By: Tony Thomas
77-3 record. Three different quarterbacks. Three different head coaches. Five consecutive Texas 4A state titles. One team: The Lake Travis Cavaliers.
The Cavs have won six titles in the school’s history and have made eight championship game appearances. They were the first team in Texas to win five consecutive state championships.
Lake Travis won those five titles under three different head coaches: two under Hank Carter (130-16 record currently), two under Chad Morris (32-0), and one under Jeff Dicus (45-15).
The offenses were led by three talented quarterbacks: Garrett Gilbert (2007-2008), Michael Brewer (2009-2010) and Baker Mayfield (2011).
2007 Championship Season (15-1)-Head Coach Jeff Dicus
The ’07 version of the Cavaliers was led on the field by Gilbert, a second team All-State selection and District MVP. According to maxpreps.com, Gilbert passed for 4,827 yards and 49 TDs and 11 INTs. He completed 360 of his passes on 556 attempts.
The Cavs scored 33 points per game in the regular season, and 44 points per game in the playoffs:
- Defeated New Braunfels Canyon 37-7
- Defeated Kerrville Tivy 45-29
- Defeated Calladen 45-14
- Defeated Jones 57-43
- Defeated Dayton 49-13
- Defeated Highland Park 36-34 (State Championship Game)
Gilbert went off in the playoffs, passing for 1,922 yards and accounted for 25 total touchdowns in six games. In the championship game against Highland Park, he threw for 359 yards and three touchdown passes, while running back Chris Aydam added two rushing TDs.
2008 Championship Season (16-0)-Head Coach Chad Morris
Lake Travis was even more dominant in 2008. The offense scored 46 points per game and the defense allowed a paltry 13 points per contest.
The Cavaliers scored 50+ points five times in the regular season, including four in a row, and also including 2 shutouts (outscoring Lampasas and Hendrickson 114-0). Over those five games, they outscored their hapless opponents 273-29.
Gilbert continued his highly productive ways, 4851 yards passing 55 touchdowns, and only 6 INTs.
In the playoffs, LT scored 53 points per game and allowed their opponents 20 points per contest.
- Defeated Austin LBJ 55-14
- Defeated Steele 38-21
- Defeated Alice 55-32
- Defeated Killeen 71-9
- Defeated Friendswood 56-22
- Defeated Longview 48-23 (State Championship)
Gilbert picked up where he left off the previous season, passing for 1,794 yards, 16 passing touchdowns, 18 rushing touchdowns, and 4 INTs in the playoffs.
Against Longview, Gilbert threw for 358 yards and 4 TDs and 1 INT, and added 78 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
When you add in the non-championship season of 2006, Gilbert’s career numbers were outstanding and the accolades were numerous:
- 12,534 passing yards
- 137 career passing TDs
- Passing attempts= 1,371
- Career Completions= 895
- National Gatorade Player of the Year
- Parade Magazine National Player of the Year
- EA Sports Mr. Football
- USA TODAY Offensive Player of the Year
Gilbert signed with the Texas Longhorns. He later transferred to SMU. Gilbert is currently on the Dallas Cowboys roster as a backup quarterback.
2009 Championship Season (16-0)-Head Coach Chad Morris
The Cavaliers scored 50+ points in 8 of 10 regular season games, while very stingily allowing just 14 points per game on defense, including pitching two shutouts.
- Defeated Round Rock Westwood 55-31
- Defeated Austin Westlake 42-21
- Defeated Cedar Park 54-17
- Defeated Boerne 52-0
- Defeated Killeen 56-31
- Defeated Hutto 57-16
- Defeated Lampasas 38-7
- Defeated Hendrickson 58-15
- Defeated Dripping Springs 52-0
- Defeated Marble Falls 52-7
A new quarterback took over the offense: Michael Brewer. Brewer passed for 4,450 yards, 43 TDs, and only 7 INTs in ’09. Just two of his interceptions were thrown in the regular season. Running back Andy Erickson rushed for 1063 yards and 39 total touchdowns, averaging a whopping 8 yards per carry.
In the playoffs, LT scored 40 points per game and allowed just 13 points per ball game on defense. The Cavaliers scored 50+ points three times:
- Defeated Crockett 58-7
- Defeated Steele 27-20
- Defeated Flour Bluff 52-13
- Defeated Alamo Heights 27-13
- Defeated Dawson 57-12
- Defeated Longview 24-17 (State Championship)
In the title game against Longview, Brewer passed for 198 yards and 2 TDs, and 2 INTs. Erickson added a rushing touchdown.
For the six games in the playoffs, Brewer threw for 1,276 yards and 13 TDs, and 5 INTs. Erickson rushed for 7 touchdowns in the playoff bracket.
2010 Championship Season (14-2)-Head Coach Hank Carter
In the 2010 campaign, Brewer led the offense once again, this time as a senior. He passed for 2865 yards, 26 TDs, and 10 INTs. He also added 743 yards rushing and another 12 TDs on the ground. He posted three games with 3 passing touchdowns and 1 game with four passing TDs.
LT continued their high-scoring ways, averaging 40 points per game on offense and allowed just 13 points per game to their opponents. In two of those games, they scored 60+ points.
The defense pitched three shutouts in the regular season against Dripping Springs, Vista Ridge, and Marble Falls, outscoring those three teams 125-0.
In the playoffs, the Cavaliers averaged 34 points per game. They allowed just 10 total points scored against them in their final two playoff games: against Friendswood in the semifinals and against Denton Ryan in the title game.
In the playoff bracket, Brewer passed for 993 yards and 8 TDs in 6 games and he also added 10 rushing TDs.
Also adding rushing touchdowns were Michael Pojman (3), Colin Lagasse (2), and Damon Cavil and Cameron Wrinkle added one rushing TD each.
In the title game vs Denton Ryan, Brewer threw for 211 yards and rushed for 81 yards and two TDs. Lagasse also added a TD run.
On the defensive side of the ball, LT stymied the Ryan offense. The Cavaliers recorded 7 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 3 INTs. Three players had double-digit tackles: Zach Streuling (11), Dylan Bittles (11), and Austin Williams (11).
Brewer signed with Texas Tech. Later transferred to Virginia Tech.
2011 Championship Season (16-0)-Head Coach Hank Carter
A new quarterback called the plays as Baker Mayfield took over behind center. Mayfield passed for 3,788 yards, 45 touchdowns, and only 5 INTs.
The Mayfield-led offense averaged 48 points per game in the regular season. They scored 50+ points four times and 60+ points twice.
How good was Mayfield? Take a look at these numbers:
- 6 TDs total vs Hendrickson
- 6 TDs total vs Aledo
- 5 TDs total vs Kerrville Tivy
- 4 TDs total vs Vandegrift
- 4 TDs total vs Vista Ridge
The LT defense allowed just 15 points per game in the regular season and shutout Marble Falls 57-0. In the playoffs, they allowed a measly 12 points per game, while scoring 39 points per game:
- Defeated Austin McCallum 58-7
- Defeated Smithson Valley 42-21
- Defeated Flour Bluff 58-15
- Defeated Cedar Park 14-9
- Defeated Dawson 45-14
- Defeated Waco Midway 22-7 (State Championship)
In the title game, Mayfield threw for 276 yards and a touchdown. Colin Lagasse added a rushing touchdown.
Like the battle of the Pacific of the same name that was a turning point in WWII, the Cavalier defense was no match for Midway as LT pushed them back into defeat.
LT racked up 11 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 2 INTs. Several Cavalier defenders stood out as LT claimed its 5th straight Texas 4A State Championship:
- Blake Burdette 9 tackles, 4 TFL’s
- Zach Streuling 13 tackles, 1 TFL
- Connor Shannon 10 tackles, 2 TFLs
- Corbin Crow 9 tackles, 2 TFL’s, 1 sack
Mayfield signed with Texas Tech, where he was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. He later transferred to Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff and where he won the Heisman Trophy. He was the #1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns.
Domination
The Lake Travis Cavaliers. Texas 4A State Champions five consecutive times. They are the only Texas high school ever to achieve such greatness. We will we ever see this kind of domination again? Maybe we will. It’s Texas high school football. The Lonestar State has talented players and talented coaches. And football is king.
Thanks for reading.
Material for this article sourced from:
laketravisfootball.com, maxpreps.com, texasfootball.com, texastech.com
