Head coach Tony Salazar’s decision to sit then-senior Paxton Land in the middle of last year’s game against Lake Travis met skepticism at the time from fans who wanted to see the Texas A&M commit play out his final high school season with the receivers he grew up with.
Then-sophomore Rees Wise took Land’s place – after the senior quarterback started the rivalry game 1-for-7 through the air – and led varsity football to a win. By the end of his sophomore campaign, Wise silenced all doubters by leading the Chaps to the state semi-final game in his first year under center.
Wise has taken full reign of the offensive unit this year, completing nearly 70% of his passes for 1205 yards through just six games. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and rushed for four more. Wise checked out of the game early at House Park Stadium Thursday night after throwing for 255 yards on 15 completions, adding on three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.
“Our connection with him has gotten a lot stronger,” senior receiver Cal Livengood said. “Being able to get an offseason with him helped a lot.”
Wise looked dominant from the start. He connected with Livengood for the first time midway through the first quarter on a post route. Wise said he knew as soon as the receiver broke the eight-yard mark who he was going to be throwing the ball to. Livengood got the separation needed to score Westlake’s second touchdown of the game.
“All summer we worked so hard to get to this,” Wise said. “It feels like I know where they will end up before I even see them run [their route].”
Wise also connected well with Baylor-commit senior receiver Brody Wilhelm. He found Wilhelm for the first time late in the first quarter on a roll-out design to complete a deep pass that set Westlake up deep into Maroon territory.
Wilhelm caught his first touchdown pass of the night on a jump-ball in the back-left corner of the end zone directly in front of the Austin High student section. Wilhelm quieted the noise and turned it into a stunned silence with the Chaps now up 28-7.
“He was feeding all of us,” Wilhelm said. “It’s always nice to have a quarterback that lets us eat.”
Wilhelm and Livengood refused to slow down after the first quarter.
Wise and Livengood again hooked up in the second quarter with the Chaps up 28-7. He targeted his slot receiver five times in the first half alone, and they connected for two big back-to-back first downs across the middle of the field.
Wise had no worries when he threw up a one-on-one ball to Livengood by the right side pylon despite taking a massive hit from his blindside. It showed the strides he said he made in his timing, where last year, he rushed to get the ball out quick, but now, he’s grown more patient and learned to take his time in the pocket.
Wise, Livengood and Wilhelm sent the Maroons student body – which put out diss tracks earlier in the week – home from the stands early. Wise threw the ball at the pair of receivers 13 times, with both of them scoring a combined three touchdowns on those tries.
Through the first six games of the season, there’s little doubt Salazar made the correct call when he named Rees Wise starter during the biggest regular season game of last year, and he’s surrounded him with the perfect guys to push each other forward.
“Having all these guys around me has been nothing short of incredibly helpful,” Wise said. “Knowing you can throw to anyone on the field and having a good shot at completing your pass is something every quarterback dreams of, and I’m living it.”
