-
Peyton Underwood (4), Aden Rascoe (27) and Ethan Moreno (21) make a tackle in the last regularseason game on Friday at Badger Field. JEFF LOWE | DISPATCH RECORD -
Quarterback Ace Whitehead (2) dumps a Gatorade cooler on head coach Troy Rogers (back-center of photo. Also pictured is Offensive Coordinator Heath Naragon (facing away from camera). JEFF LOWE | DISPATCH RECORD
The Badgers’ best regularseason showing in almost a century ended with a 56-20 win over Fredericksburg and a second straight district title.
Lampasas (5-0 in district, 8-0 overall) will advance to the bi-district playoffs to face Uvalde (2-8, 1-3) on Thursday in Fredericksburg at 7 p.m.
Uvalde claimed the fourth spot in a five-team district and ended an eight-game losing streak with a 32-27 win over Somerset (2-7) on Friday.
[Badger records from all past seasons had not been verified at press time, but in addition to local accounts of an undefeated 1925 team, the late Dispatch Record sportswriter Tom Rice and former sportswriter Terry Schaub also showed the Badgers went 11-1 in 1930. It was unclear if the one loss to Taylor occurred in the regular season or postseason].
According to MaxPreps, Lampasas is one of only four teams in 4A Div. I to have won every game so far this year. The others are Argyle (10-0), Wheatley (6-0) and Clint (5-0). Kennedale has no losses, but one tie at 9-0-1.
In the last home game of his four-year varsity career, quarterback Ace Whitehead scored five touchdowns.
He threw three touchdown passes to Mike Murray and reached the end zone twice on the ground. All of those came after Jack Jerome’s two rushing touchdowns.
Case Brister returned a kick for a touchdown, topped 100 total tackles this season, and he has more than 300 tackles over the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined.
The Badgers’ district championships in 2019 and 2020 are their first back-to-back titles in about 30 years. Under the late coach Rod Hudson and Ken Wiginton, the Badgers had five outright district titles in a row in the mid-to late 1980s.
District titles are only part of the Badgers’ broader goal of year-in-year-out success.
“From the very beginning, the first year we got here, it was about, there needs to be some longevity,” LHS head coach Troy Rogers said. “There needs to be some consistency. There needs to be a common voice, and you can see it growing through the program.”
Dominant seasons like this year’s and last have a tendency to breed more success. Rogers also mentioned the Building Badgers Youth League and Lampasas Middle School program as strong points to build on in the future.
“Coach [Paul] Weinheimer and all the BBYL coaches do a great job, and for the most part they’re using our terminology,” Rogers said. “And they run the same stuff at the middle school and coach [Cullen] Stifflemire, those guys, they had a really good overall record … it just carries throughout the program.”
Rogers said his team came ready to play Friday, shown especially by the fewer penalties and mental mistakes than in the week before at Canyon Lake.
All of Fredericksburg’s touchdowns came in the last quarter.
The Badgers forced three turnovers, helping to hold the Billies scoreless through three quarters. Lampasas had a 42-0 lead before Fredericksburg ever got on the board.
Whitehead said his last home game was bittersweet.
“From the beginning I knew it was gonna happen, and I’ve just been really blessed to have been able to play on this field with a lot of great guys. Getting a big ‘W’, that helps a little bit.”
Jerome’s big runs opened up the passing game. Mike Murray seems to be peaking at just the right time, with his second week in a row of over 150 yards receiving and multiple touchdowns.
“We like to run the ball; we like to throw the ball,” Whitehead said. “We’re 50/50, so some nights the run’s a little bit better. Some nights the pass is better, and tonight they were both pretty good.”
Although the Badgers executed better against Fredericksburg, Whitehead said the close win at Canyon Lake may be more of a defining point in the season.
“We did a lot of things wrong … but we still won the game, and I think that kind of shows our character, and I think that’s gonna help us a lot down the road,” he said.
The Uvalde Coyotes average 22.7 points per game offensively, while giving up 34.6 per game.
Despite their 2-8 record, they had very close losses to a 7-3 Ingleside team and a one-point loss to the Devine Warhorses (8-2).
Lampasas averages 48.6 points per game offensively and 16.2 allowed on defense per game.
The winner will face either Corpus Christi Miller (6-4) or La Feria (3-1).
Miller is in a district with third-ranked Port Lavaca Calhoun and fourth-ranked Corpus Christi Calallen.
The Badgers were ranked No. 2, behind Argyle, in last week’s Dave Campbell Texas Football rankings.