The Chaps started off their first drive on their own 1-yard line after a punt from Brennan took nearly 30 yards of bouncing room. On the Chaps’ first offensive play from scrimmage, wide receiver junior Mason Mangum cut past the Brennan cornerback and took a lobbed pass from quarterback senior Taylor Anderson 99 yards to the house. The play gave Westlake their first and only lead, which they held through the entirety of the game.

“I told Taylor before the game ‘we won’t hold anything back tonight,’” head coach Todd Dodge said. “I said I’m gonna be aggressive, and that I trust him. We got the coverage that we wanted, and we went downtown on the first play and hit it.”

Friday afternoon at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Westlake won the Area Championship by defeating Brennan 49-7 in a thorough display of dominance in all three “phases” of the game (as Dodge likes to call offense, defense and special teams).

Westlake kept momentum on the drive following the first touchdown thanks to a sack from defensive lineman senior William Robertson which forced a fumble. Linebacker senior Ben Pankonien returned it 35 yards to the end zone, making the score 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

“For a whole it felt like our offense wasn’t going to get back on the field the way the ebb and flow of the game was going,” Dodge said. “It was overall the most complete game of the season in all three phases.”

A blocked punt deflected by cornerback senior Lucas Mireur and returned by receiver junior Jackson Coker for a touchdown sealed the fate of the game, putting the score at 28-0 with 8:04 left in the first half.

“The guy that was blocking me came out really wide,” Jackson said. “[Lucas] did a great job blocking the punt, and I looked up and saw the ball and had to take it to the house. It felt amazing.”

The Chaps will face Vela next at 7:30 p.m. Friday Nov. 30 at Buccaneer Stadium. Dodge detailed the heightened team morale after the team’s tenth-straight win.

“I meet with my captains every Thursday and ask them what the mood of the team is,” Dodge said. “They always say it’s good, but this week they told me ‘this brotherhood is like no other right now.’ Everybody’s accepting their role and there are no bad attitudes, and that’s a pretty good feeling as a coach.”