Jack Kayser, Westlake rumble past New Braunfels in area-round playoff

SAN MARCOS — When it comes to the playoffs, nothing can quite match star power.

And Westlake needed its stars to shine in a 45-14 win against an inspired New Braunfels team in a Class 6A Division I area-round playoff game that seemed a lot tighter than the final score. With its 52^nd consecutive win, top-ranked Westlake (12-0) kept its hopes alive of becoming the first school in Texas history to win four straight championships in the state’s largest classification.

Westlake seniors Jaden Greathouse and Colton Vasek, two of the highest-rated recruits in the state, did their part Friday at a chilly and damp Rattler Stadium. Greathouse, a Notre Dame receiver pledge that’s still being heavily courted by Texas, scored touchdowns on a reception and a punt return and also threw a scoring pass. Vasek, a former Oklahoma defensive end pledge who recently flipped to Texas, spearheaded a pass rush that racked up four sacks.

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But no one shone brighter than junior running back Jack Kayser, who scored five touchdowns while amassing 242 yards from scrimmage.

“He’s our bell cow, always has been,” Westlake coach Tony Salazar said. “(Kayser) is just a workhorse. It’s amazing what he does, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Kayser may stand 5 feet, 7 inches in cleats, but he certainly isn’t a scatback. With a stocky build and splendid balance that helps him ping-pong through the middle of a defense, Kayser dominated from the first snap of the game until he took a seat on the bench in the fourth with the Chaps comfortably in the lead. He collected a career-high in carries with 28 while racking up 177 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Kayser had another 66 yards on four receptions, including a leaping grab of Greathouse’s touchdown pass just before halftime.

But the big day wasn’t even a career day for Kayser, who has topped 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first two varsity seasons. Kayser scored six touchdowns in last season’s 70-7 win over Vandegrift in the Class 6A Division II Region IV finals.

According to Kayser, he expected a heavy workload even though the Chaps are playing without starting offensive linemen TJ Shanahan and Riley Kennedy.

“We knew they had a light box going into it, so I knew that we’d run it a lot,” he said. “They (New Braunfels) are really good up front, but we felt like we had a better O-line than their D-line. We’ll run the ball no matter the weather or no matter who’s in the game. We obviously had some injuries, but I don’t think we skipped a beat up front.”

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The starting quintet of left tackle Tyler Knape, left guard Jared Risinger, center Kyle Natenstedt, right guard Quinn Phenegar and right tackle Paxton Briggle helped Westlake roll up an official 247 yards rushing, all without allowing a sack.

“If you’re second string, it’s next-man-up mentality,” Kayser said. “They were ready; they stepped up.”

Salazar agreed with his workhorse rusher, saying his revamped offensive line is “getting better every week.”

“Those guys are getting more reps, more experience,” he said. “I'm proud of our offensive line growing together and getting better together.”

The New Braunfels players entered the game with heavy hearts and a spring in their step after learning that quarterback Leighton Adams had left the hospital and returned home following a frightening fall from a utility pole the night before last week’s playoff game against San Antonio Reagan. Adams suffered an array of injuries that included electrical burns and several broken vertebrae and spent almost a week in the hospital.

The Unicorns (8-4) rallied together to upset Reagan in the first round, and they put up a spirited effort against the Chaps, who had beaten New Braunfels 70-7 in the same round of the playoffs a year ago. Sophomore quarterback Clayton Namken, a Texas A&M baseball pledge, threw for an unofficial 214 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Landon Marsh that trimmed Westlake’s lead to 14-7 late in the second quarter.

“Leighton is making progress, so we’re all glad to see that,” New Braunfels coach Glenn Mangold said. “Our effort was outstanding tonight. Our young quarterback is getting better and better. I’m proud of him and all the kids.”

New Braunfels’ effort in the wake of Adams’ harrowing accident also drew praise from Westlake, which has experienced its share of tragedy in recent years with the deaths of former players Jackson Coker and Jake Ehlinger.

“It’s terrible what happened with them,” Kayser said about New Braunfels. “They came out hot last week, and we knew they’d come out hot again. They were very physical. We were able to weather that storm and move on.”

Salazar scouted New Braunfels’ game against Reagan last week, and he said he could feel the Unicorns’ effort from the stands.

“The day of the game, they found out their starting quarterback was out for a terrible reason,” he said. “I told our players that I saw them rally together last week and play a physical brand of football, and you saw that again tonight. Their No. 11 (Namken) and all their players did a hell of a job tonight. Hats off to Coach Mangold and the New Braunfels Unicorns, because they did an outstanding job under serious circumstances.”

Westlake will face San Benito in a regional semifinal Friday at 2 p.m. at San Antonio’s Alamo Stadium. With a win, the Chaps will extend their Austin-area record winning streak to 53 games.

Westlake’s streak, the longest active streak in the state, ranks fourth in the state annals. Fort Hancock, a 6-man team, set the state record with 70 consecutive wins from 1988-92 while Celina holds the 11-man football record with 68 straight wins from 1998-2002. Allen had a 57-game winning streak snapped in a 2015 playoff game by the Chaps.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Jack Kayser, Westlake rumble past New Braunfels in football playoffs