VYPE Austin Central Texas Game of the Week Recap: Liberty Hill batters Bastrop to claim district title
11 Nov, 2025
The big question going into their showdown last Friday night (11/7) with a district title on the line was whether Liberty Hill’s and/or Bastrop’s defenses would be able to slow down the other team’s offenses.
While the Panthers' defense was able to do just that, the Bear’s defense couldn't do the same. As a result, Liberty Hill battered Bastrop and clinched the District 11-5A-2 title with a convincing 48-14 victory in our VYPE Austin Central Texas Game of the Week.
After Liberty Hill’s defense forced a punt on Bastrop’s first series to break serve, senior Preston Benefield’s 6-yard run capped off a 14-play, 94-yard drive. With Bastrop junior quarterback Weston Nielsen firing passes to Zac Wilkinson to set the table for Gary Jefferson Jr.’s answering score, everything appeared primed for the shootout. But the Panther defense made sure Bastrop was firing mostly blanks.
Junior Pierre Dylan Belinga put the Panthers back on top 14-7 with a six-yard run. Then, Liberty Hill’s Ethan McMilliam recovered a Bastrop fumble – their second of the quarter -- to stymie the Bears’ attempt to answer. Senior Jack Pitchford punched it in from four yards out and the Panthers tacked in the two-point conversion to send Liberty Hill into the halftime locker room with a 22-7 lead.
Belinga opened the third quarter with a 90-yard scoring dash to nudge the lead up to 28-7. With Bastrop trying to answer, senior Alister Vallejo forced yet another fumble on one of his three sacks to deny the Bears. Pitchford’s second score of the night, this one from 35 yards out, essentially put the game out of reach at 35-7. Benefield scored for a second time to increase the Liberty Hill lead to 42-7 heading into eh final quarter.
Nielsen got the Bears on the board again in the 4th quarter with a 2-yard run, but Panther junior Cayden Timmons’ answered with a 15-yard scamper to bring the score to the final 48-14.
Liberty Hill (7-0 in District 11-5A-2, 8-2 overall) hosts San Antonio Lanier Thursday night (11/13) to open th e5A Division 2 playoffs. Bastrop (6-1, 9-1) looks to bounce back from its first defeat of the season against San Antonio Burbank. VYPE crews will broadcast both games on the NFHS Network.
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