Lake Travis makes it four!

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Lake Travis created a club of its own in Texas high school football history Saturday at Cowboys Stadium.

The seventh-ranked Cavaliers (14-2) topped No. 2 Denton Ryan (15-1) 27-7, becoming the first team in state history to win four straight state titles at the 4A level or higher.

In front of 20,487 fans with time winding down, Lake Travis found itself in a familiar scenario – a victory formation with a healthy lead.

“It’s the greatest formation in football,” Lake Travis quarterback and game offensive MVP Michael Brewer said. “That’s what the coaches always tell us and there’s nothing sweeter.”

The start wasn’t so sweet, as Lake Travis fumbled the opening kickoff away. It seemed like a killer at the time, but it proved a mere speed bump for a defense that absolutely smothered the Raiders.

The Ryan offense sputtered and committed three penalties on its opening drive, and a punt later, Lake Travis was starting at its own 26-yard line.

Colin Lagasse ran for 17 yards on the Cavaliers’ opening play. Then Brewer found him through the air for six yards. Just four plays later, Brewer was streaking up a seam on the near sideline, and dove across the goal line. He was hit in midair, flew end-over-end spectacularly and then celebrated with teammates.  After a Stephen Pyle extra point, Lake Travis quickly had a 7-0 lead on a team that came into the state championship averaging just 12.1 points allowed per contest.

And it only got better from there for Lake Travis. Ryan went three-and-out on its next three possessions, and while the Cavaliers stumbled on their next two possessions, they made the most of the third. Pinned at their own 10-yard line, they started marching.

Brewer was sacked to open the drive, but followed it with a run for seven yards and then found Lagasse for a 43-yard first down completion. Seven plays later, Brewer ran into the end zone from five yards out to double the lead. It would be all the Cavaliers would need.

For good measure, Pyle nailed a 43-yard field goal with 45 seconds left in the first half to give Lake Travis a 17-0 halftime lead. Meanwhile, Ryan had failed to net even a first down on offense, and had just 22 total offensive yards.

“I was a little worried until pre-game when [Denton Ryan] started barking at us on the field, and that woke us up,” Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter said. “I think we responded from that moment on.“

The Raiders found a way to make it interesting to open the second half, though.

Facing fourth-and-one at the Ryan 28-yard line, Raider head coach Joey Florence opted to roll the dice and go for it. Running back Kaylon Alexander was bottled up on the play for what appeared to be a short run for a first down, but then burst out of the crowd and sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown.

Immediately after, now down 17-7, Ryan executed a surprise onside kick perfectly, recovering the ball at the Lake Travis 37-yard line. With momentum on their side, the Raiders pushed to the Lake Travis 18-yard line, but on third-and-four, Alexander fumbled the direct snap and fell on top of it. Then on fourth-and-nine, kicker Colton Gutierrez missed a 41-yard field goal wide left.

Lake Travis responded by going 73 yards on 11 plays, and Pyle again nailed a field goal – this time from 30 yards – to put Lake Travis up 20-7.

The Cavalier defense kept Ryan at bay, forcing another punt, and that gave Lake Travis a chance to ice the game on offense.

The opportunity wasn’t wasted, as Lake Travis again marched down the field, going 59 yards on eight plays, which were capped by Lagasse forcing his way in to the end zone for a 27-7 lead with just over seven minutes left in the game.

The celebration started shortly after.

“I don’t think you could ask for anything more,” Brewer said. “For us to be right here with another state championship, after all the adversity we’ve had to come through, it’s awesome. It seemed like every single week a new player would step up. We’ve been a big family that relies on each other. I’ll never forget any of this.”

Linebacker Austin Williams was named the defensive MVP of the game after leading the Cavaliers with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss.

Brewer finished the game with 14 completions on 22 attempts for 211 yards and ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Griffin Gilbert led the receivers with four catches for 88 yards, while Lagasse had four for 69 yards and ran the ball seven times for 42 yards.

Lake Travis scored more points than Ryan has allowed each game this season, and held the Raiders to a season low in points scored.

“That’s what it’s all about, it really is,” Carter said. “You’ve got to start playing your best football this time of year. We peaked at the right time, and the kids were great. We weren’t doing anything different than we were in the regular season, we just started executing better. It’s a tribute to the kids and their hard work.”

The Lake Travis defense allowed just six total Ryan first downs, and 210 yards.

The Cavaliers join Celina and Sealy as the only 11-man programs to win four straight state titles in Texas.

Lake Travis is 61-3 over the last four seasons, with the only losses coming in the regular season to Westlake, Aledo and Cedar Park. The Cavaliers have also won 24 straight playoff games (second all-time behind Celina’s 25), and are 26-4 all-time in the playoffs.