'Lights out' North Shore defense stands up Austin Westlake, books Texas high school football title return trip
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS - The North Shore defense was up to the test against Austin power Westlake in a nationally ranked Texas high school football playoff showdown on Saturday.
The Mustangs (15-0) forced three second half Chaparral turnovers and escaped Pflugerville with a 23-14 win to secure their spot in the UIL Class 6A Division I state championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington next Saturday.
The Westlake (14-1) offense was held to 115 total yards of offense — 20 in the first half.
"A lot of preparation goes into getting ready to play good teams this late," said North Shore head coach Willie Gaston. "At the end of the day, I told our guys, I do not care what the scoreboard looks like as long as we get the 'W' that is all that matters."
The game played like a heavyweight fight in the early-goings as each offense struggled to sustain any offensive momentum. Both punted twice in the first half.
The game turned into a chess match, with two more-than-capable offenses stymied.
"Everybody wants to see a lot of points scored," Gaston said. "At the end of the day, at this time of the year our job is to play complimentary football."
Westlake was able to crack the scoring column open first late in the first quarter when sophomore quarterback Rees Wise' ran in a nine-yard keeper. The Chaps capitalized on a bad Mustangs' snap on a punt tackling the North Shore punter deep in their own territory.
"The same thing happened last week, we started out slow on the offensive side of the ball and we knew we had to come out on the defensive side creating our own energy," North Shore's Devin Sanchez, the nation's No. 1 rated corner, said. "We are a good second half team all season. We just came out and dominated and it was lights out from there."
Trailing 7-0, the Mustangs' offense found its groove, answering the with a nearly-seven minute drive that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Kaleb Bailey.
North Shore put together another long, productive drive in the second quarter that put the Mustangs ahead 14-7 as junior running back D'Andre Hardeman Jr found the endzone from nine yards out.
The Mustangs had a late scoring threat as the first half clock was expiring on a 41 yard field goal attempt junior kicker Jonathan Soto. However, Westlake was able block the kick to keep 1 14-7 deficit at the break.
Bottled up for much of the first half, the Chaps' senior running back Jack Kayser returned the opening second half kick off 30 yards to midfield. On the next play, Kayser, an Army commit, burst through the Mustang defense for a 45-yard TD to notch the score at 14 apiece.
The Mustangs answered with a Soto 26-yard field goal to give North Shore the lead for good — a tough blow for a Westlake team looking to swing momentum.
"I though our offensive line played so well today, they responded to our challenge this week opening up lanes and holes for Hardeman and Bailey," Gaston said.
Hardeman, a junior, finished the afternoon with 101 yards rushing and the one score. Bailey rushed for 69 yards.
Bailey also led the offense with by completing 75 percent of his passes for 113 yards.
North Shore forced three interceptions against Westlake int he second half as the Mustangs defense continued to wreak havoc on the Chaps' young quarterback.
"Our defense always comes through when we need it," senior Chris Barnes said. "Even when the offense is having a bad game, the defense still pulls through. We just have to put up points when they are getting stops on the other side of the ball."
Senior linebacker Jarvon Coles came up with two interceptions, one of which came on a pass deflected into the air by Sanchez late in the game to clinch the victory.
"At the end of they day that is what you want, you want to to see your best playmakers making plays and they did that," Gaston said.
With their final last ditch effort, Wise heaved a Hail Mary pass downfield as time expired, but the defensive line batted the pass into the air and North Shore junior Cortney David Brooks came down with it.
The stage is set for the UIL 6A Division I state championship next week for the state title as the Mustangs will look to avenge last year's championship loss to Duncanville on Saturday at 3 p.m. at AT&T Stadium. All games will be streamed live on the NFHS Network (subscription required).
"We just need to focus on what we do well," Hardeman said. "We need to practice, stay locked in, and pay attention to details. All we can do is focus on North Shore football."
-- Ryan Childers | @sblivetx
Lead photo by Paul Brick.
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