Replay: Austin-area high school football season kicks off Friday with Week 1 games

On Friday, the bulk of Austin area high schools kick off the 2022 football season, as defending state champs Westlake and state finalists Liberty Hill highlight a slate of more than 35 games. This year, the American-Statesman will bring you a weekly live blog with updates from all of Central Texas' matchups. Follow along through the night as we bring you timely updates below.

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Joyner's Mustangs Outlast LBJ

In one of the opening weekend's most intriguing matchups, Manor got off to an early lead and was never headed as the Mustangs edged LBJ 33-20 behind USC running back commit Quinten Joyner.

The 5-11 203 pound Joyner accounted for a pair of scores in the opening half as the Mustangs raced to a 19-6 lead at intermission.

Vanderbilt commit Sedrick Alexander tried to rally the Jags in the second half as he tallied over 160 yards on the evening.

New Coaches Get Mixed Results

It was a mixed bag of results for the area's new head coaches on the opening Friday night of the football season.

After falling behind 14-7, Tony Salazar's Westlake Chaps put up 37 consecutive points in cruising to a 44-14 win. Also winning their opening games were, Hutto's Will Compton, Hyde Park's Phil Dawson

Losing their openers were Hendrickson's Doug Pearce, whose Hawks fell to Belton 34-27, Westwood, behind veteran head coach Al Wood spoiled the home opener for East View's Michael Wall as the Warriors cruised to a 42-27 win. Blanco stumbled in its opener for Jamie Dixon falling to Poth 21-14 after lightning delayed the start of the contest. St. Dominic Savio dealt Navarro a 26-16 loss in Sebastian Velazquez' debut.

Dragons Slay Weiss

In a matchup of 2021 playoff qualifiers, Round Rock took down Weiss 31-14 at The Pfield in Pflugerville.

Round Rock lost 13-3 to Bowie in the Bi-district round while the Wolves were tripped up by Manvel 31-14 in the Area Round.

Cameron Yoe Rolling Past Lago Vista

In a rematch of last season's opener, Cameron Yoe is extracting revenge on 2021 state quarterfinalist Lago Vista as the lead 64-28 in the 4th.

The Vikings won the opener last year 64-62 before making a run to the fourth round of the playoffs where they were outmatched by Lorena in their 55-17 loss at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.

Finals Rolling In

Manor New Tech 58, Eastside Early College 14,

Dripping Springs 23, Vandegrift 20

Bowie 28, Vista Ridge 7

Wimberley 21, Canyon Lake 14

Georgetown 38, Copperas Cove 14

Cedar Ridge 34, Cedar Park 14

Westwood 42, East View 27

SA Southside 58, Crockett 12

Lake Belton 47, Rouse 21

Walker Wright Walks it Off for Dripping Springs

As reported by the Statesman's Thomas Jones, Walker Wright! A walkoff winner! The all-Centex kicker nails a 42-yard FG as time expires to give Dripping Springs a thrilling win. Final: Dripping Springs 23, Vandegrift 20.

Dripping Springs make a splash in its opening game after moving up to 6A during the biannual realignment. The Tigers will look to improve to 2-0 as they will host 0-1 San Antonio Wagner. Wagner was competitive against Liberty Hill before falling 35-21.

Westlake Storms Back to Take 23-Point Lead

After falling behind 14-7 early, the defending 6A D2 champs have rattled off 30 unanswered points to build a 37-14 lead over Ridge Point.

Bryce Chambers hauls it in from 9 yards from Land, while Elliott Schaper sacks the Ridge Point backup quarterback for a safety as the Chaps leave 27-14 in the 3rd.

Liberty Hill Retakes the Lead

After reaching the finals last year, the 5A-Division 2 runner-up Liberty Hill has regained the lead 28-21 over San Antonio Wagner in the 4th quarter.

After losing in the semis in 2020 to Crosby, the Panthers advanced to the finals where they were edged by South Oak Cliff 23-15 on the Saturday before Christmas.

5A Playoff Squads Struggle in Openers

In the fourth quarter Lake Belton is all over Rouse as the Broncos are racing past the Raiders 47-14 in the 4th quarter. SA Clarke is 31 points better than Buda Johnson, 34-3 in the 4th, Round Rock is up by 17 31-14 over Weiss.

Meanwhile at Monroe Stadium, Vandegrift has rallied to tie Dripping Springs at 20 with 5:08 left in the 5th. Looks like Bowie will win its opener as they are up 28-7 over Vista Ridge with 45 seconds remaining.

Bujnoch Skies for 6

Hutto's Brody Bujnoch scores on a leaping one-handed catch in the right corner of the end zone on a pass from Will Hammond as the Hippos have extended their lead on the road at San Marcos.

San Marcos is playing two 2 days after their district's executive committee ruled the Rattlers ineligible for the 6A playoffs for the next two years. San Marcos has indicated it will appeal to the UIL executive committee.

Georgetown Breaks Open Close Contest

In a span of 90 seconds Georgetown has turned a 14-6 halftime lead to a 28-6 lead early in the 3rd at Copperas Cove.

Andrew Petter's 60-yard dash up the middle opened the second half scoring and after a turnover the Eagles turned to their bag of tricks as TE Jacob Weishiemer found Drayden Dickmann behind the Dawg defense for a long touchdown pass.

Dawson Wins Opener

Hyde Park made Texas Ex Phil Dawson's first game as head coach memorable as the Panthers lead Achieve 56-0 late in the 4th.

Meanwhile in Copperas Cove, Georgetown's Andrew Petter 3rd TD of the contest, this coming from 60 yards out pu the Eagles up 21-6 early in the 4rd stanza.

Dripping Springs' introduction to the 6A ranks, looks promising as the Tigers are on top of Vandefrit 20-12 midway through the 3rd as sophomore running back Jack Tydnall plows in from 4 yards out.

Blanco Delayed 30 Minutes By Lightening

Blanco's season opener has been delayed by 20 minutes due to lightening in the area. Midway through the first quarter it's Blanco 7, Poth 7.

In other action SA Southside is running past Crockett 29-7 in the 2nd, Hutton is up by 17 as the Hippos lead San Marcos 31-14m, also in the second. Lampasas lead Elgin 1714 at the midway point. LBJ has found the end zone right before half as Sedrick Alexander went in untouched from inside the Mustang 2. 19-6 Mustangs.

Land's 1st TD Toss Give Chaps the Lead

Taking over for All-Stater Cade Klubnik, Westlake's Paxton Land has thrown his first TD pass of the year, a 32-yarder to Keathen Kubeckal, Despite falling behind 14-7, Land has brought the defending 6A D2 champs back to the lead with 1:30 left before halftime.

Meanwhile at Manor, the Mustangs are blanking LBJ 19-0, while Cedar Ridge is pouring it on Cedar Park as the Raiders lead 26-0 in the second. Lampasas is up on Elgin 17-7, also in the 2nd.

More Scores

Dripping Springs 14, Vandegrift 12 (half) Novosad 12 of 24 for 189 yards and 2 TDs.

Lake Belton 20, Rouse 0

Georgetown 14, Copperas Cove 6

Westwood 35, East View 7

Manor 12, LBJ 0 (Correction)

Ridge Point 14, Westlake 14

Liberty Hill 21, SA Wagner14

Hutto 10, San Marcos 7

Hyde Park 49,, Acheive 0

Halftime Scores

Games have reached the halftime intermission so here are some scores:

McNeil 21, Del Valle 7

Bowie 14, Vista Ridge 7

Glenn 24, Pieper 0

Round Rock 14, Weiss 7

Georgetown 14, Copperas Cove 7

Cedar Ridge 14, Cedar Park 0

Regents 14, Central Catholic 7

Bowie - Vista Ridge Knotted at 7

In a 6A matchup at Gupton Stadium Bowie and Vista Ridge are tied at 7 midway through the second quarter. In other 6A scores, Ridge Pint leads Westlake 7-0, while Dripping Springs still leads Vandegrift 14-9. Westwood leads East View 15-7 in the second quarter.

LBJ is up 6-0 over Manor, while Gonzales has jumped out to a 20-7 lead over the Eagles of Cedar Creek. Behind first-year starter, Georgetown is up over Copperas Cove 7-0 at the start of the 2nd quarter. . Hyde Park has sprinted out to a 20-0 lead over Achieve in Texas' Ex Phil Dawson's debut.

Glenn Jumps Out to 3 TD Lead

JJ Wilks scores the Grizzlies 3rd TD of the opening stanza as Glen as opened up a 20-0 lead over Pieper.

In other early scores, Lake Belton is surprising Rouse by opening a 10-0 lead, while Hendrickson is up on Belton 14-7 in Doug Pearce's first game at the helm of the Hawks. Pearce was elevated to the head spot as Chip Killian moved up to the college ranks by joining the staff at Southwestern University in Georgetown.

Novosad Connects with Duncan to Open Scoring for Tigers

From Thomas Jones of the Statesman, Novosad connects on a laser from Garon Duncan for a 14-yard score as Dripping Springs gets on the board first with 2:15 left in the first quarter.

It is surely the first of many for Novosad as the senior accounted for 40 scoring tosses last fall for Dripping Springs.

Baylor Commits Meet on the Gridiron

Even though they have committed to become Bears in different sports, Baylor commits Brayden Buchanan of Vandegrift and Dripping Spring;s Austin Novosad will meet at Monroe Stadium as the Vipers and Tigers will clash in Dripping Springs' inaugural 6A tilt.

The Vipers' Buchanan has pledged to Baylor to play baseball, while Novosad, a starter since his freshman campaign, has committed to Baylor as a quarterback.

Early in the first, there is no score.

Westlake Opens Defense of Title

Defending 6A D2 Westlake is embarking on its quest a a 4th straight state championship as they will face off against Ridge Point at Chaparral Stadium.

Ridge Point is coming off a 11-2 season where they reached the 3rd round of the playoffs before bowing out to Atascocita 28-21.

Power 5 RB Commits Face Off

Manor’s Quinten Joyner, a Southern Cal commit, averaged 207 yards in 13 games last fall while scoring 31 TDs. Sedrick Alexander, who has committed to Vanderbilt, averaged 149 yards while reaching paydirt 29 times in LBJs 15-1 campaign.

New Head Coaches Making 2022 Debut Tonight

As the 2022 Texas high school football season gets into full swing tonight, many programs will be featuring new head coaches.

Most notably, former Westlake Defensive Coordinator Tony Sanchez, takes over for the legendary Todd Dodge, who retired with his 3^rd consecutive state title at Westlake. Also among the 6A schools, Hutto’s Will Compton, formerly the OC at Buda Johnson OC, will skipper the Hipps replacing Brad LaPlante who moved to the district’s Athletic Director role.

New 5A coaches include Michael Wall at East View, Hendrickson’s Doug Pearce and LASA;s Derrick Lewis. In a matchup featuring 2 new head coaches, the Achieve Polar Bears introduce Joe Amato who will be facing Hyde Park, whose coach, Phil Dawson will be making his debut.

Jamie Dixon is the new head man for Blanco, while Giddings will have former OC Mike Adams patrolling the sidelines.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin-area high school football live updates for week 1