Badgers' full back Brode DuBose plows his way through the Lake Travis defensive line.

For the second week in a row, the Badgers were poised to pull off an upset.

In the district-opener at Hendrickson last week, the Badgers let a five-point lead with under a minute left in the first half balloon into a 12-point advantage when the Hawks capitalized on a Badger defensive error.

Lampasas lost the game 55-23 as things spiraled out of hand down the stretch.

On Friday, against the No. 1 Class 4A team in the state, it was a similar situation as the Badgers could not punctuate on an impressive drive at the tail end of the opening half before falling 38- 7.

Despite the disappointing loss to the back-to-back defending state champions, Lampasas head coach Joey McQueen was thrilled with his team's effort after becoming the first team this season to hold the high-flying Cavaliers under 40 points.

"I was proud of the kids. Our defense played outstanding," the coach said.

The Badgers were trailing by 10 points, 17-7, in the second quarter before they put together a long drive that lasted nearly the entire period.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Edward Hall attempts to pull away from a Cavaliers defender.

Beginning at the 12-yard line, Lampasas ate eight minutes off the clock with a 16-play drive that included an unconventional first down when the Badgers' Gabe Terrell recovered a blocked Lampasas punt.

Then, after advancing the ball to the Lake Travis 25-yard line, Badgers' full back Brode DuBose coughed up the ball, which gave the Cavaliers control with 1:26 left in the half.

Had Lampasas worked its way into the end zone, the score would have been cut to 17-14, and the Badgers would have received the kickoff to begin the second half.

"It was a big thing, but you've got to understand that those things are going to [occur]," McQueen said. "We just didn't make it happen."

Unlike last week, however, the Badgers did not let the late mistake turn into points for the opponent.

Two plays later, outside linebacker Jeffrey Arevelo blew up Lake Travis receiver Conner Floyd along the right sideline, causing a fumble that was quickly covered up by a Badger.

Defensive back Aaron Reyna tackles receiver Griffin Gilbert.

The turnover gave Lampasas' offense 58 seconds to work with, but the Badgers could not put points on the board before the buzzer.

"Our kids played hard. That [hit] was awesome," McQueen said. "We had some chances for two interceptions in the first half, and then we knocked the ball down some.

"[Defensive coordinator Jimmy] Randolph did a great job of scheming these guys, and we might make a million dollars off this tape [because] people will want to buy it."

Coming into the contest, Lake Travis was averaging 557.5 yards, led by junior quarterback Michael Brewer's district-best 327.2 passing yards per game. He has thrown only one interception to 19 touchdowns. The Cavaliers also owned the district's most potent scoring offense with an average of 52.2 points per game.

Against Lampasas, Lake Travis was held below its normal output with 491 total yards.

Brewer still managed to do his damage with 345 yards on 22-of- 30 passing.

Senior tail back Edward Hall was the Badgers' top producer, gaining 121 yards on 14 carries and the home team's lone score.

After Lake Travis (7-0, 3-0 District 25-4A) went up 7-0 on its first drive, Hall broke free for a 67-yard scamper down the left sideline to tie the contest with 7:02 left in the first quarter.

"Edward did a great job tonight," McQueen said. "He's the secondleading rusher in the district, and he's a good running back."

The Badgers (1-5, 0-2) allowed Lake Travis to march down the field on its next possession but held their ground on a third-and-20, forcing the Cavaliers to settle for a field goal.

Lampasas went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and Lake Travis went up by 10 points off Brewer's five-yard touchdown run with 10:13 left in the first half.

DuBose fumbled just outside the red zone on the Badgers' next drive.

Following the halftime break, the Badgers could not get past midfield and were forced to punt. Lake Travis needed just 1:37 to turn the punt into points, as Andy Erickson scored his second of three touchdowns to push the Cavs' lead to 24-7.

Lampasas' only other scoring opportunity came on the next drive when it took the ball to the Lake Travis 20-yard line, but on fourthand five the Badgers could not convert the first down.

"We figured we'd go for it," McQueen said of his decision to forgo the field goal opportunity.

The Cavs scored off the turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter and posted one more touchdown with 7:41 left in the game.

Lampasas played without starting quarterback Colton Perkins for most of the game. Vann Millican started for the Badgers because Perkins missed a couple of practices early in the week due to illness, and then Millican continued to manage the offense after Perkins hurt his ankle.

Despite not having lined up under center in game action for over three weeks, Millican had a good performance, McQueen said..

"Vann did a great job. I was really proud of him," the coach said.

The Badgers were also without strong guard Rafael Cazares, who was scratched from the lineup shortly before kickoff and, in the fourth quarter, DuBose suffered a knee injury that leaves him in question for next week's contest at Dripping Springs.

"These next four games, we think we can beat them, and we're going to work our butts off to beat them," McQueen said. "We at least have to win three of the next four [to have an opportunity to make the playoffs]."

***

Both subvaristy teams also fell to Lake Travis. The junior varsity (5- 1, 1-1) lost its first game of the season as the Cavs ran away with a 57-22 victory at home.

The freshmen (1-5, 0-2) almost pulled out a victory, losing 27-23 at Badger Stadium.

Game Stats

Score By Quarters

Lampasas 7 0 0 0 — 7
Lake Travis 10 7 7 14 — 38

Scoring Summary

First Quarter LTHS — Andy Erickson five-yard run (Kramer Fyfe kick)

LHS — Edward Hall 67-yard run (Colton Perkins kick) LTHS — Fyfe 27-yard field goal Second Quarter LTHS — Michael Brewer five-yard run (Fyfe kick) Third Quarter LTHS — Erickson 13-yard run (Fyfe kick) Fourth Quarter LTHS — Erickson 22-yard run (Fyfe kick)

LTHS — Brewer eight-yard pass to Conner Floyd (Fyfe kick)

Team Stats

	LHS	LTHS
First Downs	10	23
Rushing Yards	245	140
Passing Yards	12	351
Total Yards	257	491
C-A-I	1-2-1	23-31-0
Fumbles-Lost	3-1	1-1
Punts	4	0
Penalties-Yards	3-15	8-75

 

Individual Stats

Rushing — LHS: Hall 14-121, Brode DuBose 18-70, Aaron Reyna 6-20, Vann Millican 3-16, Tanner Mobley 3- 13, Josh Woods 1-3, Colton Perkins 1- 1, Ronnie Branch 1-1. LTHS: Erickson 10-82, Brewer 8-36, Michael Pojman 2- 14, Turney Maurer 1-32, Tommy Voos 1- -5.

Passing — LHS: Millican 1-2-1-12. LTHS: Brewer 22-30-0-345, Voos 1-1- 0-6.

Receiving — LHS: Hall 1-12. LTHS: Floyd 8-139, Griffin Gilbert 5-74, Tanner Gillette 3-61, Erickson 4-47, Pojman 2-24, Cole Purswell 1-6.
Missed field goals — NONE.