It was the first moderately cold game the Chaps had played all season, with the gametime temperature at 61 degrees. Coupling the cold with light rain, the conditions weren’t ideal to say the least. This didn’t phase Westlake, as the team swiftly defeated Del Valle 52-7 Thursday Oct. 18 at Veterans Stadium.

“The weather didn’t change anything,” head coach Todd Dodge said. “It’s finally starting to feel like football season.”

The game started off with three straight touchdowns from running back senior Tripp Graham, putting the Chaps up 21-0 with 6:45 left in the second quarter. He finished the game with a season-high in rushing touchdowns. From there, the Chaps closed the half

“We were on a short week,” Dodge said. “We had to practice at the indoor on Monday because of the weather, and then we practiced Tuesday morning. Really, we just had two practices this week. I’m really proud of the [players] for coming off the big win against Lake Travis and not getting full of themselves.”

At halftime, quarterback junior Drew Willoughby was subbed in to replace quarterback senior Taylor Anderson. This was his fourth game in at quarterback this season, and he settled in, throwing and running for a touchdown. In the end, Westlake finished on top, 52-7.

The Chaps were able to hold momentum on the offensive side of the ball, and, despite giving up a late touchdown to prevent a shutout, the defense was lockdown for much of the game against a threatening Del Valle offense.

“This was a tough week on defense because they run an unconventional offense for these times,” Dodge said. “They have the number one running back in the entire Austin area as well. Their quarterback was really good tonight, and he hurt us on some option runs, but we settled down after their first drive and did what we need to do.”

The Chaps play host to Hays next week, hoping to clinch district within the next few games. Riding a 5-game winning streak, the locker-room morale is high.

“We’re really confident,” cornerback junior Leo Lowin said. “It’s been a lot of fun playing recently, especially with the win against Lake Travis. Our next goal is to win next week and eventually win the District championship.”