For the second time in six weeks, District 26-6A rivals Westlake and Lake Travis are playing in a showdown of Central Texas' top two programs. And for the second straight year, their Class 6A Division I regional final will determine a spot in next week's state semifinals.
Lake Travis jumped out to an early lead, but it didn't take long for the Chaps to tie the game and eventually take a 10-point lead in the second quarter. A late field goal cut Westlake's lead to 17-10 as their game headed into halftime at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex.
There are three other state quarterfinals going on Friday night involving Austin-area teams:
∙ Vandegrift and San Antonio Harlan are playing at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos in Class 6A Division II.
∙ Wimberley and Sinton are playing in San Antonio in the Class 4A Division II regional final.
∙ Llano and Edna are also playing in San Antonio in the Class 3A Division I regional final.
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Follow this thread for live updates and scores from the Westlake vs. Lake Travis showdown as well as for Vandegrift-S.A. Harlan, Wimberley-Sinton and Llano-Edna:
There's 1:30 left in the Westlake-Lake Travis Class 6A Division I state quarterfinal. The Chaps still lead 24-17, but turned away a Lake Travis drive that had reached Westlake's 10-yard line. The Cavs' first two plays faltered. Both were running plays. And on third down, Chaston Ditta was forced to scramble and Westlake's Elliott Schaper picked off Ditta's pass, giving the Chaps the ball with 3:42 left.z
The Cavaliers, however, forced a Westlake punt and Lake Travis has the ball at Westlake's 38-yard line with 1:30 left to play, trailing the Chaps 24-17.
Down in San Antonio, Llano quarterback Luke Davis' 18-yard touchdown pass to RJ Coplin has cut Edna's lead to 27-14 with three minutes left in the third quarter of their Class 3A Division II regional final.
Westlake has retaken the lead over Lake Travis in their Class 6A Division I state quarterfinal playoff game at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. Rees Wise's 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Brandon Clark has the Chaps leading 24-17 with :39 left in the third quarter.
Clark also had a 21-yard catch to start what became a three-play scoring drive following the Lake Travis turnover.
Over at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex, Lake Travis has squandered its opportunity after it had recovered a Westlake fumble. The Cavs have just fumbled it right back; after Chaston Ditta found Patrick Colby for a 15-yard gain, Westlake's Thompson Bennett punched it look and the Chaps recovered.
Still in the third quarter. Still 17-17.
Down at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, Vandegrift is leading San Antonio Harlan 25-7 at halftime. Vipers quarterback Miles Teodecki has thrown for 234 yards and three touchdowns and Brendan Fournier has scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. And the Vipers' defense has made two fourth-down stops.
Vandegrift has never trailed.
Lake Travis has seized momentum in the second half of their Class 6A Division I state quarterfinal with Westlake. Now what will the Cavaliers do with it?
Lake Travis trailed 17-10 at halftime, but quickly took control of this game by forcing a three-and-out on Westlake's opening drive of the first half. The Cavs then quickly marched downfield and tied the game 17-17 on a Chaston Ditta touchdown pass to Patrick Colby. And now, on Westlake's ensuing drive, Chaps running back Grady Bartlett fumbled and Lake Travis' Lawson Watkins recovered.
∙ Class 6A DII: Vandegrift 25, San Antonio Harlan 7 (halftime)
Lake Travis has tied Westlake 17-17 on Chaston Ditta's 7-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Colby. There's 6:26 left in the third quarter.
... and the Chaps opened the second half with a three-and-out series.
One note courtesy of our own Jay Plotkin, who's covering tonight's game at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex: with his first-quarter touchdown run, Lake Travis running back Vann Hopping has 29 rushing touchdowns this season, which ties Shaun Nixon (2013) for the school record.
They're at halftime at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. Westlake leads Lake Travis 17-10 in their Class 6A Division I regional final.
The Chaps avoided some late drama right before halftime. Westlake went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 47-yard line with less than a minute left. But Lake Travis defenders stuffed Westlake's Elliott Schaper (yes, the linebacker) to take advantage at midfield. But the Cavs couldn't do anything with the opportunity.
Westlake will get the ball to start the second half.
Other Central Texas playoff updates:
∙ Class 6A DII: Vandegrift 0, San Antonio Harlan 0 in the first half in San Marcos.
∙ Class 4A DII: Wimberley leads Sinton 14-12 at halftime in San Antonio.
∙ Class 3A DII: Edna is leading Llano 20-6 at halftime in San Antonio.
There's 2:20 left in the first half at Kelly Reeves Stadium. Westlake leads Lake Travis 17-10.
The Cavs were trailing 17-7 and faced fourth-and-goal from the 1, but the play was spoiled by a false start penalty. So head coach Hank Carter opted for a 23-yard field goal from Braydon Doane.
Earlier in the second quarter, Lake Travis gambled on a fourth-and-1 from its own 31-yard line and failed to convert. The Chaps turned the short field into a 17-7 lead on Grady Bartlett's 4-yard touchdown run.
Meanwhile, down in San Antonio, Edna is leading Llano 20-6 in the 2nd quarter.
Well, that didn't take long. Westlake has answered Lake Travis' early touchdown with a touchdown of its own. Rees Wise found Cash Robin for a 37-yard pass that proved to be the big play of the drive. Wise punched it in from 5 yards out to tie the game up 7-7 with 8:03 left in the 1st quarter.
Were you expecting a defensive battle tonight? Not so far.
Lake Travis has gone up 7-0 early in its Class 6A Division I regional final against Westlake at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. Cavs quarterback Chaston Ditta hit Josiah Thomas for a 55-yard gain, and then Ditta's 17-yard keeper run set up Vann Hopping's 2-yard touchdown run with 10:42 left in the 1st quarter.
They're about to kick off at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. We've got two writers there: Rick Cantu and Jay Plotkin.
Here's a pregame weather update from Jay: "It's chilly and windy, but so far dry. Let's hope it stays that way."
Regardless of who wins tonight's Class 6A Division I regional final at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex, next week's Class 6A Division I state semifinal will see either the Chaps or the Cavaliers traveling to the Houston area.
The Westlake/Lake Travis winner will play the winner of Saturday's 2 p.m. Galena Park North Shore vs. Humble Atascocita quarterfinal in the state semifinals at 2 p.m. at Katy Legacy Stadium.
We've got five teams still alive and four state quarterfinals tonight, as Westlake and Lake Travis are playing each other.
Class 6A, Division I: Lake Travis (12-1) vs. Westlake (12-1), 7 p.m., Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex
Class 6A, Division II: Vandegrift (12-1) vs. San Antonio Harlan (12-1), 7:30 p.m., UFCU Stadium in San Marcos
Class 4A, Division II: Wimberley (11-2) vs. Sinton (13-0), 7:30 p.m., Harlandale Memorial Stadium in San Antonio.
Class 3A, Division I: Llano (12-1) vs. Edna (12-1), 7 p.m., Heroes Stadium in San Antonio