Vandegrift Rights Ship over Cedar Park
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Updated: September 4, 2022
photos: Steve Thomas
Leander Vandegrift Upends Cedar Park
On Friday night, the Cedar Park Timberwolves and Leander Vandegrift Vipers squared off at Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park. Both teams were looking to recover from setbacks in week 1. Last week, the Vipers lost 23-20 to 6A newcomer Dripping Springs on a 42-yard field goal as time expired. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, lost their opener against perennial 6A contender Round Rock Cedar Ridge 34-14. The game was the thirteenth meeting between the Leander ISD rivals. The teams have met every year since Vandegrift started playing varsity football in 2010. Entering Friday’s game, Cedar Park led the all-time series 8-4; but the Vipers had won three out of the last four meetings. This included a 42-7 drubbing last year.
For the second year in a row, the Vipers dominated the Timberwolves with a 45-0 shutout. From the beginning, the Vipers dominated both sides of the ball. After last week’s last-second loss, Vandegrift Head Coach Drew Sanders said that his players went into practice this week with a greater sense of motivation. He said that the offensive line especially felt that they had something to prove.
Throughout the night, the Vandegrift offensive line allowed the offense to move the ball almost at will. Sanders also said that last week’s loss Quarterback Brayden Buchanan threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns and added another on the ground. One of those touchdown passes was a lateral to offensive lineman Ian Reed. Reed scored the touchdown even while dragging multiple Cedar Park defenders. Coach Sanders said that, in preparation for the play, they actually took a towel and wiped off Reed’s gloves to make sure that his hands were dry to make the catch Two of the passes also went to receiver Miles Coleman including a 64-yard pass on the opening drive. Tight end Jase Skoglund caught the third touchdown pass on a 55-yard hail Mary just before halftime. Running back Zaid Oliver scored the final touchdown of the night in the third quarter on a 39-yard touchdown run. Defensively, the Vipers did not allow the Timberwolves to gain a first down from scrimmage until eight minutes left in the third quarter. Next week, the Vipers will wrap up non-district play against Waco Midway at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Crusader Stadium in Belton.
Despite the loss, Cedar Park Head Coach Michael Quintero said that he was proud of his team’s effort. Specifically, he praised his team’s resolve to play a physical game for all four quarters instead of simply folding. He was especially laudatory of his front seven on defense and their improved tackling compared to last week’s game. Regarding the challenging non-district schedule, Quintero said that his team was being thrown into the storm and finding out who they are. Despite the 0-2 start, Quintero was confident that his team was getting stronger and would continue to improve. Next week, the Timberwolves travel to Dragon Stadium in Round Rock to face off against the Round Rock Dragons.
by Steve Thomas
Players pictured:
Vandegrift
#0 Alex Witt
#1 Miles Coleman
#5 Brayden Buchanan
#42 Olver Yndo
#99 Daemian Wimberley
Cedar Park
#3 Ayden Arp
#19 Alex Underwood
#20 Cody Manning
#31 Brady Elford
#40 Kasen Cave
#42 Reid Vines
#78 Davis Williams
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