Head coach Tony Salazar ran into the huddle of players screaming “two-and-oh” after the game against Austin High Thursday night, and the team roared in response.
The Chaps treat their district schedule like a new season, and so far, they remain undefeated.
“We did a great job of keeping it just about us,” Salazar said. “It’s about Westlake, it’s about how we can get better and how we can improve.”
Westlake (5-1, 2-0 District 26-6A) cruised to a 49-7 victory over Austin High (3-4, 1-2 District 26-6A) Thursday at House Park. Situated right by downtown Austin, the stadium has held the last two renditions of one of the most toxic rivalries in Texas high school football. Diss tracks and social media posts have become a commonality recently as the two fan bases send jabs at each other.
Just as they have done in every single matchup since 2007, the Chaps overwhelmed the Maroons, taking an early lead and cruising to an easy victory.
“House park was a one-of-a-kind experience,” senior wide receiver Cash Robin said. “The energy their student section brought added to the environment and only had a positive effect on us as a team.”
Despite scoring on their first three offensive drives of the game, the Chaps had some early miscues. An Austin High three-and-out, its third straight, could’ve set the Westlake offense up with decent field position. However, senior wide receiver Cal Livengood muffed the punt, and the Maroons recovered.
Austin High capitalized on the blunder, using a huge quarterback sneak to set them up on the Westlake 15 yard line. A 4-yard touchdown pass got the Maroons on the board, and gave them their first – and only – momentum swing of the game.
“We need to know that we are the superior team,” Livengood said. “And also to remember that we can’t make those mistakes down the road.”
Following the touchdown, junior quarterback Rees Wise threw a 58-yard bomb down the left sideline to senior wide receiver Chase Bowen, who found himself open after blowing by a Maroon cornerback on a streak. The catch set the Chaps up on the Austin High 21-yard line, killing all of their momentum and giving senior running back Justice Johnson an easy 21-yard touchdown run.
“It was a great route by [Bowen] to be honest,” Wise said. “He was wide open and he did a great job at that. We didn’t look back offensively after that play.”
After the two-play, 79-yard drive, the Chaps took firm control of the game with a tackle-for-loss on fourth down, giving the offense the ball back on the Austin High 47-yard line. Wise methodically moved the ball down the field, finding senior targets Livengood and Brody Wilhelm. Wilhelm finished off the drive with a grab from four yards out to give the Chaps a 28-7 lead.
“These guys aren’t rookies anymore,” Salazar said. “They played a lot of football last year. This year, we expected that chemistry to be there and it’s there. They’re doing a good job of throwing and catching. Rees did a great job of distributing football across the field.”
Wise was able to find seven different receivers on the night, totaling 15 completions for 255 yards and three touchdowns, despite playing only one half of football. Bowen led the Chaps in receiving, snagging four catches for 104 yards. Without junior wide receiver Lawson Grimes, the leading pass catcher on the season, Wise found Robin and sophomore wide receiver Rhett Jenkins, who each had career nights.
“Rees has been a complete quarterback,” Salazar said. “Understanding where all the reads are, being accurate with the football, and making good decisions are big things that we look for in a quarterback, and he’s been that so far.”
Despite the efficient night, the offense had some trouble with managing the game. They turned the ball over on downs twice, had a field goal get blocked and added two lost fumbles.
“The offense did a great job but our attitude is there is always something to improve on each week,” Robin said. “We want to set that tone against each opponent with our physicality.”
After a showing from the starters that completely silenced the crowd, the backups came in and closed the game in the second half. A Chaps touchdown with 30 seconds left in the half gave them a 35-7 lead going into the third quarter. The second and third-stringers came in and outscored the Maroons 14-0 in the final two frames.
“It’s about us holding each other accountable,” Salazar said. “It’s about us having great practices and pushing each other. So long as we keep that perspective, we’ll be just fine.”
The Chaps face off against Bowie in their next game at Chaparral Stadium Friday. The Bulldogs are 5-2 on the season, but both losses came in district play. Westlake shut them out in their last matchup, 62-0, and will look to replicate that performance this week.
