We have a showdown between two Top 20 teams in 6A. #13 Round Rock (6-0,3-0) makes a return trip to Monroe Stadium to take on #17 Vandegrift (5-1,3-0) in a game that looks to decide not only the District Champion, but also possibly the Top D-I seed in the playoffs. The Vipers are looking to reverse the outcome of last season’s 38-20 loss that ended their four-year regular season home winning streak. The All-Time Series is tied 2-2, so this should make for one heck of a rubber match.
Round Rock Dragons
The Offense
The Dragons are averaging 303.5 Yds/Game (115.5 Passing,188 Rushing). Their run heavy style is scoring 34.6 Pts/game on the season.
The Round Rock Offense is keyed by their JR QB Mason Cochran (Passing – 54-98, 600 Yds,4TD,4INT; Rushing – 99/739 Yds,15TD) who leads the team in Passing, Rushing, and Scoring. The Vandegrift Defense will have to wrap up early and often as Cochran has a great ability to break tackles and is hard to pull down in the open field.
SR RB Ruben Ribeiro (69/313 Yds,1TD) has been the primary running back for the Dragons, but last week against Manor SR RB Vincent Mighetto (38/143 Yds,1TD) had his most carries and yards in a game all season (18 for 81 Yds). Having already faced Cam Cook and Quentin Joyner, the Vipers Run Defense will need to use that experience to try and limit this part of the Dragons Offense.
SR WR Aiden Sterling (19/287 Yds,2TD Receiving, 12/74 Yds,1TD Rushing) and SR WR Adam Borel (10/107 Yds,1TD) are the top receiving targets downfield for Cochran, in addition to utilizing SR WR/TE Clayton Charlton (8/55 Yds) for intermediate routes. The Vandegrift Secondary will have to be mindful of the long downfield throws to avoid giving up the big play.
The Dragons O-Line is a JR heavy unit led by LT Luke Miller (6’5” 265) that has done well in protecting Cochran and opening holes for the run game. On the season they are allowing just 1.5 Sacks/Game and 4TFL/Game. The Vipers D-Line will have their hands full trying to penetrate and disrupt them all night.
Other Players to Watch:
- JR RB JaVonte Arnold – 23 carries, 114 Yds
- JR RB Dylan Uribe – 14 carries, 79 Yds
- JR WR Hayden Hnath – 5 receptions, 54 Yds
- SR WR Tyler McMahon – 3 receptions, 32 Yds
- SR WR Elijah Reyna – 2 receptions, 23 Yds
The Defense
The Round Rock Defense is allowing opponents 13.7 Pts/Game and 257 Yds/Game (125 Passing, 132 Rushing). Defensive Statistics of Note: 30TFL/7Sacks/3FmbRec/9INT.
The Dragon D-Line averages 6’1” and 234 lbs. across the board, led by Seniors Landry Peterson (17T,5TFL,1.5Sacks,1FmbRec), Jett Jones (23T,6TFL,1Sack), and Kaleb Hamilton (13T,2TFL), along with JR Asher Chang (16T,7TFL). Texas Tech commit Ansel Nedore (6’4” 260) has not played the past two games and could help bolster the defensive effort if he is available. They will be challenged by the Vandegrift O-Line, which will be the biggest and most experienced unit they have faced this year.
The LB Corp for Round Rock is formidable and as expected lead the team in tackles with SR William Brown (56T,3TFL,2Sacks), SR Walker Alsobrooks (47T,7TFL,3Sacks) and SR Jackson Anders (28T, 1TFL,1Sack). On the season they have only allowed two opponents to rush for more than 100 yards (SA Reagan 246, Manor 198) and they will look to stifle the Viper running attack that is averaging 133.5 Yds/Game.
The Secondary has played well on the season, keeping all but two teams under 150 yards passing (Weiss 201, Stony Point 178). Led by SR Jalen Gilbert (30T,4INT) and JR Leonard Moore (18T,2INT), the Dragon Secondary will be put through their paces against the Vandegrift passing attack in one of the keys to the game. With a total of 9INT on the season, they have the ball hawking ability to frustrate the Vipers downfield.
Other Players to Watch:
- SR Jaxon York – 23T/1TFL/1Sack
- SR Logan Clifton – 21T
- SO Justin Lee – 18T/3TFL/1.5Sacks/2FmbRec
- SO Zavari Whitson – 11T
- SR Ryan Hurley – 6T/1INT
Special Teams
Kicking duties are handled by JR Kai Haruki who is 5 of 9 on Field Goals with a long of 42yds, as well as 24 of 26 on extra points. On Kickoffs he has the leg to nullify any big returns, with 8 touchbacks on the season.
Punting for has been a rare occurrence for the Dragons, with just 8 in six games, 7 of which have been handled by Cochran. Last week against Manor, the one regular punt attempt they had resulted in a high snap and a safety (nullified by Penalty on Manor), and they had a similar snap issue in an earlier game.
Vandegrift Vipers
The Offense
Vandegrift is putting up 40.3 Pts/Game, while averaging 388.1 Yds/Game (254.6 Passing,133.5 Rushing). Vandegrift will have to overcome the false start and holding penalties they had in last weeks game to avoid playing from behind the chains.
The Vipers Offense, led by SR QB Brayden Buchanan (Passing – 96-141, 1430 Yds,15TD,0 INT; Rushing – 19/65 Yds,1TD) is the opposite of the Dragons, going primarily with an Up-Tempo Passing Attack. Utilizing JR WR Miles Coleman (38/689 Yds,7TD) and SR WR Ray’Jean Middleton (16/231 Yds,2TD) to stretch the field, along with JR TE Jase Skoglund (15/228 Yds,3TD), SR WR Beck Ormond (12/162 Yds,1TD) and SR WR Grant Lindley (10/112 yards,1TD) with mostly sideline and intermediate routes. Last season the Dragon Secondary held Buchanan and the Passing Game to just two touchdowns, which was tied for the lowest output by that unit on the season.
SR RB Alex Witt (86/441 Yds,7TD) is the featured back in the Vandegrift rushing attack. SR RB Reece Trevino (32/154 Yds,2TD) and JR RB Zaid Oliver (16/119 Yds, 3TD) also are effective at finding the open hole to get downfield. Round Rock has faced two 4 Star RBs in their past two games, Cook with Stony Point and Joyner with Manor, so they will want to duplicate that effort to try and make the Vipers one dimensional.
The Vandegrift O-line, led by 4 Star SR T Ian Reed (6’6”,315) and Top 2024 Prospect JR T Blake Frazier (6’6”,260) is a well-coordinated group that has kept Buchanan upright and clean on most snaps, allowing 1 Sack and just under 4TFL per game on the season. The Dragon D-line will be one of the most aggressive units they have faced on the season and how this matchup goes will be a key to the game.
The Defense
The Vipers have allowed only 42 total points through the first six games, 23 of those coming against Dripping Springs to start the season. After a slow start in the opener, the Vipers Defense has gelled into a cohesive unit that has clamped down and held 3 of 5 opponents to shutouts. Opponents are averaging 183.4 Yds/Game (79.6 Passing, 103.8 Rushing). They continued last week with having at least one Turnover in every game on the season (8 INT/7 FR).
Three Star SR Daemian Wimberly (21T,4TFL,7Sacks,1FmbRec), SR Oliver Yndo (19T,4TFL,1Sack) and SR Austin Spieles (10T,2TFL,2Sacks) are the front three for Vandegrift. Expect them to also rotate in SO Ian Witt (11T,1TFL,2Sacks,1FmbRec) and JR Ethan Wood (5T,1TFL,1Sack) to keep fresh for late in the game. This will be one of the better D-Lines that the Dragons have taken on so far this season.
JR LBs Ben Booher (38T/3TFL/3Sacks) and Blaine Becker (29T/4TFL), along with SR Cruz Orta (24T,1TFL,1Sack) and SR MD Connor (11T,1TFL,1INT) hold down the center of the Vandegrift Defense. They will have to maintain contain and seal the edge on Cochran, Mighetto and Ribeiro to avoid letting the Dragons get close to the 287 yards they pounded out in last season’s matchup.
Secondary is led by JR Alex Foster (50T,5TFL,3Sacks,1INT,1BlkPunt), along with Seniors Isiah Thompson (25T,2TFL), Andrew Scott (20T,2TFL,2INT), Davis Scott (23T,3TFL,1Sack,1INT) and Connor Freeman (12T,2TFL/2INT). Since giving up two Passing Touchdowns to Dripping Springs, they have not allowed another one over the past five games.
Other Players to Watch:
- SR Hudson Lillie – 17T/1INT/1FmbRec
- JR Cruz Carrasquillo – 4T/1TFL/1FmbRec/1Safety
Special Teams
SR Hayden Arnold is the next in a long line of excellent Viper kickers. On the year he is 28 of 30 on extra points and 6 of 8 on Field Goals with a long of 47 yards. He is averaging 46.2 Yds/Kick with 10 touchbacks, putting most of his kicks inside the 7-yard line.
SR Hayden Lillie handles punting duties for the Vipers, but has only punted 10 times on the season, with 4 landing inside the 20 to help pin opponents deep and flip the field.
Vandegrift has a pair of good returners on both Punts and Kickoffs. JR Miles Coleman had his 2nd career punt return for a TD last week, is averaging 17.7 Yds/Return on Kickoffs and 12.1 Yds/Return on Punts. SR Ray’Jean Middleton is averaging 19.6 Yds/Return on Kickoffs.
Who Comes Out on Top
Round Rock and Vandegrift have had three common opponents on the season (Cedar Park, Stony Point and Manor). Both teams won all three games, Round Rock avg score was 24-10, Vandegrift avg score was 40-6. While both teams will bring suffocating Defenses, the Vandegrift Offense looks to be just a notch ahead of Round Rock this season. Look for the Vipers to take revenge for last year’s home loss, getting the win 27-10.
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