By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos knew it was in for a tough task and Lake Travis once again showed why it is the reigning state champion.
The Falcons didn’t help themselves with a pair of turnovers and the visitors from Austin took advantage, getting on the board early and often to build a first-half lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 42-7 victory in a Class 6A Division I regional semifinal game Saturday at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.
Los Fresnos senior quarterback Charles Chapa scored a touchdown on a 14-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons couldn’t get going on offense early as a pair of first-half interceptions stopped two potential scoring drives. Los Fresnos moved the chains throughout the game, but punted six times and turned the ball over on downs twice after failing to take advantage of a few long drives that ended in Lake Travis territory. The Cavaliers capitalized on those shortcoming, built an early lead and never looked back.
“They punish you every time you make a mistake,” Los Fresnos head coach Patrick Brown said. “And they punished us every time we did something. They got after us and we dug just a monster hole that we could never get out of. It was a tough task, but it sure was fun having them on our field.”
Chapa threw for 55 yards and ran for 62 yards and a score and junior running back Albert Banuelos had 101 yards on the ground for Los Fresnos.
For the second consecutive year the Falcons (9-4) saw their season end at the hands of the Cavaliers (11-2), who move on to the regional final again.
Brown took responsibility for the loss, but hopes his team can use this game for motivation before next season.
“The third round isn’t good enough,” he said. “We have to start setting the bar higher. That’s what we talked to our young kids about when they don’t want to do a rep in the weight room or they don’t want to get up early in the summer … they need to remember games like this. This is not acceptable, losing like this … we got our butts beat. I should have done a better job.”
Lake Travis opened the game with a quick score in the first quarter. On its opening drive, senior quarterback Matthew Baldwin capped it with a 2-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 10:15 left in the quarter.
After a Los Fresnos interception, the Cavaliers took advantage as Baldwin found junior receiver Garrett Wilson on a 27-yard strike for another score and a 14-0 edge with 6:52 left in the first.
The Falcons were forced to punt on their next series and again Lake Travis answered. Its next drive ended with a 22-yard touchdown run by Brayen Roeder and a 21-0 cushion with 3:24 left in the first.
Los Fresnos then drove deep into the Cavaliers territory, but threw an interception in the end zone that Lake Travis returned to its own 42-yard line. A few plays later, Baldwin connected with Wilson again, this time on a 10-yard pass that swelled the lead to 28-0 with 7:46 left in the second.
“We got a quick start, but they moved the ball on us,” Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said. “We got a couple turnovers or else I think that they would have put some points on the board earlier in the first half.”
The Falcons gambled on their next drive, faking a punt and trying to run for a first down. The conversion fell short and the Cavaliers took over at the Los Fresnos 15-yard line. One play later, Baldwin threw a fade to Wilson for a 15-yard score and a 35-0 lead with 3:36 left in the half. Lake Travis would take the lead into the locker room.
“When we get around the goal line, Garrett’s going to be a guy we’re going to look to because of his leaping ability and run after the catch at the same time,” Carter said. “They were able to connect a few times there and it was great … we’re going to need more of that as we go forward.”
Baldwin finished with 190 yards passing and three touchdowns — all to Wilson — who had three catches for 48 yards and both players were finished at the break. Baldwin added 13 yards and a score on the ground for the Cavaliers.
In the third quarter, senior quarterback Russell Thamm hit senior receiver Zane Berger on a 34-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown to push the lead to 42-0 with 4:40 left in the third.
Carter was happy his team played better than it did last week in a close 47-39 triumph over Judson.
“I’m very proud of our team,” he said. “Anytime you get a win in the third round of the playoffs … you’re excited about it.”
For Brown, he’s taken back-to-back teams to the third round, but wants to set instill a precedence for the program to set the bar even higher than three week-long playoff runs.
“We can’t celebrate a third-round run, we have to expect a third-round run,” he said. “Until we start beating some of these teams — and this goes for all Valley teams — they’re not going to respect us. You earn respect by taking it from people. Until we do that down here, then the third round is going to be good enough, but it’s not good enough for us and it should never be good enough for us.
“We have to outwork them in the offseason and the summer. We’ve got to outcoach them. That’s what we’ve got to get to, there’s no consolations in this game.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.