As the clock ran down in the final moments of round three of playoffs, the Chaps’ final score was 55-15 over the Laredo United Longhorns at Heroes Stadium Nov. 25. The 3,952 fans in attendance watched as the players linked arms on the sideline, basking in the victory before looking towards the game against the Lake Travis Cavaliers on Friday at Kelly Reeves Stadium.

In the first half, quarterback senior Sam Ehlinger threw 203 yards, completing 16 of 22 passes. Sam’s performance against Laredo was much improved from the tight game against Judson last week where he completed only 13 of 24 passes for 171 yards. This win was not as difficult to conceive as last weeks due to quite a few unforced errors on Laredo’s part, but they did redeem themselves in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns.

Junior running-back Nakia Watson ran a total of 116 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Chaps. Senior running-back Andrew Boykin was another main target and caught six passes for 111 yards. Not only was the offense in top shape for this playoff game, the defense held back the Longhorn offense from scoring for three quarters. Senior linebackers Levi Jones and David Dickerson along with junior safety Matthew Sams kept the opposition from making any large gains against the Chaps.

“On Friday we came out and played as a team,” Nakia said. “And to do the same at Lake Travis we have to execute everything well and play hard.”

In the second half sophomore quarterbacks Taylor Anderson and Sam Saxon both entered the game. While Saxon only remained in for one possession in the third quarter, Taylor finished the game, adding two more touchdowns.

Westlake has had a nine-game losing streak against the Cavaliers and hopes to break that cycle this Friday. The 7-49 loss to them in October ended with Sam and Nakia – two vital players – not able to play. Now that the team is not missing as many starting players, the Chaps are hoping to redeem themselves against LT in round four and move forward to State.

“The game against Lake Travis this week is just another game on our schedule,” junior running-back Keaton Jones said. “Another team in the way of where we are trying to go and what we are trying to accomplish. We just gotta do what we do every week to prepare and get ready for the game.”