After the final whistle blew, the Chaps didn’t linger. The school song played as the team fell into a stunned silence. They then turned around and left the field, skipping their traditional postgame huddle.
Westlake (0-1) dropped the first game of the season in an upset, 22-29, to Prosper (1-0) in a non-district tilt at Crusader Stadium in Belton. They couldn’t contain the Eagles offense over the top, and a valiant second half comeback fell just short in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter of the season started quickly, with a broken tackle ending up in a 44-yard touchdown run for Prosper right up the middle. However, the Chaps answered right back, with sophomore running Jarren Lopez leading a 61-yard scoring drive that ended with him breaking a tackle and swinging a run down the right side of the field for a 21-yard touchdown run. In his first career varsity start, Lopez rushed for 40 yards on the opening drive.
The Chaps forced a third and nine early in the next drive, but the Eagles came through with a huge 18-yard completion over the middle. They followed that up with a touchdown pass a few plays later that was called back, and senior linebacker Weston Kane got the defense off the field with a sack on third and twenty.
Westlake started their next drive on their own twenty, where senior quarterback Rees Wise found junior wide receiver Rhett Jenkins for a gain of 17 and his first completion of the game. Wise came down with COVID the week of the game, but was good to go. The offense couldn’t continue their drive, with an incomplete pass leaving them with a fourth and three.
Prosper took over on their own 14 after a huge punt, and the Chaparral defense looked to capitalize on the tough field position. However, Prosper quarterback Braeden Imhoff found wide receiver Dallas Boozer down the right sideline. Boozer broke a tackle and was off to the races, scampering into the end zone for a 79 yard touchdown grab on second down.
The offense looked to be ready to answer back, marching down the field and getting significant movement at the line of scrimmage. Once they got to the red zone, they slowed down, going for it on fourth down from the six yard line. Wise looked to senior wide receiver Jack Newhouse in the corner of the end zone on a fade route, but Newhouse couldn’t haul it in, and Prosper got the ball back.
Once again, the defense looked primed to get off the field, with the Eagles facing a third and 17. Imhoff kept them going, with a huge back shoulder throw for a gain of 27. After a few plays, Prosper found themselves in another third down situation, this time with six yards to go. Imhoff went to senior wide receiver Justin McCkoy for 32 yards and another touchdown through the air.
After a Chaparral three and out, Prosper couldn’t finish the drive, with an overthrow getting the Westlake defense off the field. A big punt pinned the Chaps back at their own two yard line, and Wise threw a deep ball over the middle of the field that was picked off.
With a few minutes to go in the second quarter and the Eagles already up 20-7, their offense was still hunting for more points. Imhoff threw yet another touchdown pass from 19 yards out, giving Prosper a 20 point lead heading into the break.
The Chaps came out of halftime looking like a different team. Lopez had a big drive, grinding his way down the field and setting up senior running back Sebastian Henault with a strong eight yard touchdown run, bringing them within two possessions at 27-14.
It looked like more of the same for the Eagles offense, breaking a catch down the sideline for 39 yards, setting them up in the red zone. Imhoff looked like he was about to score again, scrambling up the middle with a lot of real estate ahead of him. Junior linebacker Tate Lung flew in and punched the ball out, where senior defensive back Thompson Bennett fell on it to reverse the field.
The Chaps had the ball at their own two and Wise dropped back to pass on second down. The pocket collapsed and he was forced to throw the ball away to try and avoid a safety. Intentional grounding was called, and Prosper got two big points, making the score 29-14.
The defense came through once again in the second half, stopping a long Prosper drive short when senior defensive lineman Maddox Flynt lit up Imhoff as he was throwing, allowing Lung to grab the ball out of the air for an interception, his second turnover of the day.
The offense tried to capitalize once again, but Wise threw a deep ball into the end zone that resulted in an acrobatic interception for the Eagle defense. Excessive celebration gave Prosper 90 yards to go.
The defense forced another huge three and out.
The offense kept the momentum going, with Wise finding Newhouse for a 23 yard strike to move the chains. A few runs later, Wise punched it in from six yards out, and then hit Jenkins in the end zone for two more, making it a seven point game at 29-22.
Once again, the defense came through, forcing a Prosper punt to give the Chaparral offense one more chance to tie the game. They faced a third and 13 when Wise went back to Newhouse for 22 yards and a momentous conversion. However, they couldn’t convert on the next third or fourth down, giving the Eagles offense the ball and the win.
It was the first season opener loss since 2014 for the Chaps, who will look to avenge it in week two at San Benito Sept. 5. The two teams matched up in week two of last year at Chaparral Stadium, where Westlake prevailed 63-7.
