By Aro Majumder
For the Austin Sports Journal
HUMBLE — As Westlake defensive lineman Austin Knape jumped up off the turf after recovering the fumble he forced, he pointed toward the sideline, where head coach Tony Salazar pointed back at him.
Salazar said he told Knape before the drive that he would get a strip-sack to seal the game against Atascocita. That’s exactly what happened.
“It was like I told the future,” Salazar said. “Sometimes you just got to tell that to kids and they’ll believe it, and what a great dream to come true.”
Moments earlier, Westlake defensive lineman Colton Fromberg recorded his first career varsity sack on fourth down deep in Chaparrals territory with Atascocita threatening.
Fromberg, Knape and Salazar each admitted the Chaps missed tackling opportunities throughout Friday’s game. But in the closing moments, one year after the Eagles ended Westlake’s 44-game regular-season winning streak, the defense delivered revenge in a 35-28 shootout at George Turner Stadium.
Westlake (2-1) and Atascocita (2-1) traded touchdowns all night, with neither side leading by more than one score. Westlake quarterback Rees Wise bounced back from a three-interception performance against the Eagles last year by throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another.
Atascocita, missing Arizona State commit quarterback Cardae Mack — who had 12 touchdowns in the first two games — turned to senior running back Christopher Toney and junior quarterback Isaiah Rasheed.
Toney sprinted for a 70-yard touchdown on the second play of the game, but Wise quickly answered with a 22-yard strike to Chase Brodhead. Later, Wise connected with Rhett Jenkins on a 36-yard touchdown to give Westlake its first lead.
The advantage didn’t last long. Rasheed’s 32-yard touchdown pass tied it before Westlake sophomore running back Jarren Lopez scored from a yard out. Rasheed then ran in from 24 yards with 16 seconds left in the first half, sending the teams into the break tied at 21.
On the Eagles’ opening drive of the second half, Toney broke free again for a 69-yard score. After Wise was intercepted near midfield, Atascocita threatened to build a cushion, but Westlake’s defense held. Running back Braden Riddell tied the score again with a 15-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
With less than five minutes left, Wise gave Westlake the final lead on a 6-yard keeper. From there, sacks by Fromberg and Knape preserved the win and kept alive Westlake’s streak of avoiding multiple regular-season losses since 2016.
“After the Prosper loss (in Week 1), everyone wrote us off and said it was a rebuild year,” Fromberg said. “We don’t think that way. We had to knock the rust off and we showed up this game.”
