Varsity football traveled into enemy territory and grinded out a 34-24 win over Hays High School to maintain their perfect record of 6-0. It was all business for the Chaparrals as running back senior Nakia Watson totaled 121 yards from scrimmage along with three touchdowns in a gritty display of consistency.

“We’ve been at home for the past two weeks, but we have played at this stadium before, so we knew what [the game] was going to be about,” head coach Todd Dodge said. “We knew they were gonna give us everything they had, and they made it a really hard fought win for us.”

Up 10 points late in the fourth, Nakia converted on a fourth-and-one to finish off the game as Westlake let the final seconds of the game tick away. This came a week after a failed fourth-and-one conversion almost cost the Chaps the game against Vandegrift.

A great defensive performance by the Chaps in the third quarter saw them shutout the Rebels while the offense tacked on 10 more points.

“It was really important that we got a touchdown coming out of the half, and we got one off of a turnover,” Dodge said. “Scoring early in the second half helped us pull away.”

Receiver sophomore Mason Mangum had a fantastic night, breaking out for 123 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine receptions.

“[I got some] great passes from Taylor,” Mason said. “He really got the ball to us today, and the offensive line blocked great. It was a team effort.”

Kicker junior Gabriel Lozano continued his perfect run of kicks this year, accounting for nine points, including a 41-yarder to make the game 10-0 early on.

Quarterback junior Taylor Anderson contributed two passing touchdowns, the latter being the Chaps final score, and threw for 222 yards to lead the aerial attack.

“It doesn’t matter whether [we] get a 40-point win or a ten-point win,” Dodge said. “We knew [Hays] was very improved and I could see them beating the rest of their opponents and making the playoffs. I’m proud of [us].”