Westlake's defense has final word on festive night in Dripping Springs

DRIPPING SPRINGS — Westlake extended its winning streak to 47 games in a contest that turned into a showcase of high school football in Central Texas.

Chaparral quarterback Paxton Land was outstanding, passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns and running for a third. Jackson Kayser rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown. A defense led by Oklahoma-bound lineman Colton Vasek limited Dripping Springs to 130 total yards. The Chaps forced four turnovers in the fourth quarter and prevailed 29-10 at Tiger Stadium.

Yet there was more to celebrate than Westlake’s superior performance. An overflow crowd of 8,000 made enough noise to be heard throughout Hays County. Fans had tailgate parties, painted their faces to represent school colors. The stadium was framed by a burnt-orange sky at kickoff.

Billed as the biggest regular-season game in Dripping Springs High School history, it lived up to expectations until the Chaps intercepted Tiger quarterback Austin Novosad three times in the fourth quarter.

“This is Friday Night Lights at its finest in Central Texas, the home we all love,” said Westlake coach Tony Salazar, who played high school football in Dripping Springs. “To have two great football programs come together like this, there’s nothing like it. That’s why we do this for a living.”

Westlake improved to 7-0, 5-0 in District 26-6A. Dripping Springs slipped to 6-1, 4-1.

Dripping Springs was attempting to pull off an upset when Novosad tossed a touchdown pass to tight end Boston Papp midway through the third quarter to slice Westlake’s lead to 16-10.

It was Westlake’s defense that determined the game. With Dripping Springs driving to perhaps take the lead, the Chaps sacked Novosad and forced a fumble.

Land took advantage of good field position and scored on a 24-yard quarterback keeper to give Westlake a 22-10 edge. Westlake put the game away when Land found Bryce Chambers with a 25-yard score with 5:36 remaining.

“We’re 7-0 with the best defense in the nation,” Vasek said.

Indeed, the Chaparrals will rely on their defense in a drive for a fourth straight 6A state championship.

Replay: Austin-area high school football kicks off Week 8 games Friday

“The No. 1 defense in Texas showed up tonight,” Salazar said. “That was championship football. I’m so proud of the defense for rising to the occasion and the offense was able to take advantage of (Dripping Springs) turnovers and turn them into points.”

Dripping Springs, which had averaged 49 points in its first six games, “never found an offensive rhythm,” coach Galen Zimmerman said.

That did not take anything away from his team’s overall effort. Vasek said Dripping Springs is the best team that the Chaps have seen this year. The Tigers were within six points of the lead until turnovers turned the tide in the last six minutes.

“We knew going in that it was going to be a dogfight,” said Novosad, who finished with 111 yards passing. “When you give those turnovers to a team like that, they’re going to take advantage of it. We’re going to get that stuff fixed and move on to the next game.”

The next game just happens to be against Lake Travis, a six-time state champion.

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If nothing else, Dripping Springs proved it will be a contender when the playoffs convene in November. The overflow crowd that watched a defensive struggle will be along for the ride.

“It was a great environment,” said Zimmerman, looking at the bleachers as fans filed out. “Our kids have worked really hard to get to play in a game like this. I'm disappointed that we didn’t win, but that’s how it goes. We’ve got to learn from it and go on. … It’s not about week seven or week eight, it’s about week 16.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: No. 1 Westlake defeats Dripping Springs in battle of unbeatens