Vandegrift Wins Easily over Vista Ridge

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: October 21, 2020

photos: Steve Thomas

Leander Vandegrift Shuts Down Leander Vista Ridge

Starting with their inaugural varsity season in 2010, the Leander Vandegrift Vipers have faced their Leander ISD rivals, the Round Rock Vista Ridge Rangers, in every year of their existence. In 2015, the Vipers and Rangers faced off twice. Vandegrift won the first meeting 63-55 in an intense offensive shootout, but Vista Ridge got their revenge with a 24-17 win in the UIL 5A-D1 Region IV Championship.

Incidentally, that was also the last time Vista Ridge had beaten Vandegrift. Since that 2015 meeting, the two programs had gone on divergent courses. While both schools moved up to 6A, Vista Ridge went a combined 8-23 over the next three seasons before posting an 8-3 record and returning to the playoffs last year. Vandegrift, meanwhile, made the playoffs all four years and went through the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons without a regular-season loss.

This year the Rangers appeared to be in good position to snap their losing streak against the Vipers. The Rangers entered Friday’s contest at 3-0 overall and 1-0 in district. Led by senior quarterback Kyle Brown, the Rangers’ potent offense had scored an average of 49.7 points per game and posted an average margin of victory of 33.3 points.

Vandegrift entered the game at 1-1 overall. State powerhouse Cedar Park snapped the Vipers’ regular-season win streak in the opener, but the Vipers bounced back the following week with a 41-7 victory over Killeen Ellison. Last week’s district opener against Round Rock Stony Point was postponed due to covid concerns.

While Vista Ridge appeared to have an edge, though, Vandegrift had other ideas. Early in the game, both teams struggled to gain momentum. On the opening drive, Vandegrift linebacker Hunter Ross recovered Kyle Brown’s fumble at the Rangers’ 28-yard line. Despite the good field position, Viper running back Ryan Sheppard fumbled the ball on second down resulting in an 11-yard loss; and the Vipers were ultimately forced to punt. Neither team was able to score in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Vandegrift quarterback Ryan Back connected with receiver Taylor Dummar on a 78-yard touchdown pass. Vista Ridge then blocked the extra-point attempt. After the Vipers’ defense forced the Rangers to punt, the Rangers’ defense got them on the board when defensive lineman Jay White intercepted Ryan Back’s pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. The successful extra-point attempt then gave Vista Ridge a 7-6 lead.

Unfortunately, that was as close as the Rangers would come to victory. The Viper offense took back the lead on their next drive with Back’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Sanders. The Vipers failed the two-point conversion which gave them a 12-7 lead.

On the opening drive of the second half, Ryan Back connected with Ryan Sheppard on a 16-yard touchdown pass to extend the Vandegrift lead to 19-7. Back then connected with running back Bowen Lewis on a 63-yard touchdown pass to give Vandegrift a 26-7 lead. Following Viper defensive back Griffin Shafer’s interception on the next Vista Ridge drive, Ryan Sheppard connected with Austin Skoglund giving Vandegrift a 33-7 lead.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Bowen Lewis found the end zone again, this time on the ground, to give Vandegrift a 40-7 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, Kyle Brown connected with Kwade Hegtvedt for the Rangers’ lone offensive touchdown of the night bringing the game to a final score of 40-14.

After the game, Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders praised his team for playing with a chip on their shoulders and fighting for the win. He also lauded them for their efforts throughout the week and being willing to accept tough coaching at practice. With the win, Vandegrift improves to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in district. Next week, the Vipers will return home to Monroe Stadium to take on the Round Rock McNeil Mavericks (0-4 overall, 0-2 district.)

Vista Ridge, meanwhile, falls to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in district. After the game, head coach Rodney Vincent credited Vandegrift’s defense with shutting down his team’s normally very potent offensive attack. He also credited his team for their performance early in the game, especially in regards to stopping the run and getting the turnover for the score. Next week, the Rangers will travel to Dragon Stadium in Round Rock to take on the Round Rock Cedar Ridge Raiders (2-1 overall, 1-0 district.)

by Steve Thomas