Westlake quarterback sophomore Sam Ehlinger had 259 total yards, and the Chap defense surrendered just 109 yards of total offense, as Westlake defeated Anderson 48-7 in its District debut.

A thunderstorm moved in just before kickoff, and multiple lightning strikes in the area caused a delay that resulted in the game kicking off around 8 PM, some 30-minutes after the scheduled start time. The Chaps, debuting a new blue alternate jersey, showed that they weren’t fazed by the delay, racing out to a 26-0 lead at the half. The Westlake special teams unit accounted for two of the Chaps four first-half touchdowns; one coming after junior Ryan Reese returned a punt that had been blocked by senior Sam Stanka, and took it 22-yards to the end zone, and the other coming on a 68-yard punt return by junior Mack Kelly.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Westlake continued to roll, scoring 22 points on three touchdowns and a safety, before Anderson finally got on the board late — making the final score 48-7.

“Our offense played well,” running backs coach Robby Clark said. “We were able to move the ball and put up points, but there’s always things we need to improve upon.”

Westlake faces traditional rival Austin High next week at House Park, and coaches say they expect the game to be a dogfight.

“They don’t like us at all, so that means that they’ll give us their best shot,” Clark said. “We expect them to be hungry for their first District win. They’ll be firing on all cylinders, trying to win the football game.