Walk-off Field Goal Lifts Austin Vandegrift to Playoff Victory Over Austin Westlake
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Updated: November 17, 2025
photos: Steve Thomas
Walk-off Field Goal Lifts Austin Vandegrift to Playoff Victory Over Austin Westlake
One week after a dramatic win for the district title, the Austin Vandegrift Vipers pulled off another dramatic win for a bi-district championship against the Austin Westlake Chaparrals. Kicker Wiley Olson netted a 36-yard field goal as time expired to secure a 16-14 win for his team. The kick was Olson’s third field goal of the game. In a game where Vandegrift’s offense struggled to move the ball, Olson proved to be invaluable.
Vandegrift Head Coach Drew Sanders said that overcoming adversity was the story of his team’s season. On Friday, the Vipers faced plenty of adversity. Quarterback Miles Teodecki was playing through an injury that limited his throwing ability, and the Westlake defense dominated the Vipers in the trenches. Vandegrift rushed for 156 yards, but 73 of those yards came on one play by running back Sam Brown in the second quarter. That run set up Vandegrift’s only touchdown of the game, which Brown scored on the next play.
For most of the game, Westlake was in control. The Chaps started fast and jumped out to a 14-3 lead before the Vipers finally found the end zone just before halftime. Quarterback Rees Wise and running backs Jarren Lopez, Chase Brodhead, and Sebastian Henault comprised a formidable rushing attack that frequently outmatched Vandegrift’s defense physically. Altogether, the Chaps ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns against the Vipers. Henault scored the Chaps’ first touchdown, and Wise scored the second.
While Vandegrift’s offense struggled for most of the game, the defense kept the Vipers within striking distance. The Vipers stopped the Chaps twice on fourth down and recovered two fumbles and an interception. The Vipers’ biggest stop midway through the fourth quarter.
Following a short Vandegrift punt from their own one-yard line, Westlake took over at the Vandegrift 30-yard line. Leading 14-13, the Chaps pushed the ball to the Vandegrift two-yard line; but the Vipers stopped Wise on fourth down at the one-yard line.
On the final drive of the game, Vandegrift’s offense found its stride. After struggling to throw for most of the game, Miles Teodecki made three crucial passes. The first was a 33-yard bomb to receiver Ontario Jackson which put the Vipers in Westlake territory. Teodecki then connected with receiver Thomas Buechler on a ten-yard pass and Brock Chilton on an eight-yard pass to put Vandegrift in field goal range. With three seconds left in the game, Wiley Olson netted the game-winning field goal and sent Monroe Stadium into a frenzy.
After the game, Coach Sanders praised his team for their resilience. “Only people in our team know the adversity we’ve gone through, and it’s been as impressive a team as I have ever coached at Vandegrift,” Sanders said.
Vandegrift now advances to the 6A-D2 area round. The Vipers will face the San Antonio Brandeis Broncos (8-3) at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos on Thursday.
by Steve Thomas
Players Pictured
Vandegrift
#6 Parker Davis
#12 Miles Teodecki
#40 Sam Brown
Westlake
#6 Jarren Lopez
#7 Thompson Bennett
#9 Rees Wise
#57 William Twardowski
#73 Will Hesse
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