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Photo provided by Coach Brandace Boren
The Cavs team is coming off two instrumental games in the first round of district competition with wins against rivals – Dripping Springs (3-1) and Westlake (3-0). Lake Travis is 35-4 (8-0 in district) with only weeks left in the regular season.
Ninth-year coach Brandace Boren credits her team’s success to the seniors, who have already left their legacy on the court. The Cavs earned a district title last year before reaching the Regional Tournament for the first time since moving to Class 6A.
They would ultimately fall to Dripping Springs in the Regional Final in a heated five-set bout, which made the Cavaliers’ recent win against the Tigers that much sweeter.
“I would say losing to Dripping Springs in the playoffs last year definitely motivated us for the offseason, the preseason tournament season and now district play,” said Boren. “We have some unbelievable seniors who have led the way. There’s a fire in their eyes, and they have that motivation to take back the district and push further.”
Photo provided by Coach Brandace Boren
Said leaders of the program include Duke-commit Avery Hamlin (Sr. OH), Kacey Kazmierski (Sr. S), St. Edwards-commit Carrington Jaimes (Sr. MB) and sophomore OH Adyson Davis.
In addition to the vast array of talent she has to work with from a coaching standpoint, Boren feels that her past experiences have added onto the well-established winning culture that exists in the Lake Travis program.
Photo provided by Coach Brandace Boren
“Coming from San Antonio, where you have a lot of smaller players that are fierce and who work their butts off, I like to think that’s given me the chance to bring over that fighting mentality,” she said. “We have several kids who range from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot, and having a defensive mindset has helped us to improve over the years.
“We’re going to be scrappy. We’re going to have a strong work ethic, where we’re going to fight to the end against any team we play. That culture has really taken over alongside the winning mentality that was already here when I got to Lake Travis.”
Photo provided by Coach Brandace Boren
Considering the momentum the Cavaliers possess, what will it take in order to carry that over into the playoffs?
“Our theme this year for our program is ‘Together We Conquer’,” Boren said. “We’re trying to conquer a mountain, in terms of the competition we expect to face. We have set goals for ourselves in order to get to the peak. As we continue to climb, we’re focusing on the short-term and what we accomplish step-by-step. If we can keep doing that, I know we can find success.”
November is right around the corner. Expect Lake Travis to be in the mix as the State Tournament nears.
Photo by Tiger Media--Provided by Coach Brett Sniffin
It’s been some time since the Tigers have seen such success, and part of that could be attributed to the influence of coach Brett Sniffin, who came over from Ridge Point a few years ago.
Sniffin opened Ridge Point in 2010. However, something about Belton appealed to him.
“When I was at Ridge Point, it initially had that small-town feel before it grew to the point it is now,” he said. “I missed that aspect, since I’m not much of a big-city-type-of-guy, so that’s what kind of drew me to Belton. I’m sure other coaches share that same mindset and are drawn to that feeling, because it is definitely an event on Friday nights when we’re playing at home.”
That sentiment runs even deeper.
Photo by Tiger Media--Provided by Coach Brett Sniffin
“Belton is its own unique area and our school pretty much is Belton,” Sniffin said. “It’s unique to have that small-town feel. There aren’t too many chain restaurants, it’s mostly mom-and-pop type stuff. There’s a nice home-town feel, and the more you win, the more the season ticket holders come in and fill up the stands. That support has been overwhelming.”
Since Sniffin and his staff took over the reins of the program four years ago, Belton has gradually re-established itself as a true contender in the Class 5A-II race.
“We like to say we’re doing things here that haven’t been done in a long time,” said Sniffin. “Last year, we had the first outright district title since 1998. Now, we want to win 10 games for the first time since 2009. They’ve never won three playoff games so that’s something we want to do. Those are our long-term goals, but obviously the first one is to win tonight, and we want to start off district on the right foot.”
Photo by Tiger Media--Provided by Coach Brett Sniffin
Senior QB Reese Rumfield has been the star of the show, while Belton’s RB Shaun Snapp, Wyatt Butler (Sr. LB) and Dante Martinez (Sr. LB) have been among the key contributors to the program’s fast start.
They’ll be essential to coach Sniffin’s keys to their district opener against Pflugerville this evening.
“We want to be able to drive the ball and consume some clock against their (Pflugerville’s) big defensive front,” he said. “Defensively, we want to shore up the pass-defense and put some pressure on the quarterback. Lastly, special teams has been a strong point for us, and that’s what’s helped us get over the hump.”
Don’t sleep on the Tigers. They might have a small-town feel, but they have big-time aspirations.
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