Week 16: Longview

Lobos in 2009: 14-1
Last year’s game: Cavs won 48-23
Lake Travis made history by winning a second straight title and its first in 4A Division I, while the Lobos were “humbled,” according to quarterback Aaron Johnson. His counterpart, Garrett Gilbert, broke the state single-season record for passing yards in the win.

Scouting Report

Last year, in the week leading up to the Cavaliers’ 48-23 state championship win over Longview, Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris got a few helpful tips from a former quarterback – Jevan Snead.

This year, he’s getting the same help from former quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

“Garrett’s definitely been up here,” Morris laughed. “It’s always good to get his input because it’s always taken to heart. It’s always special when stuff like that happens.”

The Cavaliers (15-0) will need all the help they can get to topple the Lobos (14-1), a team that’s played a tough schedule and dominated the opposition.

“We have a ton of respect for Coach John King and his staff,” Morris said. “I’m an East Texas boy and I know all about the tradition of that program.”

It’s a program with 101 years of football under its belt. One that is fourth all-time in 4A with 610 wins. But it’s also a program that hasn’t won a title since 1937 – an incredible drought for such a powerhouse – and one can imagine they’re eager to end that dry spell.

Lake Travis will do everything within its power to make sure that streak doesn’t end this year – along with its own 45-game winning streak – and even though they used two trick plays in last week’s win over Pearland Dawson, Morris assured that a few wrinkles were still in the works for the Cavaliers’ vaunted offensive attack.

“The thing that stands out about Longview’s defense is that it’s an extremely physical one,” Morris said. “Last year’s game was physical and we expect nothing different this year. They have tremendous team speed on both sides of the ball, and that makes them tough, as well.”

Lake Travis will likely try to build off last week’s quick start, and get on the scoreboard early against the Lobos. In games that the Cavaliers have struggled, they’ve gotten off to slow starts. When they win, they click from the first snap. Build a lead, and the defense should do enough to hold the Lobos at bay. And that should equal a three-peat.

But the Cavs know it won’t come easily. So it’s no surprisee that they’ve got all hands on deck, just like last year.

Cavalier defense will have to stop the run

Lake Travis defensive coordinator Hank Carter admits that a running attack like the one Longview possesses can’t be stopped.

As the cliché goes, a defense just has to do its best to contain the threat.
Make a few stops here and there, and watch the Lake Travis offense build a lead.

And to continue with the cliché theme – that’s easier said than done. Just ask Denton Guyer, which just allowed nearly 500 yards of rushing to the Lobos.
“It starts with our front four,” Carter said of his defensive line. “When they’re getting off their blocks and making plays it gets a lot tougher to run on us. We had some success doing that last week, but Longview is a different animal. This is what they do best. So it starts there but we’ve also got to a good job tackling. We were able to do that last year and things went well for us.”

Stopping the Longview rushing attack has to be the top priority for the Cavaliers Saturday in Waco because when Lake Travis has struggled, it has been to teams that controlled the clock with a steady ground attack.

Lampasas – a sub .500 playoff team – was down just 17-7 to Lake Travis in district play as the Badgers’ Wing-T offense on a sloppy field managed to play keep away from the Cavaliers before eventually bowing out in a 38-7 Lake Travis win. Cibolo Steele’s Malcolm Brown methodically carved up the Cavalier defense in the Area Championship, racking up nearly 300 yards before being stopped on fourth-and-goal to secure a 27-20 Lake Travis win.

Alamo Heights combined a steady run game with some play-action passing, and that created major problems for the Cavaliers before they pulled away for a 27-13 win in the Region IV final. These are all game plans Longview will try to emulate because it runs right along with what they do best.

“They’ve got a great quarterback in Aaron Johnson, too,” Carter said. “I said last year that he’s the most dangerous quarterback we’ve ever had to prepare for, and now he’s a year old and a year better.”

Longview can strike at any time from any spot on the field.

“They have tremendous team speed,” Lake Travis head coach Chad Morris said. “The best we’ve seen all year.”

But that strength may also work against Lobos. Naturally, one would assume that the more they score, the better off they will be. Typically, though, teams that score quickly have traditionally struggled against Lake Travis.

It doesn’t really matter either way to Carter, who doesn’t want to see any game plan executed well against his defense. Trouble is, the reason Longview is so good – aside from a talented signal-caller – is because of the two-man running back attack of Tyler McCray and Da’Cedric Hunt.

“It’s funny, McCray got hurt last year and there was a lot of talk about a drop-off, but to be honest with you, I think they’re both tremendous running backs,” Carter said. “[Steele’s] Brown is a different animal, but I feel like each of these guys is just as talented as he is. McCray is a speed guy that can just slash through defenses, and Hunt is a physical back that punishes other teams. It doesn’t matter with either of them – you don’t want to get behind them because you won’t catch them. The same goes for the quarterback.”

The overall offensive attack is so potent that there are plenty of people outside of East Texas that think Longview can beat the favored Cavaliers.

Believe it or not, Carter is always happy to hear that talk.

“Our kids like playing a team that they’re not supposed to be able to stop,” he said. “They like playing with that chip on their shoulder. They’re confident, and not because they’re cocky – they just believe in what they do.”

And if it comes down to one big play at the end, Lake Travis is ready, thanks to those other threats this season. While the coaching staff is always happy to see lopsided scores in their team’s favor, some gutsy wins have tested their mettle.

“I think it’s good, I really do,” Carter said. “At the time, in the heat of battle, I’d probably disagree. But I think it gives our kids confidence in those situations. When the chips are down, they believe they can make the plays – because they have.”

Who to watch this week

Lake Travis: Defensive Line
The group keeps getting challenged, and it keeps rising to the occasion. With the line at full strength and making big plays each week, the biggest challenge on the biggest stage awaits.

Longview: Tyler McCray and Da’Cedric Hunt, RBs
When teams have given Lake Travis a scare, they’ve run the ball and controlled the clock. It will be up to McCray and Hunt to do the same.

Inside the numbers

Date    Opponent    Time/Score
Aug. 30    at Westwood    W, 55-31
Sept. 4    Westlake    W, 42-21
Sept. 10    at Cedar Park    W, 54-17
Sept. 18    at Boerne    W, 52-0
Sept. 25    at Killeen*    W, 56-31
Oct. 2    Hutto*    W, 57-16
Oct. 9    at Lampasas*    W, 38-7
Oct. 16    Hendrickson*    W, 58-15
Oct. 30    at Dripping Springs*    W, 52-0
Nov. 6    Marble Falls*    W, 52-7
Nov. 12    Crockett (LTISD)    W, 58-7
Nov. 21    Cibolo Steele (Alamodome)    W, 27-20
Nov. 28    C.C. Flour Bluff (Alamodome)    W, 52-13
Dec. 4    Alamo Heights (Bobcat Stadium)    W, 27-13
Dec. 12    Pearland Dawson (Kyle Field)    W, 57-12
Dec. 19    Longview (Floyd Casey Stadium)    6 p.m.
* – District 25-4A Game
LTHS Statistical Leaders

Rushing    No    YDS    TD    AVG
Andy Erickson    113    1,024    21    9.06
Michael Brewer    102    585    23    5.74

Passing    C    A    I    YDS    TD
Michael Brewer    233    328    5    3,981    39

Receiving    No.    YDS    TD    AVG
Conner Floyd    65    1,255    11    19.30
Andy Erickson    56    1,259    14    22.48
Griffin Gilbert    43    522    6    12.13
Tanner Gillette    40    732    4    18.30

Tackles    No.    TFL    SCK    HURR
Quinton Crow    176    11    5.0    3
Austin Williams    159    7    0    2
Trevor Gillette    127    15    1.0    4
Ian Lazarus    132    10    3.0    5