Leander Vandegrift Routs Cedar Ridge in District Opener
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Updated: September 14, 2019
photos: Steve Thomas
Vipers Deny Raiders Opportunity for Revenge
“How good can you be?” Leander Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders asked his team this in the postgame huddle following the Vipers’ District 13-6A opener against the Round Rock Cedar Ridge Raiders. Vandegrift entered the game at 2-0 following wins against Cedar Park and Killeen Ellison. In both games, the Viper defense had not allowed a single point.
During a postgame interview, Coach Sanders said that defensive positions such as linebacker were a potential area of concern at the beginning of the season because of losing players such as Spencer Jones to graduation. However, he also said that his players really stepped up to alleviate those concerns.
For Cedar Ridge, Friday’s game offered the Raiders the chance to avenge last season’s 17-14 overtime loss at Vandegrift and take a step towards reclaiming the district title from the Vipers. The Raiders entered the game at 1-1 after a win over Temple in week one and a loss to Cedar Park last week. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the Vipers dominated both sides of the ball. Quarterback Dru Dawson threw for three touchdowns, and the defense forced multiple turnovers en route to a 28-7 win for Vandegrift.
On the opening drive, the Viper defense limited the Raiders to a net total of two yards including defensive tackle Matthew Graham’s sack of quarterback Jalen Brown for a loss of 12 yards. Vandegrift defensive back Wyatt Breckenridge blocked the resulting punt, and linebacker Jax McCauley recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. After the Viper defense forced another punt, Dru Dawson connected with running back Bowen Lewis on a 47-yard touchdown pass on third down and 17.
In the second quarter, Dawson extended the Vandegrift lead to 21-0 with a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Taylor Dummar. The Raiders finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when running back Joseph Captain scored on a one-yard touchdown run. The Raider defense forced Vandegrift to punt on the next drive, and the offense looked to take advantage and narrow the gap. Unfortunately for Cedar Ridge, Wyatt Breckenridge intercepted Jalen Brown’s pass on the second play of the drive. Despite good field position, Vandegrift was unable to extend their lead before halftime.
In the second half, the Vipers moved the ball methodically on the opening drive and took over eight minutes off of the clock. Dawson then capped off the drive with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Dummar. The Cedar Ridge punter muffed the snap on the Raiders’ next drive and gave the Vipers the ball at the Cedar Ridge 25-yard line. Penalties, however, drove the Vipers back and prevented them from capitalizing. For the rest of the game, the Vandegrift defense held Cedar Ridge in check while the offense focused on running out the clock. With the win, Vandegrift improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in district.
Next week, the Vipers will host the Pflugerville Hendrickson Hawks at Monroe Stadium. The Hawks are 1-2 overall and 0-1 in district following a 28-27 loss to Round Rock Westwood.
Cedar Ridge, meanwhile, falls to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in district. Next week, the Raiders will travel to Bible Stadium in Leander to face the Leander Lions. Leander is 0-3 overall and 0-1 in district following a 66-14 loss to Round Rock Stony Point.
This week's episode of the Drew Sanders Coach's Show on the LSG Sports Network:
by Steve Thomas
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