By Michael Adams
michael@otssports.com
LAKEWAY – Fans didn’t get the pass-happy offensive shootout Friday they are accustomed to when Westlake and Lake Travis meet in the annual Battle of the Lakes.
Instead, the capacity crowd at Cavalier Stadium were gifted smashmouth football at Cavalier Stadium as Westlake defeated Lake Travis 20-14.
“We had to be physical and move the football,” said Westlake coach Tony Salazar, who is 2-0 against Lake Travis. “We stayed ahead of the chains and played great defense. We allowed two big plays, which lead to two (Lake Travis) scores.
“We played disciplined down the stretch and their penalties came back to hurt them. Our ability to stay disciplined allowed us to finish that football game.”
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Westlake (4-0, 2-0 District 26-6A) only completed nine passes Friday night and had less than 100 yards passing. The Chaps ran the ball 53 times, with 29 carries from senior running back Jack Kayser for 161 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Paxton Land had the Chaps’ other touchdown of the night from an 18-yard run in the first quarter.
“Lake Travis is a really good team,” Kayser said. “They stopped a lot of our stuff. I felt like we left a lot of points on the board, and that had a lot to do with their defense. We just gutted this out and fought.”
Westlake’s defense frustrated Lake Travis’ offense, which finished with less than 250 yards of offense. The Cavaliers had 91 yards rushing and only had one touchdown run – a 1-yard punch into the endzone from Nico Hamilton to tie the game 7-7 early in the second quarter.
The Chaps scored six points on two field goals of 29 and 53 yards, respectively, from kicker Spencer Bennett.
Lake Travis (4-1, 1-1) was without standout wide receiver Seth Galbraith (8 catches, 142 yards, 3 touchdowns). Quarterback Kayden Leon put together a couple of big plays, including a 46-yard pass to Josiah Thomas to set up Hamilton’s touchdown run.
Early in the fourth quarter, Leon connected with Thomas again for an 11-yard touchdown pass to put the Cavs to within seven with 10:35 left in the game. The score shifted momentum in favor of the Cavs, who again threatened midway through the fourth quarter. However, penalties, including a 15-yard personal foul, halted any momentum for Lake Travis.
Friday’s victory against Lake Travis was Westlake’s first at Cavalier Stadium since 2006, the series’ first game. The Chaps have won 5 of the last 6 meetings in the Battle of the Lakes rivalry.
Lake Travis has next week off to rest and prepare for an Oct. 6 showdown with Del Valle at Cardinal Stadium. Westlake hosts the Cardinals on Friday in District 26-6A action.