A usual backup, quarterback junior Drew Willoughby hadn’t seen a snap of varsity football in his high school career. But with Westlake up 25-0 within the first quarter, head coach Todd Dodge gave him the nod, making his first appearance as a varsity player. He didn’t waste it either, throwing for 172 yards and two touchdowns. With a shocked expression, Drew recalled his performance after the game.

“It was a fun first varsity game,” Drew said. “I felt pretty good about my performance, and I’ll find out more about how I did in film with Coach Dodge. In general, everyone got a chance to play, and that was awesome.”

The Chaps were the dominant side Thursday night, defeating Akins 67-0 at Burger Stadium. They jumped out to an early 25-0 lead before the backups came in. Three plays into the game, defensive back senior Drew Webster picked off the Akins quarterback senior Nick Cagle and took it 44 yards to put Westlake up 7-0.

“The early start was huge, playing fast and physical,” Dodge said. “We played efficiently. To be honest, I sensed a team that was a little bit tight in the locker room today. They wanted to get back on the field so bad, and before the game, I told them to just relax. I was really proud of all three phases of the game.”

Even in going ahead by 25 in the first quarter, Westlake didn’t hold back for the rest of the game, adding another 42 points with three touchdowns on the ground and three through the air.

“You can’t worry about what the score is,” Dodge said. “You don’t want to disrespect opponents but you have to get your work in. You don’t want to get sloppy. In the second half, we weren’t just going for bombs. We were going to the flats with quick passing, and there were a lot of player who contributed offensively tonight.”

Off the back of a shocking loss to Cy-Ranch, the Chaps were eager to get back to winning.

“The thing I told [the players] in the locker room after last week’s loss is that I would know after Monday’s practice whether their pride had been scratched or not,” Dodge said. “We had an outstanding practice on Monday. It was very focused, and tonight the attention to detail showed.”