The Chap varsity football team was in need of a victory on Friday night. After a hard loss to the Lake Travis Cavaliers on Oct. 7 by a score of 7-49, the Chaparrals were left without their starting and backup quarterbacks (seniors Matthew Gense and Sam Ehlinger), and a twelfth straight defeat to the Cavaliers. The Chaps needed to bounce back against District foe Lehman to regain the momentum of the season and take back the No. 2 spot in District.

“We really needed to comeback after [the Lake Travis] game,” senior Evan Smith said. “We lost Sam and Matthew for the season so we really needed someone to step up for the team, especially at quarterback, I think [junior Taylor Anderson] did an amazing job and now we have some great momentum heading towards playoffs.”

The Chaps started the game off strong by scoring 28 points in the first quarter to take a commanding 28-0 lead, Taylor threw for 72 yards and one touchdown during the game on 8-12 passing. His efficient play at quarterback helped to open up the running game and the Chaps started to move the ball on the ground with ease, the epitome of this came when junior Nakia Watson ripped off a 68 yard scoring run in the first quarter, the Chaps ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns on the ground during the game.

“We were really able to run the ball against [Lehman],” Senior Luke Hodes said. “Our offensive line really played great and opened up some big holes that our ‘backs could really take advantage of, but it wasn’t just the running backs who took advantage, I think Taylor had around 50 yards rushing, and then [sophomore Sam Saxton] ran for like 40, so it wasn’t just our running backs who got opportunities, this dual threat could really help us during the playoffs.”

The Chaps win pushed them back into the second place in District and gave them a 6-2 overall record on the year. The Chap’s have two district games left on the season against Leander (2-7) on Oct. 28 and Vista Ridge (3-5) on Nov. 4, the Chaps then play Judson (7-1) on Nov 11.