Card's Return, Lake Travis Too Much For Judson; Rematch With North Shore Awaits
For the second straight year, the UIL 6A Division I Region IV final featured Lake Travis and Converse Judson and was played at San Antonio's Alamodome. The Cavaliers won 38-21 in 2018 and earned a come-from-behind 48-35 victory on Saturday.
A big part of that was Texas 2020 quarterback commit Hudson Card, who played in his first football game since he suffered a foot injury in Lake Travis' 26-25 rivalry win against Westlake on October 11th. The VYPE Player of the Game finished with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score.
"I've always wanted to come back ever since I got hurt, so that was my mission the past couple of weeks," said Card. "The team around me stepped up and the O-Line did an unbelievable job keeping me protected."
Card's team, Lake Travis, flexed its muscles early and took the game's first lead on Hays McCannon's 27-yard field goal. The Cavaliers would then fall behind by 11 points because Mike Chandler found Amarea Bailey-Davis on a 43-yard touchdown connection and added a 10-yard touchdown run towards the end of the first quarter.
But, Lake Travis got back on track in the second quarter, and made it a one-possession game going into halftime. Card found Weston Stephens for a 70-yard score with 2:25 left, and the Cavalier defense forced a Chandler fumble that nearly set up a go-ahead score on the final play of the first half.
The trend continued in the third quarter. Card launched a pair of touchdown passes to Kyle Eaves, and Stephens added a 44-yard touchdown run to make it a 31-14 advantage with 3:43 left in the period.
"You just got to stay with it," Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said of his team's comeback. "It's a 48-minute ball game. You can't freak out at the beginning of it and you gotta keep your cool and make some adjustments and we were able to do that."
Lake Travis' streak of 28 consecutive points would come to an end on De'Anthony Lewis' nine-yard touchdown run, but the Cavaliers immediately responded with Stephens' 52-yard touchdown run to make it a 38-21 game before the end of the third. They were followed by a pair of Chandler touchdown runs, but Card's rushing score, McCannon's 32-yard field goal and DJ Johnson's late interception wrapped up the Cavs' win in the fourth.
Lake Travis will now prepare for North Shore in the teams' second straight state semifinal meeting. The Cavaliers suffered a season-ending loss to the Mustangs when the teams met in 2018, but hope to avenge that defeat in next week's game.
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