Three times Lake Travis (15-0) has played in a state semifinal at Kyle Field, and each time, the Cavaliers have blown away their Region III counterparts. Pearland Dawson (12-3) was the victim this year in a 57-12 whipping Saturday afternoon.

For all of its dominance this season, Lake Travis has struggled to play complete games on both sides of the ball more than once during this playoff run, but on the eve of another state championship appearance, the Cavaliers played about as perfectly as they could.

“I’m just so proud of our kids and I’m excited to be heading to the school’s third state championship and my sixth. It never gets old, and we are so blessed and fortunate to be in this position again,” Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris said. “And it’s a credit to our kids to play the way they did against a very good Pearland Dawson team.”

Dawson opened up the game strong, taking just six plays to reach the Lake Travis six-yard line. But running back Xavier Brown fumbled on first-and-goal, and Cavalier defensive tackle Jonathan Roberts pounced on the ball.

Slow first possessions have hampered Lake Travis in a few games during this playoff run, but on the wettest game to date, nothing could slow the offense. The Cavaliers answered in six plays of their own, scoring on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Michael Brewer to Andy Erickson, who had slipped behind coverage down the sideline. A Kramer Fyfe kick later gave Lake Travis the early 7-0 lead and seemed to deflate a Dawson team that just moments before couldn’t be contained.

“To be honest, I was really surprised with the way they reacted,” Brewer said. “That’s a really good football team with really talented players.”

The Eagles were moving the ball all game, but turnovers killed them.

Quaterback and Utah-commit Darian Lazard threw three successive interceptions on three straight possessions, and Lake Travis capitalized quickly.

The first interception by Ian Lazarus set up a 34-yard swing pass touchdown from Brewer to Erickson, the second by Taylor Wrinkle set up a drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown run by Brewer and the third by Quinton Crow gave the Cavaliers great field position at the Dawson 31-yard line, but Lake Travis couldn’t capitalize and turned the ball over on downs. It didn’t matter, though, as the two-time defending state champions had built a 22-0 lead after one quarter.

“We watched film all week and felt like [Lazard] had trouble with accuracy, and he kept overthrowing receivers, so we thought he’d take something off this week, and we jumped each pass underneath,” Wrinkle said. “And on each pass he was telegraphing exactly where he was going.”

The Lake Travis defense remained staunch, forcing a three-and-out by Dawson on its first possession of the second quarter, and again, the Cavalier offense struck quickly, scoring on three plays thanks to a 50-yard touchdown run by Brewer.

“It was great to have everyone playing so well,” Brewer said. “I’ve got to give a lot of the credit lately to the defense. They just keep stepping up and making play after play. It’s making our job on offense a lot easier.”

Another stop by the Lake Travis defense was answered by the offense again in just three plays, ending with a one-yard touchdown run by Brewer.

Lake Travis would score once more before the break on an 18-yard run by Erickson to make it 43-0.

Dawson spoiled the shutout with a late drive to end the first half that resulted in a touchdown pass, but the two-point conversion failed and the lead for the Cavaliers was 43-6 at halftime.

Brewer ran in two more scores of four and one yards, respectively, to cap the scoring for Lake Travis.

Dawson would get one more touchdown pass in the third quarter, and again failed on the conversion attempt.

Lake Travis extended its state-best winning streak to 45 games and will play the winner of Denton Guyer vs. Longview in the 4A Division I state championship next Saturday at Baylor’s Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco at either 2 p.m. or 6 p.m., depending on the opponent.

Notes:

• Erickson finished the game with 10 rushes for 83 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

• Brewer completed 10 of 13 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, and ran six times for 64 yards and four touchdowns.

• Lake Travis scored eight times. The Cavs averaged four plays per scoring drive.

• DE/DL Shaq Marable played in his first game of the playoffs for Lake Travis after breaking his foot earlier this year. He recorded a sack in the win.

• DB Omar Duke-Tinson had the Cavaliers’ fourth interception of the night.

• WR Griffin Gilbert suffered a game-ending shoulder injury, and it’s unknown at this point what his status will be for next Saturday’s title game. Gilbert, whose arm was in a sling after the game, said he felt like it wasn’t serious, but he’d have to wait to hear from a doctor before he would know for sure.