In a final day of play fraught with blistering heat and intense games, Lake Travis emerged over a semifinal field of themselves, Waxahachie, A&M Consolidated, and Clear Brook. It wasn’t an easy path to the finals, in order to win the right to play, the Cavaliers needed a Hail Mary from Matthew Baldwin to Garrett Wilson to seal the deal.
Baldwin drops a dime. Lake Travis wins to advance to the finals in the final seconds. #txhsfb #tx7on7 pic.twitter.com/Y74vM9QD7f
— hunter cooke (@diamondbackGG) July 1, 2017
After getting past Consolidated, Lake Travis would square off with Waxahachie to end the day.
The Indians were no easy out, quarterback Bryse Salik lead the Indians past Clear Brook in the semifinals by a score of 46-26. Waxahachie apparently saved some of their fireworks for the final as well, as the game quickly became a war of attrition with cramps and the heat beginning to take their toll.
A controversial call erased a Lake Travis interception, giving the ball back to Waxahachie with less than two minutes remaining with the score at 34-27. The Indians scored as time ran out, and were faced with a dilemma – go for one and get overtime, or go for two and the win.
Waxahachie misses the 2 point try for the win. Lake Travis wins. #txhsfb #tx7on7 pic.twitter.com/Y44ELRMM9b
— hunter cooke (@diamondbackGG) July 1, 2017
Salik and the Indians didn’t convert, and Lake Travis hoisted their second title in eight months, winning 34-33.
Kyle Wakefield, who went down with cramps in the second half but was instrumental in the flats from his wide receiver position all day long for the Cavaliers, said this tournament was a test and that they came out strong. “It was pretty tough, you don’t win many games on a Hail Mary pass and still win a state championship. We didn’t look back, we looked forward, and we went out there and won it all.”
The day wasn’t just won by the offense, and Matthew Baldwin, Lake Travis’s new starting quarterback, reflected that. “Our defense had been playing great all day. I didn’t doubt them for a second,” he said. “They came out with a couple picks, and that’s a really good team we just played. Props to them, but our defense came up huge.”
Garrett Wilson, who caught Baldwin’s pass to send the Cavaliers to state, was similarly enthusiastic. “Now we know what we’re made of, and this isn’t just 7 on 7, this is going to carry on into the fall. That mental toughness…It’s a new team, but we’re expecting great results again.”
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