Friday Night Five: Lake Travis makes a statement, Canadian asserts its dominance, and much more

Screen Shot 2015-10-24 at 12.47.22 AMIn one of the most chaotic weather nights we’ll ever see in Texas high school football, a few important stories emerged. Lake Travis finally played someone, and they truly impressed. The Cavaliers continued their dominance over rival Westlake with a 35-14 win at Chaparral Stadium, and proved that their schedule, at least for now, is not a hindrance. Charlie Brewer notched a defining win to join the long list of successful signal-callers to wear black and red, but the victory came at what appears to be a hefty price. Running back Abe Willows (right), the engine behind the team’s offense for much of the season, left the game with a significant injury that appears to threaten the rest of his season. Cibolo Steele maintained its control over Converse Judson. It was the kind of slugfest both teams are used to playing when they clash with the other behemoths in their weight class, and the Knights walked away with the 20-13 win. Inconsistency has plagued Judson against better teams in the past few seasons, and a few mistakes didn’t help the cause in this one, but the result has to be as encouraging as a loss can be for the Rockets. We’ve wondered for weeks if perhaps Steele is the best team in 6A, and that inclination only makes Judson look better. Expect both teams to wreck shop in the playoffs. Vandegrift and Crosby survived scares from two teams to watch. New Caney got most of the attention Friday night for pushing Crosby to overtime before ultimately falling 42-35. Crosby survived, remained unbeaten, and still looks like a favorite in 5A. New Caney showed it can hang with the best teams in the conference, and served notice to any future playoff foes. But it was a game down in Central Texas that caught our eyes late in the evening. With just a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Dripping Springs was leading Vandegrift 45-44. The Vipers found a way to escape with a 50-45 victory, but their defensive issues still appear to be just as problematic as they were at this point last year (and deep into the playoffs). Meanwhile, the Tigers have perhaps emerged as the team that might carve out that fourth-place spot in the extremely competitive 25-5A district. With games against Georgetown and Leander ahead of them (and their toughest games behind them), they control their fate. Canadian is really, really good.  A 31-6 win over district rival Stratford confirmed what we already knew: The Wildcats are the favorite in 2A DI and just might be the best pound-for-pound team in the state. The Air Canada offense gets all the accolades, but the defense has been especially salty this year, allowing just 5.75 points per game. Here comes Waxahachie again. Jordan Kitna’s second game back from injury was just further proof that with him at the helm, Waxahachie is an extremely dangerous team for any squad that crosses its path. The Indians blew past a good Arlington Sequin team 57-20, and with two games left in district play, could stun a team above them in 14-5A. Waxahachie plays Red Oak next week, a game it should win, and then takes on Lancaster in what now looks like a high stakes showdown. The team above Waxahachie, Mansfield Legacy, still has Lake Ridge and Timberview on its schedule. Stay tuned to this district finish.