Austin Westlake football coach Darren Allman told his team that he wanted to have a four-touchdown cushion heading into the fourth quarter Friday night against Judson.
The Chaparrals didn’t miss by much en route to a 43-17 dismantling of the Rockets in a Class 5A Division I second-round playoff game at Rutledge Stadium.
By the end of the third quarter, Westlake had scored five TDs and led 37-3. Really, this one was over by halftime.
Judson played hard, as it always does, but the Rockets were no match for the Chaps.
Even after they cut Westlake’s lead to 7-3 on Donato San Filippo’s 27-yard field goal with 3:40 left in the first period, the Rockets looked like a team that would struggle just to stay close.
The Chaps led 13-3 after one quarter and 20-3 at halftime. Then they went on a 17-0 tear in the third period to make it a runaway.
“It went extremely well,” Allman said in an understatement. “We can play a lot better. We’ve still got a lot of room to grow.”
Westlake (10-2) plays Harlingen (12-0) in the Division I regional semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome.
Judson, held to its lowest point total since a 28-13 loss to Smithson Valley in the first week of September, finished 9-3.
Friday night’s game wasn’t much different than the last Chaps-Judson playoff clash in 2000, when Westlake won 35-6. The bidistrict game turned out to be the last for former Judson coach D.W. Rutledge, who watched Friday night’s game from the press box.
“When you play a team like that, you can’t make mistakes and you have to force them to make mistakes,” Rockets head coach Jim Rackley said. “You have to score when you have the opportunity. We didn’t do that.
“Considering we have such a young outfit, I’m proud of the way we grew throughout the season. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when you lose like this, but we need to look at what we did the whole season.”
Judson drove to the Westlake 8 on its second possession, but had to settle for a field goal when sophomore Quaylon Jones was thrown for a two-yard loss on third-and-6.
“That was a big stop for us,” Allman said. “We felt that if we could quiet the crowd and get their players to play with less enthusiasm, we could do well.”
The Chaps did that – and then some.
Westlake outgained the Rockets 435-167 in total offensive yardage, finishing with 247 yards passing and 188 rushing.
Senior quarterback Tanner Price, who has committed to Wake Forest, completed 11 of 16 passes for 216 yards and two TDs. He also had 73 yards rushing on nine carries.
“He’s a great leader and an outstanding player,” Allman said.
Running back Van Gramann, who caught a 10-yard TD pass from Price, scored on runs of 3 and 1 yards for the Chaps.
Jones led the Rockets with 73 yards on 10 carries, but he had only 12 yards before he scored on a 61-yard run with 11:15 left. The carry turned out to be the last for Jones, who pulled a groin on the TD.
Judson starting quarterback Cody Boswell didn’t play in the second half after suffering a rib injury. He was replaced by junior Tristan Hernandez, who threw a 16-yard TD pass to Jordan Montgomery with 2:19 remaining.
Allman was head coach at Odessa Permian, where he played in the mid-1980s, for four seasons before succeeding Derek Long at Westlake this year.
“It’s a special feeling to come here and play Judson,” Allman said. “I was in the ninth grade when I watched them beat Midland Lee for the state championship in 1983.”
Allman, 40, said he was in the stands at Texas Stadium in 1995 when the Rockets beat Permian for the 5A Division I state title.
“I have a lot of respect for what Coach Rutledge and all the others have done here,” Allman said.
