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Football / Top Stories
Football: Cavs keep streaking with comeback win
Saturday, August 28, 2010
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It took a rare rally, but Lake Travis maintained its streak of excellence before the feisty but frustrated Chaparrals.
In front of an estimated crowd of 30,000 that filled the lower levels at cavernous Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on the University of Texas campus, the Cavs came back from a 21-10 deficit in the third quarter to claim a 32-21 win in the season opener for both squads. In the process, Lake Travis extended its streak of wins to 47 and gained a 3-2 edge in the short but spirited series with Westlake.
“We played hard, but we played sloppy,” Westlake coach Darren Allman said. “We made too many mistakes, and you can’t do that against a team like Lake Travis. They’re good enough without our help; that’s a very good football team over there, and they have a great chance to go win it all again.”
Lake Travis, the three-time defending Class 4A champions, faced its largest second-half deficit since their winning streak began after Westlake’s Brice Dolezal hauled in a short pass from Lewis Guilbeau and raced 60 yards for the score. The sudden touchdown gave Westlake a 21-10 lead early in the third quarter, but it also awakened the Cavs’ dormant offense.
Senior quarterback Michael Brewer sparked a 92-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 2-yard scoring run by Cameron Wrinkle and a two-point conversion toss to Griffin Gilbert that trimmed Westlake’s lead to 21-18. After forcing a three-and-out, Lake Travis reeled off a 72-yard touchdown drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run from Brewer.
Brewer had 289 yards on 21-of-40 passing with one touchdown and one interception. Connor Floyd, his favorite receiver from last season, suffered a severe leg injury early in the second half, but Griffin Gilbert filled the role of lead receiver with aplomb, hauling in 164 yards and a touchdown on nine catches.
Westlake’s offense never answered that Cav surge. After Dolezal’s touchdown reception, the Chaps had just 15 yards of offense on their remaining 17 snaps. Lake Travis’ Tyler Paulsen returned an interception for a score in that span to seal the win.
“Inconsistency by our offense caused our defense to be on the field too long,” Allman said. “We couldn’t ever regain that momentum.”
The Chaps had the momentum early on. They took the opening kickoff and marched 58 yards on 14 plays on a touchdown drive that lasted 7 minutes, 38 seconds. Guilbeau capped the drive with a 15-yard rumble through the heart of the Cavalier defense.
“In that first quarter, we were able to hold the ball, and that’s the best way to beat them,” Allman said.
Westlake’s defense came out determined to avoid last year’s fate, when Brewer threw for 422 yards without a pick. The Lake Travis signal caller, a Texas Tech recruit, completed just two of his first eight passes and had a slant pattern returned by Westlake inside linebacker Lance Duran 55 yards for a score.
That touchdown gave the Chaps a 12-0 lead, but the Westlake coaches bemoaned several missed opportunities before the break. Lake Travis’ Colin Lagasse blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt by Buckley Willis, and the Chaps couldn’t punch in the ball late in the second quarter despite having a second-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
“It [the loss] really happened in the first half,” Allman said. “We played sloppy in that second quarter, and we were fortunate to go [into halftime] with the lead. To get inside the one and not in the end zone, that was some sloppy stuff.”
Guilbeau ended with 81 yards rushing and 137 yards passing in his debut as the Chaps’ starter. The rest of the team combined for just 27 yards rushing as Westlake’s offense tallied 245 yards.
Lake Travis had 400 yards of offense.
“I think they’re better than last year,” Westlake linebacker Lance Duran said of the top-ranked Class 4A team in the state. “But so are we. We have to just keep working hard and get better.”
The Chaps travel to Abilene Cooper Friday.
Lake Travis 32, Westlake 21
Westlake (0-1) 6 9 6 0 – 21
Lake Travis (1-0) 0 10 15 7 – 32
FIRST QUARTER
Westlake: Lewis Guilbeau 15 run (kick failed), 4:54
SECOND QUARTER
Westlake: Lance Duran 55 interception run (pass failed), 11:49
Lake Travis: Stephen Pyle 40 FG, 9:29
Westlake: Buckley Willis 24 FG, 1:03
Lake Travis: Griffin Gilbert 29 pass from Michael Brewer (Pyle kick), 0:17
THIRD QUARTER
Westlake: Brice Dolezal 60 pass from Guilbeau (kick blocked), 7:32
Lake Travis: Cameron Wrinkle 5 run (Gilbert pass from Brewer), 4:13
Lake Travis: Brewer 5 run (Pyle kick), 1:21
FOURTH QUARTER
Lake Travis: Tyler Paulsen 20 interception return (Pyle kick), 8:16
Statistics WHS LT
First downs 13 19
Total net yards 245 400
Rushes-yards 35-108 26-111
Passing yards 137 289
Return yards 112 161
Comp-att-int 15-25-2 21-40-1
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 1-8
Punts-avg. 4-38.2 3-31
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-yards 5-35 8-81
Time of possession 27:32 20:28
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Westlake
Rushing: Lewis Guilbeau 21-81, Van Gramann 10-24, Brice Dolezal 2-6, Tyler Luxion 1-3.
Passing: Guilbeau 15-25-2-137.
Receiving: Jason Prideaux 5-17, Collin Shaw 3-16, Dolezal 2-69, Tyler Luxion 2-10 Daniel Sharplin 1-23, Mathan Myers 1-5, Sean O’Farrell 1-(-3).
Tackles: Sean Potter 10, Conor Byrne 7, Robert Smith 6, Eric Wiggin 6, Quentin Buck 4, J.R. Jackson 3, Lance Duran 3, Campbell McCrea 3, Curtis Loeffel 3.
Tackles for losses: Byrne 1.
Forced fumbles: Roy Schwartz 1, Byrne 1.
Passes defended: Buck 2, Potter 1.
Takeaways: Byrne 1 FR, Rory Allen 1 FR, Duran 1 INT.
Lake Travis
Rushing: Michael Brewer 10-56, Michael Pojman 7-38, Turney Maurer 4-23, Cameron Wrinkle 2-6, Colin Lagasse 2-(-11).
Passing: Brewer 21-40-1-289.
Receiving: Griffin Gilbert 9-164, Pojman 4-25, Conner Floyd 3-42, Maurer 3-31, Tanner Gillette 1-19, Wrinkle 1-8.
Great game, Chaps!! If you guys can open up your offense a little more you will go far. Good luck
Great game by both teams, first half WL. second half LT.
Both teams will go far in the playoffs.
It is about time these coaches take some responsibity for losses. A Mickey mouse offense, continued inability to get plays in, poor use of timeouts, and the list goes on. Perhaps to much time doing tv and radio shows as well as for profit side jobs. This time would better be used learning how to make half time adjustments. How many times do we have to see half time leads disappear before we realize that something is fundamentally broken.
@Gig is about up:
You sound like the parent of a kid who doesn’t get “enough” playing time. You may not be one, but you sound like one.
You also sound like the stereotypical “I can do that” sports fan, who sits safely in the stands, watches games on game day, and presumes to know more than the coaches that have built years of experience in the sport working every day in practice, in the film room, in the locker room, and on the sidelines with dozens of kids. All of those kids have varying levels of skill strength, experience, position strengths, playbook knowledge, and field IQ, to say nothing about the variance in personalities, attitudes, expectations, leadership, aptitude, and physical limits to their size and speed. Even the most experienced coaches of highly competitive teams are challenged by these dynamic circumstances.
I don’t know who you are (anonymous screen name), but I dare say that I do know if you were suddenly plucked from your cushioned seat in the stands and dropped on the sidelines of DKR stadium, and you were asked to call the plays for Westlake’s very first game of the season, with a brand new starting QB, facing the three-time state champions, your knees would tremble like a diabetic goat on a three week trip through the desert.
Your list of complaints is weak and reveals one apparent truth above all else: you don’t like the coach personally.
You’re entitled to your opinion, but if you disagree with my assessment that your comment is rooted in a personal vendetta against the coach, I have a challenge for you:
Support your team. Cheer for the kids that are on the field, no matter who their parents are. Clap for the coaches, no matter when they take timeouts. Tell them all that you are proud of their hard work, no matter what the scoreboard says. They fight hard battles together, physically and mentally, all week, so that you get to watch a game at the end of yours.
Bickering, blaming, and backstabbing the coaches is tantamount to disparaging the kids themselves, as they are all one team. Doing so in a public forum the day after a game is shameful and destructive. If the team is your real priority, you will understand this.
Good luck, Chap.
@fanatic
i sat with several former Chap players, and, sorry to disappoint you, but they had some very similar comments to the one which you so vehemently (and wordily) replied. that doesn’t mean that they don’t support the kids, or the coaches, for that matter, but rather, that running the ball up the middle 4 plays in a row from your own 12 with 8 minutes left, when you’re down by 11, may not be the best call. calling a timeout before punting, with 6 minutes left, while still down by 11, is clearly not the best call. i’ll concede, however, that that may have been the result of the offense not transitioning from their attempt to draw LT offsides to the punt squad quickly enough and a last resort to keep from turning the ball over on downs on their own 12.
as to your “challenge”, grow up. you reference some pretty specific things (cheer for all the kids no matter who their parents are???). what are your real issues? and why would you ridicule someone for having an anonymous screen name when do you as well???
both teams played a tough game, and showed some good stuff for the season opener. i for one, am a bit surprised that in all of your rhetoric regarding “the kids”, you fail to mention Conner Floyd, who clearly broke his leg in the 3rd quarter, and the impact that has on “the kids” (or does all of your chivalry apply to Westlake players only?).
Wow, couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Those boys played their absolute guts out and it sure was fun to watch. The Chaps are miles ahead of where they were a year ago at this time. If we can build on this performance, this will be a very memorable team.
Good luck this week Chaps players and coaches. There are plenty of us that will always support you and have an understanding of the dedication, hard work, and amazing effort that you all put into every week.
Hey, if you guys at Westlake don’t want Allman, we’ll be glad to take him back. Y’all got the real deal and I would hope you realize it. Look what’s happening to us since he left.
DL tired in 2nd ahlf and got no rush and the Ol had trouble with the DL. I thought the offense was fine, they just needed to get the ball to Dolezal and Van Gramann on options and perimeter plays more.