Alamo Heights football coach Don Byrd spent hours watching film of Austin Lake Travis this weekend, and saw the Cavaliers live when they played Corpus Christi Flour Bluff on Saturday at the Alamodome.
It didn't take Byrd long to conclude that the Cavs' cool, machine-like efficiency leaves their opponents a razor-thin margin for error.
While a near-perfect game may not be necessary to beat Lake Travis, the odds for success against the Cavs drop dramatically with every mistake.
There are a number of reasons why Lake Travis has won 43 consecutive games and two straight Class 4A titles. But in the end, it comes down to what Byrd put so succinctly Sunday night.
“They always have that guy who makes a play for them at a critical time,” Byrd said. “That’s why they’re so tough to beat.”
Alamo Heights (10-3) gets the next crack at stopping Lake Travis (13-0) when it meets the Cavs in the 4A Division I state quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos.
“They’re an outstanding team with very sound schemes,” Byrd said. “They have a great offense and defense, but the kicking game may be the best of the three. They just don’t make a lot of mistakes, and that 43-game winning streak pretty much shows that.
“We’re just scheming to give our kids a chance to stay with them. One thing we don’t want to do is beat ourselves. Our kids are excited about this challenge. It's been exciting to see how the guys have played some stiff competition all season."
Alamo Heights is among seven San Antonio-area teams playing in the state quarterfinals this week. One other, Comfort, is playing in the state semifinals.
Clark (13-0) meets Austin Westlake (11-2) in the 5A Division I state quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at Heroes Stadium, and Brandeis (12-1) takes on New Braunfels (10-3) in the 5A Division II state quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos.
Kerrville Tivy (8-4) faces Port Lavaca Calhoun (10-3) in a 4A Division II state quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Heroes Stadium.
Comfort (8-5) plays Kirbyville (11-2) in the 2A Division I state semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, and Blanco (12-1) squares off against Refugio (13-0) in the 2A Division II state quarterfnals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Victoria Memorial Stadium.
In a Class A Division II state quarterfinal, Falls City (13-0) plays Ganado (8-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday at New Braunfels Canyon.
Alamo Heights, which won the 4A Division I state crown in 2006, beat Gregory-Portland 28-14 Friday night. Lake Travis advanced with a 52-13 rout of Flour Bluff.
The victory over the Hornets was in sharp contrast to Lake Travis’ game the previous week when the Cavs prevailed 27-20, throwing Steele running back Malcolm Brown for a one-yard loss on a fourth-and-goal at the 3 with 12 seconds left.
Steele turned back a two-point conversion with 38 seconds remaining to beat Alamo Heights 34-33 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Knights and Mules shared the District 27-4A championship because they each had one league loss, but Steele advanced to the Division I playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
Byrd cited Lake Travis cornerback Omar Duke-Tinson and safety Connor Nelson for the big plays they have made defensively the past two weeks.
“Lake Travis was only ahead 14-7 before the half when Flour Bluff threw a screen pass that looked like it would go a long way because their running back had four blockers ahead of him,” Byrd said. “Then No. 18 (Duke-Tinson) got in there and made a big play to stop it.”
Nelson made a play against Steele that pretty much turned the game.
With the Knights ahead 12-0 in the second quarter, Brown broke loose on a 74-yard run down the right sideline before Nelson stripped him of the ball inside the Cavs’ 20. Cornerback Taylor Wrinkle recovered at the 17, and Lake Travis scored seven plays later.
Steele was never quite the same after that.
Byrd said Nelson also had a big tackle to stop Brown from possibly scoring on another long run.
“That’s what I mean about Lake Travis having guys who make those extra little plays,” Byrd said.
It says here the Mules have what it takes to stay with the Cavs. Steele should have beaten Lake Travis, but made a few too many mistakes at critical times.
On the other hand, the Cavs made big plays when they needed them most.
That’s what champions do.
No high school football at dome for two weeks: With a women’s basketball game and a company Christmas party booked at the Alamodome for the next two weekends, there won’t be any high school football at the facility until the Class 5A Division I and II state finals on Dec. 19.
The UTSA-Houston women’s basketball game on Monday, Dec. 7, was scheduled to be played at the Alamodome as part of the city’s preparation for the 2010 Women’s Final Four.
The NCAA Women’s Final Four will be played at the Alamodome next April 4-6.
“The NCAA mandates that there be one game at the site of the tournament during the season so they can see if we have our i’s dotted and t’s crossed,” said Jim Mery, the city’s director of convention and sports facilities. “We had to get that game in and this weekend was the only time we could schedule it.”
Although the UTSA-Houston game doesn’t tip off until noon on Dec. 7, Mery said workers wouldn’t have enough time to reconfigure the Alamodome floor if there were high school games played there Saturday.
There won’t be any high school games at the Alamodome on the weekend of Dec. 11-12 because USAA is having its Christmas party there, Mery said.
