The Austin Westlake Chaparrals are 8-0 on the season and dominating their opponents, even with star QB Cade Klubnik out with an injury. The Chaps haven’t skipped a beat as they march on toward what they hope is a third consecutive 6A state championship.
Austin Westlake is scoring a whopping 54 points per game and allowing a paltry seven points per game on a defense that has been stellar all season.
High-Powered Offense
Klubnik has not played in the last two games due to injury. His stats through 6 games: 1476 yards, 20 TDs, only 2 INTs. He has completed 70% of his passes. He is committed to Clemson, according to 247sports. Klubnik also won the MVP of the Elite 11 National Quarterback Competition.
Photo Credit: Stan Martin
His replacement, senior QB Christian Edgar has filled in nicely as a dual-threat quarterback and Westlake has not skipped a beat. Edgar has played under center in seven games this season, throwing 8 touchdown passes and zero INTs. He also has four rushing touchdowns. The bulk of his touchdowns have come in the last two games:
- 202 yards, 3 TDs on 15 of 18 passing (83%), 2 rushing TDs last week vs Austin Akins.
- 188 yards, 4 TDs on 9 of 10 passing (90%), 2 rushing TDs in the 77-0 destruction of Hays.
Other leaders on offense are RB Hunter Henault (708 yards, 7 TDs, 6 yards per rush), and WR Jaden Greathouse (32 catches, 522 yards, 9 touchdowns). Greathouse is a 4-star prospect and holds six scholarship offers, according to 247sports.
The Chaps run a balanced offensive attack, gaining 259 passing yards (30 TDs) and 226 rushing yards (26 TDs) per game. They churn out 485 yards of total offense per game.
Dominating Defense
The Westlake defensive unit is stellar top to bottom. It is led by:
- Will Courtney: 52 tackles, 2 TFLs
- Carter Barksdale: 44 tackles, 5 TFLs, 5 sacks, 1 INT
- Byers Petty: 28 tackles, 7 TFLs, 6 sacks.
- Luke Aaron: 4 INTs, 42 tackles
As a team, Westlake has racked up 518 tackles, 23 sacks, 36 TFL’s, and 11 INTs.
In the month of October, the Chaps defense has allowed just six total points scored against them in the last four games. They have outscored those four opponents 223-6.
The Man in Charge
Now, let’s talk about the man in charge of this dominant program, head coach Todd Dodge. In seven years at the helm, prior to the 2021 season, Dodge has accumulated a record of 88-13 and has won back-to-back 6A State Championships with the Chaps.
Prior to coming to Westlake, Dodge was the head coach at the University of North Texas. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Southlake Carroll.
With the Dragons, he amassed a 98-10 record. Dodge led Southlake Carroll to five consecutive championship game appearances (2002-2006), winning 4 state titles. The Dragons were the runners-up in 2003.
Coming into this season, his career coaching record is 217-72 over 22 years and he has won six state championships. Dodge announced early in the season that he will retire at the end of this season.
He has Westlake playing at a high level once again as they march toward a three-peat. A balanced, high-scoring offense, combined with a stingy defense that plays lights out every week. Does Coach Dodge ride off into the sunset with his seventh state title? We shall see.
Will Austin Westlake win their third consecutive 6A state title? Leave a comment below.
Stats and records sourced from texashighschoolfootballhistory, and Stats – Westlake Chaparrals (Austin, TX) Varsity Football 21-22 (maxpreps.com).
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