Today will mark Westlake’s (13-1) fourth meeting with North Shore (14-0) in five years. North Shore leads the series 3-1 and won both of the last two matchups in the past two years. The teams will clash once again, this time in an UIL Class 6A-DI state semifinal at Legacy Stadium.
A year ago, Wise dropped back and threw a screen to Senior running back Jack Kayser, the ball was batted by a defensive lineman and westlake threw an interception in its own end zone to seal the loss. These are three things the Chaps must do to win this matchup.
- Limit Kaleb Baileys legs
Senior quarterback Kaleb Bailey rushed for over 250 yards against Atascocita in the state quarterfinals last week. Westlake will need to first stop the passing game and keep as many as they can in the box. Bailey threw wherever he wanted to in the first half against the Eagles, making the defense more vulnerable to the run game. Atascacita’s quarterback, Cardae Mack was able to have has way with the Chaparral defense, rushing for a 70 yard touchdown in the third quarter. Westlake has not allowed more than 60 yards rushing from a quarterback since that game.
2. Keep Devin Sanchez out of the game
Ohio State-commit cornerback Devin Sanchez picked off then-sophomore Rees Wise at quarterback twice in the state semifinal matchup last year. Wise will need to keep the ball on the other side of the field from the five-star commit that wears No. 6 all game to eliminate North Shore’s biggest playmaker in its secondary.
3. Compete passes in the middle of the field
There’s no doubt North Shore’s strong suit are its two highly-recruited cornerbacks. However, the Mustangs two high safeties have been a liability at times letting up deep balls in the seams. This was evident the last time these teams matched up when Westlake tight end Leo Wulfrat was wide open downfield on the hashes on a 4th-and-short play. If Westlake can use North Shore’s man-zone defense against them, they will have no problem racking up yards.
