GAMES
RANKINGS
THE POWER RANKINGS: Top powers go wire-to-wire
Somewhere an alternate universe exists in which NCAA D1 Football conferences still make geographic sense, the NFL playoffs consist of just the 10 or 12 teams that actually deserve to make the playoffs, and the best Texas High School Football teams in the state of Texas get to play each other on their way to a state title.
Case in point is our final Power Rankings of the season. Westlake and Lake Travis once remain at 1-2 after cruising to relatively easy wins with Vandegrift dispatching ranked Round Rock to preserve their podium spot at #3.
Sadly for fans, however, while 6A D1 Westlake and Lake Travis are on a collision course to potentially meet up again in the Regional Finals, the 6A D2 Vipers will have to wait until next year for another crack at knocking off one the “Lakes.”
There were several match ups between Top 20 teams this week. Georgetown has been on a tear since Leander smacked them about a month ago. The Eagles crushed Cedar Park to move up to fourth while LBJ hot-knife-through-buttered their way into the Top 5. Weiss and Bastrop also notched impressive wins over good opponents to climb the ladder.
Most of the teams ranked 8th through 20th suffered losses in the final week of the regular season, save for Pflugerville, Wimberley, and newcomer McNeil, but should acquit themselves well once the playoffs begin this week. Special tip of the cap to McNeil for breaking into the rankings in this, the final poll of the year.
The regular season is in the books and the second season is about to begin. Here are our final rankings heading into the playoffs.
VYPE Austin Top 20 Combined Class 4A-6A
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (1) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) -- 9-1 (35-14 W v. Dripping Springs)
2. (2) Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) -- 9-1 (56-7 W v. Austin High)
3. (3) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) -- 9-1 (35-6 W v. Round Rock)
4. (6) Georgetown Eagles (5A-1) – 9-1 (31-7 W v. Cedar Park)
5. (8) LBJ Austin Jaguars (4A-1) -- 10-0 (67-0 W v. Eastside)
6. (10) Weiss Wolves (5A-1) – 8-2 (38-9 W v. Anderson)
7. (12) Bastrop Bears (5A-2) – 8-2 (35-31 W v. Liberty Hill)
8. (5) Liberty Hill (5A-2) – 8-2 (35-31 L v. Bastrop)
9. (7) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) -- 7-3 (35-14 L v. Westlake)
10. (4) Round Rock Dragons (6A) – 8-2 (L 35-6 v. Vandegrift)
11. (9) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) – 6-4 (70-14 L v. Steele)
12. (11) Anderson Trojans (5A-1) – 7-3 (38-9 L v. Weiss)
13. (14) Pflugerville Panthers (5A-1) – 7-3 (52-14 W v. Pflugerville Connally)
14. (18) Wimberley Texans (4A-2) – 8-2 (44-6 W v. Lago Vista)
15. (15) Vista Ridge Rangers (6A) – 6-4 (34-33 L v. Westwood)
16. (13) Cedar Park (5A-1) – 6-4 (31-7 L v. Georgetown)
17. (16) Austin High Maroons (6A) – 5-5 (56-7 L v. Lake Travis)
18. (17) Bowie Bulldogs (6A) – 6-4 (BYE)
19. (19) Lago Vista Vikings (4A-2) – 7-3 (44-6 L v. Wimberley)
20, (NR) McNeil Mavericks (6A) – 5-5 (42-24 W v. Hutto)
VYPE Austin Top 5 Private Schools
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (1) Regents Knights (TAPPS) – 9-1 (35-13 W v. Hyde Park)
2. (2) St. Michael’s Warriors (TAPPS) – 8-2 (45-14 L v. Concordia Lutheran)
3. (4) Hyde Park Panthers (TAPPS) – 6-4 (35-13 L vs. Regents)
4. (3) Brentwood Christian Bears (TAPPS) – 5-5 (33-13 L v. Brook Hill)
5. (5) St. Andrew’s Highlanders (SPC) – 3-7 (BYE)
THE RECAP: Huntsville Hornets vs. Austin LBJ Jaguars Football
The Huntsville Hornets shut down Austin LBJ’s offense and ran over, around and through the Jaguars’ defense en route to an impressive 54-28 Area Round victory this past Friday nigh at Waco ISD Stadium.
Although the Hornets raced out to a commanding 20-0 lead seconds into the second quarter, the Jags slowed the bleeding, allowing just one more score before halftime to trail 27-0. However, Huntsville quickly scored after returning the second half kickoff to the Jaguar 2 yard-line, eventually building a 40-0 lead before LBJ finally put points on the board.
LBJ junior quarterback Ari Scott (22-30, 213 yds, 3 TDs, 2 INTs plus a rushing TD) posted a decent night but he was the extent of the offense as Huntsville stuffed the Jags’ rushing game early.
Huntsville improves to 7-5 on the season and move on to face Randle in the Regional Semifinals. After an 0-3 start in non-district, Coach Joseph Raul’s Jaguars had won eight straight games including last week’s Bi-district win over Pflugerville before Friday’s season-ending loss. LBJ closed out the season at 8-4 overall and at 7-0, the undefeated champions of District 12-5A-2.