News and notes:

■ If you were surprised by how close the game was on Friday night, you’re not alone.
“This happens at every level,” Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter said. “Last week was a trap game. We gave the kids every reason to believe that, but no matter how much we told them, they probably only remembered the Hendrickson team that hasn’t played well against us the last two years. Then we showed them the film of Hendrickson against Vista Ridge, and Hendrickson didn’t play well. They just didn’t. The kids didn’t say this, but it’s human nature, and I think we probably didn’t have our eye on the target enough. They have great talent, great coaches and a lot of pride over at Hendrickson and they were really prepared for us. I just think we had our eye on Aledo a little too much.”

■ Hendrickson running back Kenny Williams is a force, but only ran for 41 yards against Vista Ridge. The guess here isn’t that the Rangers are powerhouses. It’s more likely Williams just took a game to get back in the groove. He’ll keep it up from here.

■ If you noticed a red splotch that seemed out of place on Tanner Gillette’s jersey during the game, don’t worry, it wasn’t blood. It’s a piece of injured teammate Conner Floyd’s jersey. Gillette wore it to honor his fallen friend when he took the field.

■ One subvarsity result was submitted this week: The Freshman Red team traveled Thursday to play the Giddings Buffalos. The Cavaliers lost 44-0. The Cavaliers played with great effort and never gave up. Offensively, they ran the ball well with Derrick Ngo, William Bauer, Conner Mayes and Will Von Doersten all contributing. Defensive standouts were Nikko Van Crey and Mayes. Van Crey also did a good job returning kicks.

■ Kerrville Tivy may be just as tough as Aledo. Last week, Oregon commit and Antler quarterback Johnny Manziel put on a show in a 39-34 win over San Antonio Madison. Manziel completed a staggering 41 of 75 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 78 yards and a score. In other words, things won’t get any easier for Lake Travis after tomorrow night’s game.