By Amira Van Leeuwen
DRIPPING SPRINGS — The Dripping Springs Tigers (6-1 district, 4-1 overall) and the Austin Westlake Chaparrals (7-0 district, 5-0 overall) went helmet to helmet on Friday night at Tiger Stadium, where Westlake defeated Dripping Springs (29-10).
Dripping Springs head coach Galen Zimmerman said the Tigers were out of sync.
“We’d make some big plays, and then we’d hurt ourselves, jumping or something like that, so we got to get back to being consistent,” Zimmerman said. “You can’t be inconsistent against a great defense. They got a great defense; they got a great pass rush — you can’t be one-dimensional against that.”
Westlake junior kicker Spencer Barnett’s 30-yd field goal attempt was good, and the Chaparrals scored late in the first quarter with 3:30 remaining (3-0).
At the start of the second quarter, the Chaparrals wasted no time getting within scoring distance. But a resilient Tiger defense wouldn’t let them score without a fight. After being unsuccessful at executing a play, Barnett kicked a 28-yard field goal with about eight minutes remaining in the half (6-0).
Senior wide receiver Walker Wright kicked a 35-yard field goal with 3:13 left in the half, putting the Tigers on the board (6-3). But Westlake wasn’t about to let the Tigers get too comfortable. Barnett kicked a 46-yd field goal with 45 seconds left in the half to keep the Chaparrals in the lead (9-3).
During the third quarter, Westlake scored its first rushing touchdown of the night. Junior running back Jackson Kayser ran for 43 yards, and the PAT was good (16-3). The Tiger offense responded with a short pass from senior quarterback Austin Novosad to senior tight end Boston Papp, which put the Tigers back in it. The PAT was good (16-10).
Westlake junior quarterback Paxton Land ran for 24 yards into the endzone to score with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Although the kick was no good, the Chaparrals widened the lead (22-10).
With about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Novosad threw a pick-six. The interception put the Chaparrals on their own 19-yard line, and a short pass from senior defensive back Will Courtney to senior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse earned Westlake its final touchdown of the night. The PAT was good, and the Chaparrals finished out the night (29-10).
Westlake placed a heavy amount of pressure on Novosad. The Baylor commit threw three pick-sixes in the fourth quarter.
Going into Friday’s game, Westlake head coach Tony Salazar’s strategy for the defense was to get at the quarterback.
“I think once we started getting some pressure, get’em off his spot, I think things started to turn our way,” Salazar said. “One touchdown pass and three interceptions against one of the top three quarterbacks in the state of Texas, you’ll take that any day of the week,” Salazar said.
Although it was a tough loss for the Tigers, Zimmerman said he was proud of his team and how they fought. Zimmerman thought the defense gave the team a chance.
“I felt like we played good all the way through. It was just a couple mistakes here or there that we gotta clean up because against a good team like that, against the number one team in the state, you can’t make those,” Zimmerman said.
The Tigers will play its next district game on Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. against Lake Travis in Austin.
