By Max Thompson

Mission accomplished.

Lake Travis (16-0) cemented its place in Texas football history by becoming the first 4A team to win back-to-back state titles in division one and two, dominating Longview (13-3) 48-23 Saturday afternoon at Floyd Casey Stadium.

The Cavaliers kicked off the celebration when quarterback Garrett Gilbert surpassed his own single-season passing yards record and the all-time Texas high school career yards record (previously held by Graham Harrell) on the final Lake Travis scoring drive. Gilbert beat his previous single season record by 20 yards with 4,847, and beat Harrell by two yards with 12,533 career passing yards. The senior quarterback finished the game with 25 completions on 36 attempts with 355 yards, four touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns.

It was a total team effort, though, as the Cavalier defense dominated a physical Lobo running game, and the Lake Travis offensive line provided plenty of space for Gilbert and his teammates to do damage in every facet of the game.

“This is all about the kids, and they deserve it,” Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris said. “They welcomed us with open arms, and we’ve really become a family.”

Cavaliers Cade McCrary, Andy Erickson, Chris Aydam and Conner Floyd all scored touchdowns in the game.

Austin Pollard finished the game with eight catches for 145 yards, and McCrary wasn’t far behind with four catches for 118 yards.

“When I first moved here, the team was still going 0-10,” McCrary said. “It’s unbelievable to see how far we’ve come, and I just can’t describe how it feels right now.”

Traffic backed up on I-35 as far South as Temple, and Longview fans waited in a line 200 yards long to enter the stadium before the game, and with clear skies, the atmosphere was everything one would expect for a state championship game.

Longview received the opening kickoff from Lake Travis kicker Kramer Fyfe, and the Lobos pushed as far as their own 47-yard line before a fumble netted them a 10-yard loss that killed the drive.
Lake Travis effectively marched 70 yards, but Gilber attempted to hit McCrary in the back corner of the end zone on third-and-goal from the Lobo 14-yard line, and Longview defensive back Joseph Patillo intercepted the fade, and gave possession right back to the Lobos.

The Cavalier defense held strong, again stranding the Lobos with negative yards, sacking quarterback Aaron Johnson, and making the drive an uphill climb. Three plays later, Longview punted away.

Lake Travis started its second drive of the game from its own 40-yard line, and again, marched straight down the field. The biggest play of the drive came on third-and-two from the Cavalier 48-yard line, when Gilbert turned to look at the sideline as if to receive a new play call. Center Will Hawk snapped the ball straight to Aydam, who plowed ahead for a nine-yard gain. Two plays later, Gilbert hit McCrary for a 26-yard score up the heart of the Longview defense with 1:35 left in the first quarter. An extra point kick by Fyfe put Lake Travis up 7-0.

Longview had an answer, trusting its next drive to running back Tyler McCray, gaining 41 yards while cutting up the Lake Travis defense. But it was his final run of the drive, an 18-yard dash from left to right, that proved most crucial to the outcome of the game. On the play, McCrary severely sprained his left ankle, ending his afternoon, and leaving the Lobos without their biggest weapon. Running back Da’Cedric Hunt dove in on the next play to help Longview tie the game with 40 seconds left in the first quarter, but it was the last time the Lobos would score until the third quarter.

That proved problematic as Lake Travis scored four times before Longview could answer.

The Cavaliers followed the game-tying touchdown with a seven-play drive that Gilbert capped on a screen pass to Aydam, who sprinted up the Lake Travis sideline behind linemen Paden Kelley and Hawk before getting the go-ahead score.

Teams that have fallen behind Lake Travis season, haven’t been able to climb back into games, and with that in mind, on fourth-and-five on the following drive, Longview head coach John King opted to try a fake punt on the Lake Travis 45-yard line. Johnson made a dash from right to left to the Lake Travis sideline, but was strung out by a host of Cavalier defenders.

Lake Travis used the momentum, going 56 yards on eight plays, and scoring on an 11-yard run by Erickson to help the Cavaliers go up 21-0 with 2:56 left in the first half.

The Cavalier defense forced yet another three-and-out on Longview’s next possession, and shanked punt by Johnson put Lake Travis at the Lobo 24-yard line. With prime position, Lake Travis scored in three plays – all runs by Gilbert – to go up 28-7 at the break.

The early struggles by the Cavaliers and their signal caller had clearly gone by the wayside, and with 24 minutes to play, the game was in Lake Travis’ hands. The early setbacks weren’t of much concern to the Cavaliers’ head coach.

“We had to figure out what [Longview] was doing, and get our game plan tied in,” Morris said. “But I’m never worried about our kids or Garrett, he’s a winner and a competitor, and he gets the job done.”

Lake Travis opened the second half with the ball, and kept dominating. The Cavaliers scored in seven plays, and Gilbert ran in his second touchdown of the game from one yard out to extend the lead to 34-7 after Fyfe sent an extra point just wide. Still, the Cavaliers were up by four scores less than three minutes into the second half.

Longview did its best to keep up, finding a way to fight through the Lake Travis defense, getting to the Cavalier 13-yard line before falling back and opting for a 42-yard field goal by Marty Hobbs to make it 34-10.

But Lake Travis didn’t let up, extending the lead further on a spectacular 56-yard connection from Gilbert to McCrary that made it 41-10 with 3:28 still left in the third quarter.

At that point, the only question left was whether Gilbert would get a chance to eclipse Graham Harrell’s career passing yards mark of 12,532 yards. There could be no better ending to the season, and to the high school career of a quarterback that has meant so much to so many at Lake Travis.

After the Cavaliers failed to keep their next drive alive, it looked like the odds were against him. But one final forced three-and-out by the Lake Travis defense gave Gilbert and the offense the ball one more time with just over three minutes left in the game. The best part? Gilbert needed 32 yards, and the Cavs got the ball on the Longview 34-yard line.

“We were going to do it, and I didn’t care what people thought,” Morris said. “That kid deserves every bit of that, and it’s so special for him.”

Gilbert’s first three passes fell incomplete, but he hit his successor, Michael Brewer on fourth-and-10 to keep the drive alive, then hit Aydam for a 13-yard completion that helped Gilbert break his own single season passing yards record of 4,827 yards, and Harrell’s all-time mark. The all-everything quarterback hit Floyd on the next play for his final touchdown pass as a Cavalier, and the celebration began.

Longview scored twice in the fourth quarter, but it couldn’t spoil the excitement on the Lake Travis sideline.

“It’s unbelievable, I couldn’t have written a better script for this season,” defensive back Jack Hourin said. “It just shows that we are the best team in the state of Texas, all of our hard worked has paid off and I couldn’t dream up a better finish.”

Plenty of chatter in the mob scene that followed was about Lake Travis’ place in history, and the dominating fashion in which they won the state title.

“To come in and shut down a team that has been so great all season, I mean, you see state championships like last year and they are two point games,” linebacker Harry Hatch said. “To do this, it just shows how far we’ve come and how hard we’ve worked.”

And there were plenty of players that still couldn’t grasp the gravity of the moment, like all-state linebacker Quinton Crow, who was playing on the junior varsity last season.

“This is amazing. It’s just a great opportunity to have what I have, and I owe so much to my teammates,” Crow said. “The seniors especially helped, and I have to hand it to them. I was just helping out, doing my part. “

But the result was no great surprise to anyone involved, and if anything, it was a relief to many. The dominating fashion made it all the more sweet.

“We told them before this game that they were winners, they were born winners and they’re going to continue to be winners,” defensive coordinator Hank Carter said.

Hard to argue after a season like that.