce Hager had an unofficial 13 tackles to lead Westlake. Complete defensive stats were not available as of presstime. … Reserve defensive tackle Roy Schwartz had an impressive game with Westlake’s lone sack and a tackle for loss. … Saturday’s game marked the first overtime contest in Class 5A championship history.