No. 9 Vandegrift Rolls in Second Half vs Elgin

The ninth-ranked Vipers rode their prolific offense to a 55-30 win over Elgin to open their season Friday night.

Led by seniors Travis Brannan and Paxton Segina, the Vipers demonstrated their ability to drive down the field and score before the opposing defense had a chance to catch its collective breath.

In the first half, the game looked like it had potential to be an exciting back-and-forth affair. The Vipers scored first on a 67-yard dash by Segina to take a 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats responded with a touchdown of their own aided by a defensive holding and roughing the passer penalties that kept their drive alive.

Vandegrift then responded with a touchdown by Travis Brannan but botched the extra-point snap to make the score 13-7.

On the ensuing drive, the Wildcats responded with a touchdown of their own and took a 14-13 lead. 

After the Vipers retook the lead on another score by Brannan, the Wildcats responded with a methodical drive that culminated in a touchdown and two-point conversion to take a 22-20 lead with 21 seconds left.

At that point, it looked like the Wildcats might have had a chance at an upset.

However, Vipers' QB Alex Fernandes found a wide-open receiver over the middle who ran the ball in for a touchdown just before halftime.

In the second half, the Vipers offense began firing on all cylinders while the wheels fell off for Elgin. 

The Wildcats simply had no answer on defense for the blazing speed and fast tempo of the Vipers' offense.

In addition, penalties and lack of execution plagued the Wildcats allowing Vandegrift to blow the game open.

While the Vipers did put on an impressive display, especially in the second half, they still have plenty of work to do to be competitive in their loaded district.

In addition to committing numerous penalties, the Vipers struggled to contain the Elgin rushing attack, especially in the first half.

Next week, the Vipers travel to Abilene Cooper while the Wildcats return home to face rival Bastrop.

Central Texas High School Football Tour

This week marks the return of high school football to Texas. As a football junkie, I love spending Fall Friday evenings going to high schools to watch the incredible talent displayed on the field each week. For this year, I plan to attend a game in the Austin/San Antonio area each week and use this blog as a forum to discuss that game and Texas high school football in general. A key piece of this blog's success will be your contributions. If you have scores, comments, photos, videos, or articles relevant to high school football in Central Texas, please post them. *Note: As author of this blog, I reserve the right to remove or block content that I deem inappropriate and/or irrelevant. That being said, the first stop on my tour will be at Vandegrift High School on Friday evening for their showdown with Elgin. If last season is any indication, this game has potential to be a good one. Vandegrift enters the game ranked No. 9 in the AP Texas High School Football Preseason Poll coming off a 12-3 season last year making it all the way to the 5A D1 semifinals before losing to eventual runner-up Temple. Replicating last season's success will not be easy as the Vipers will compete in a loaded District 25-5A which includes fellow Leander ISD rivals and perennial powerhouses Cedar Park (5A D2 runner-up) and Vista Ridge. The Vipers play Cedar Park on October 16 in what could be an instant classic. In addition, the Vipers' non-district schedule includes road trips to Abilene Cooper and Killeen. Elgin, meanwhile, is coming off a 7-5 finish that saw them advance one round into the 5A D2 playoffs before losing a close one to Brenham. Like Vandegrift, Elgin will be competing in a loaded District 17-5A which includes perennial powerhouses Hutto and Temple. Fortunately for the Wildcats, they get to face Hutto, Temple, and local rivals Manor at home.