It was a chilly Friday night in Buda as varsity football took on the Lehman Lobos. Cooler heads prevailed as the Chaps won their second to last road game of the season, 56-7. The perfect season continued, and Westlake looked characteristically dominant on the road.

“One thing we tell our players is to respect our opponents,” Head coach Todd Dodge. “[They should] come out and play extremely hard. If [they] do, you’re going to get a chance for some guys that deserve to play a chance to play.”

The bench players were able to show what they can do Friday night, as Dodge chose to rest many of the key starters, such as Nakia Watson, Jake Ramos and starting quarterback Taylor Anderson, who played a limited amount of snaps. Quarterbacks sophomore Kirkland Michaux and senior Grayson Burks shared playing time as the game rolled out, both threw for exactly 59 yards.

“There was a lot of wind tonight, and it was good to practice in that condition.” Michaux said. “Also [I wanted to] just to improve on my all around game, and I knew we could handle this team tonight because of our recent performances.”

Backup running backs senior Isaiah Faz and senior Steven Crider also split minutes, combining for 51 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver senior Cary Andreo caught three passes for 34 yards along with his first touchdown of the season.

“It’s good to get everything settled before playoffs,” sophomore wide receiver Mason Mangum. “We made sure we practiced hard, and we had to respect [Lehman] just like any other opponent.”

The Chaps put up 28 points in the first quarter alone, with explosive offensive play early in the game. Mangum caught a 55-yard touchdown lob from Anderson. Watson also registered a 42-yard touchdown catch even with limited snaps, while also putting up two more rushing touchdowns. He finished with less than 100 total yards for the first time this season. By halftime, the score was 42-0, and it finished 56-7 on three more aerial touchdowns.

One special story of the night was backup kicker senior Nima Miri, who converted on both of his PATs. His teammates were overjoyed with him post game, congratulating him on a game well-played.

“It’s really fun [to go out there],” Miri said. “I got a bit nervous on my first kick, but when I made it, it was a special moment. [Gabriel Lozano] is a great mentor and a great kicker so shoutout to him.”