The PA announcers struggled for several minutes, scrounging through laptop statistics for the name of a replacement Chaps quarterback coach Todd Dodge plugged in during the closing moments of regulation.
The gaffe on the announcer’s part was understandable.
After all, the qb position has been an injury revolving door for the Chaparrals; season-ending afflictions to Sam Ehlinger and Matthew Gense has forced coach Dodge to settle on Sam Saxton, Taylor Anderson, and Grayson Burks in a quarterback by committee system. The shot-caller brought in was the sixth player to run the offense. Finally, the announcer called the name “Kirkland Michaux”. But the game was over, and no one really paid attention to the error.
Westlake was dominate on both side of the ball in a 48-3 route of Reagan, their first contest against the San Antonio high school since 2007. The Chaps will play Judson in the second round next week.
The first quarter was a defensive battle, yielding only a field goal by the Rockets. Westlake then punctured offensive wounds deep within the opposing defensive line for forty unanswered points; only nine points total have been scored on the Chaps since their bye week.
Defensive coordinator Tony Salazar’s unit limited the usually high-octane ground attack of Judson to 105 yards, keeping the offense out of the end zone for 260 total yards.
The Rocket were poised for a comeback during the start of the second half, embarking on a 66-yard return, and quickly neared the end-zone. Instead of booting the field goal, Judson attempted a fourth and goal at the four-yard line, which backfired into a one yard loss — a costly mistake against Salazar’s oppressive defensive line that could be the best in school history.
Reagan has never been tested to go strictly to the air, relying primarily on running back Marquis Duncan in their nine wins this season for 1368 yards; the senior managed only 61 yards for 26 carries — a brunt of which resulted in lost yardage.
In the absence of a consistent shot-caller, stud running back Nakia Watson continued to impress, handling the workload in the offensive backfield for 184 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns, capped by a 95-yard scoring run from the Westlake five-yard line.
The loaded stat sheet for the junior tailback marked over 100 yards for the tenth consecutive game with a score; Watson hasn’t played a full four quarters in a while.
Westlake looks destined for a collision course against Lake Travis in the Region IV title. Since being dominated by Lake Travis 45-6, the Chaps are riding a four game undefeated streak since their bye week; the Cavaliers haven’t lost since their opener against Judson, scoring over 42 points each win.
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