As some of the first scattered rain storms raked the dry lands of central Texas on Friday, October 7th, District 25-4A competitors stayed in Austin at Gupton, Bible, and Monroe stadiums for Week 6 of football. All four playoff slots remain unsecured although the scope is narrowing on the victors, favoring Cedar Park, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs.
This week the Vandegrift Vipers hosted the Lake Travis Cavaliers at their own Monroe stadium for their 3rd game of district. Not only were the Vipers celebrating Seniors Night, the game was also Vandegrift’s acknowledgment of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Volunteer parents walked through the crowd with a pink helmet collecting donation for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Players, coaches, trainers, dancers and cheerleaders alike showed their support to the cure with various pink and white entities such as towels, wrist bands and pom-poms. As a new tradition, the Vipers will now run through the tunnel at the opening of the game with a pink and white flag, along with the American flag already carried by the MVP of the week. This week, in respect for his mother, Laurie Giles, who recently passed away after years of fighting breast cancer, junior Mark Giles was chosen to carry the pink and white flag.
After the conclusion of the Senior Night ceremonies, Vandegrift kicked the ball away to start off the night with the Cavs deep in their own territory. With a combination of short but successful running and passing plays directed by junior quarterback Baker Mayfield, Lake Travis capped off their 80-yard drive with a run into the end zone by Mayfield. After a mere two minutes of game time and an extra point, the Cavs led 0-7.
The Viper’s senior Cameron Harris fielded the following Cavalier kick off. Unfortunately, Vandegrift was unable to penetrate the large Lake Travis defense and was forced to punt the ball away. The 60-yard punt by senior Rand Fredrickson, aided by the strong wind, put the Cavs in a bad spot to start their second drive. Shortly after, junior Mason Hargreaves intercepted a tipped Lake Travis throw, giving the Vipers the ball back. Vandegrift took the ball down field and quickly into the red zone, but was pushed back after a personal foul against them. Unable to get the final few yards, Fredrickson attempted a field goal from the hold of senior Garrison Gregory and put the first points on the board for the Vipers, bringing the score to 3-7.
Despite the Viper kickoff team, led by senior Brett Koster, putting the Cavs deep in their own territory, Lake Travis continued to shove through Vandegrift’s defense. With less than a minute on the board, sophomore running back Varshaun Nixon put points up for the Cavs on a fourth-and-three play with a 40-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point kicked by junior kicker Kevin Marcotte, Lake Travis led 3-14 into the second quarter.
After a long, evasive run by Mayfield, the Cavs made a successful field goal from the seven yard line, pushing their lead to 3-17. After a quick unsuccessful offensive drive by the Vipers, a Lake Travis run by Nixon put senior wide receiver Travis Schoonmaker in position to make a touchdown on a short pass by Mayfield. After a two-point conversion, Lake Travis extended their lead 25-3. On their next possession, Lake Travis struck again with a 42-yard touchdown out of a third-and-24 situation, received by junior wide receiver Zach Austin. With a successful extra point, the Cavs led 32-3 with five minutes left in the first half. On their last drive of the half, Lake Travis scored with a pass from Mayfield to senior wide receiver Griffin Gilbert. With yet another extra point, the Cavs led out of the half 3-39.
With high hopes, the Vipers and Cavaliers took the field for the second half. With added intensity by the Viper band, the first few minutes of the third quarter were very hard fought. After a fumble by Lake Travis recovered by Hargreaves for the Vipers, senior Dakota Prukop followed up with a 17-yard quarterback keeper into the end zone. With an extra point by Fredrickson, the Vipers won the second quarter 7-3 and put victory back in their sights with a score of 10-39.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, Lake Travis put up a 44-yard field goal, bringing the score to 10-42 and giving the Cavs the final points of the game. Shut down by the Cavs, Vandegrift was unable to get back into the red zone again and lost 10-42.
Although the score showed otherwise, the Vipers played much better against Lake Travis this year than they did last year, and definitely improved from last week’s mistake-filled game against Dripping Springs. Prukop ended the game with 42 yards passing and 82 yards rushing and senior Yuron Shears finished with 60 yards rushing and 17 yards receiving. The Cavs limited the Viper’s air space and severely constricted their running ground, but were not able to stop them completely. With three district losses, the Vipers must now win against Vista Ridge, Rouse and Marble Falls in order to secure a fourth place playoff slot.
The Rouse Raiders hosted the Cedar Park Timberwolves at Bible stadium for what was expected to be a one-sided match. Just in the 1st quarter, the T’Wolves led 0-13 over Rouse. The Raiders scored once in the second quarter, but were put back down by Cedar Park as they scored two touchdowns, an extra point and a conversion. Leading 7-28 over the Raiders, the T’Wolves started strong in the third quarter with a touchdown and extra point, but were answered by the Raider’s own points. Unfortunately for Rouse, the game was long lost as the clock ran out for a Cedar Park victory of 42-21.
Staying at home, the Vista Ridge Rangers let the Dripping Springs Tigers come to them for their even matchup. With a tie score of 21-21 going into the half, the Rangers strained for a much needed win over the Tigers. Unfortunately, Dripping Springs was able to slowly but surely make their way into the end zone, getting a touchdown and extra point in the third and fourth quarters, rising victorious 21-35 over the Rangers.
