Next opponent, Miller, averages 58 points per game
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Receiver Carter Johnson stays in bounds on a reception as he is hit by a Uvalde Coyote. JEFF LOWE | DISPATCH RECOR -
Badger linebacker Keagan Richardson (25) helps cause a fumble that Josh Carter returned for his first varsity touchdown on Thursday. The Badgers earned their third consecutive bi-district title. JEFF LOWE | DISPATCH RECORD
In a 61-14 bi-district win over Uvalde, the Badgers showed exactly the type of firepower they will need this week to beat a much stronger Corpus Christi Miller (7-4).
Lampasas (9-0) scored 35 points in a seven-minute span in the second quarter to turn a one-touchdown, firstquarter lead into a complete blowout on Thursday against Uvalde. The Coyotes ended the season at 2-9.
In the second round of the playoffs, Saturday at 8 p.m. in San Antonio, the Badgers will face the Corpus Christi Miller Buccanneers. The game site is Dub Farris Athletic Complex, 8400 North Loop 1604 West.
Miller is coming off a 70-7 victory over La Feria. The Buccaneers’ last regularseason game was an 86-76 shootout against the struggling Beeville Jones Trojans.
Offense is clearly the Buccaneers’ strength, while their defense allows more than twice the points per game that Lampasas has.
On Thursday in Fredericksburg, Badger senior Cade White scored a touchdown on the opening kickoff. That was a good indication of how the night would go for the Coyotes.
Ace Whitehead tied his career-best pass completion rate, going 14 of 15 with three touchdowns.
Carter Johnson and Josh Carter scored their first touchdowns of the year, and Joseph Whitehead made a field goal.
Uvalde had just 18 yards rushing in the game – the lowest ever by an opponent in LHS Defensive Coordinator Sam Waldrip’s roughly 20- year coaching career.
Uvalde managed to sneak into the playoffs with one district win against Somerset, to finish fourth in a five-team district.
“Starting and finishing is one thing Coach Rogers always talks to us about,” White said. “You start something good, finish something good…good outcomes.”
After White’s kickoff return and Ace Whitehead’s extra point put Lampasas ahead 7-0, Uvalde answered with a sustained scoring drive.
Coyote receiver Estevan Ortiz hauled in a catch in close coverage near the back of the end zone, and the PAT tied the game.
A botched onside kick attempt then gave the Badgers a short field to work with, and Whitehead found Mike Murray for a touchdown with about four minutes left in the first quarter.
Murray later left the game with an injury. He was hit near the sideline and was able to walk off with assistance.
LHS head coach Troy Rogers did not comment on Murray’s injury, or on tight end Lane Haviland, who sat out Thursday’s game after being injured the week before.
White intercepted a Coyote pass late in the first quarter, and the period ended with Lampasas ahead 14-7 and in possession of the ball.
Then the floodgates opened for the Badger offense.
Eight seconds into the second quarter, Johnson -- a sophomore -- earned the first touchdown of his varsity career.
Jack Jerome had two rushing touchdowns in the game, less than three minutes apart.
Anthony Harris and Caleb Brady each recorded a sack in the second quarter.
Ethan Moreno had some tough runs, bouncing off tacklers, to set up Jerome’s second score. Then Moreno had a touchdown of his own on a Whitehead pass.
Carter recovered a fumble deep in Coyote territory and ran into the end zone untouched. The following PAT gave Lampasas a 49-7 lead late in the second quarter.
The second quarter was the clear turning point in the game, but White said, “We didn’t really make too much adjustments [then]. We just had to keep playing our football...The guys love playing ball. Anytime someone gets their hands on the ball they’re gonna make plays with it.”
Twenty-five of the Badgers’ points came either on defense or special teams.
“Every aspect of the game, you have to win,” Carter said. “No matter special teams, offense, defense, you have to win it all. We were trying to do as much as we can and play fast, physical, fearless no matter what, and we finished this game strong.”
After halftime, Peyton Underwood took over at quarterback for Lampasas. On fourth down, he ran into the end zone for the Badgers’ eighth touchdown of the night. Joseph Whitehead tacked on the PAT.
On the Coyotes’ first play after receiving the kick, they fumbled again. Keagan Richardson recovered the ball, and the third quarter ended with Lampasas ahead 56-7.
Joseph Whitehead made a field goal about a minute into the fourth quarter.
The Coyotes then started a drive inside their own fiveyard line. Dax Brookreson and Ian McKinney made tackles near the goal line, forcing a Uvalde punt from the shadow of the goalpost. Case Brister blocked the punt, and the ball went out the back of the end zone for a Badger safety.
Landon Dibattiste had several carries late in the game, and Dylan Sanchez also saw time at quarterback for Lampasas.
The Coyotes added one last passing touchdown with a little under 4:00 to play in the game.
Also, Ace Whitehead had a season-long 60-yard punt.
“I thought the guys did a good job executing,” Rogers said. “It was kind of the same song, different week in the sense that we were getting a whole lot of different things thrown at us. Their defense was throwing a lot of different things at us. I thought our guys did a good job of blocking it up, and we executed well.”