Lake Travis (5-0, 1-0) topped Killeen (3-2, 0-1) – a team expected to present a challenge for the Cavaliers in 25-4A – in a 50-9 district-opening rout at Lake Travis ISD Stadium.

The Lake Travis ground attack stole the spotlight from quarterback Garrett Gilbert and his receiving corps, as the Cavaliers ran 11 times for 127 yards in the first half alone, eventually collecting 231 total yards and two touchdowns.

“It was a nice change of pace,” Lake Travis running back Chris Aydam laughed. “We knew they’d be keying on the passing game, and the holes opened wide when we started running. The offensive line did great.”

Killeen couldn’t capitalize on early opportunities – moving the ball as far as the Lake Travis two-yard line at one point – but failed to punch it in and keep things close.

“Killeen came out in a totally different type of defense than what they’ve shown, and did the same thing on offense,” Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris said. “I think they were looking to stop the pass, and said, ‘if you’re going to beat us, you’re going to have to do it running the football.’ And so, that’s one thing we’re going to do, we’re going to take what they give us.”

Morris was more than happy to get the production out of his running game, one week after Gilbert took some serious hits against Evangel Christian.

“That takes so much pressure off of Garrett,” Morris said. “When you do that, it means he doesn’t have to put the ball in a Dixie cup when they’re dropping everyone in pass coverage.”

Lake Travis quickly pulled away after each stop, as its first four drives all resulted in scores. The Cavaliers then outscored the Kangaroos 20-6 in the second half with much of the second team in for the majority.

“We talked all week about how we’re 0-0 right now, and that the first four wins didn’t mean anything,” Aydam said. “We definitely felt like we needed to make a statement.”

Killeen didn’t make much of its opening possession, and after a punt put Lake Travis at its own 24-yard line, the Cavaliers burned down the field on 10-plays, scoring on a one-yard run by Gilbert, and converting on a shovel pass from Gilbert to Michael Brewer to jump ahead 8-0.

The Kangaroos moved the ball well on their first three plays of the following drive, but a fumble after a pass reception was recovered by Lake Travis linebacker Quinton Crow, and put the Cavaliers in prime position on the Killeen 47-yard line.

Six plays later, Lake Travis scored on an 11-yard reverse run by Cade McCrary. A Kramer Fyfe extra point later, and the Cavaliers were up 15-0.

Despite stuttering on defense, Killeen was moving the ball well on offense, and put together an 11-yard drive that resulted in a 34-yard field goal to make it 15-3.

Lake Travis kept rolling on offense, scorching 60-yards in four plays, and scoring on a six-yard pass from Gilbert to McCrary to extend the lead to 22-3.

Killeen made it all the way down to the Lake Travis two-yard line on the next drive, but stalled out on third down when Cavalier Michael Walsh pulled down Killeen quarterback Michael Cummings just short of a first down on the one-yard line, and the Cavaliers made another big stop on fourth down, stopping the Kangaroos an inch short of a first down.

“We came out, ran 26 plays and scored 30 points in the first half, and our defense held them to three points in the first half,” Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris said. “I think [Defensive coordinator Hank] Carter was really hard on the defense all week long about tackling better and filling gaps better and being aggressive. We did that, and it really helped.”

Lake Travis took over on downs, and took five plays to go 99 yards, scoring on the fourth straight drive on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Gilbert to Brewer, putting them up 30-3 at halftime.

The Cavaliers added second half scores on a six-yard pass from Gilbert to Aydam,  a 50-yard punt return by Austin Pollard, and two field goals – one from 46-yards and one from 29-yards – by Fyfe.

It was a surprising result for the Cavaliers, but obviously one they’ll take.

“I wasn’t anticipating that coming,” Morris said. “Killeen has got a lot of talented, big kids. They might have been the biggest football team we’ve played. It just seemed like our kids played really well early on, and I thought we improved in all the areas we need to improve on.”

Gilbert had a markedly efficient night, completing 15 passes on 20 attempts for 187 yards and three scores. Colton Volpe led the Cavaliers on the ground with nine attempts for 105 yards. Aydam ran six times for 75 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards. Cade McCrary was the top receiver for Lake Travis with five catches for 99 yards and one touchdown, and also ran once for an 11-yard score.

Killeen sophomore quarterback Michael Cummings had a strong outing despite the loss, rushing 20 times for 75 yards, and completing 10 of 19 passes for 182 yards.