It took 16 hours to finish, but Westlake's win over Cedar Ridge delivers a district title
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There won't be much for Westlake football coach Tony Salazar to criticize in film sessions this week.
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The Chaps left no doubt who the best team in District 25-6A is, making big plays in all three phases during a 56-21 blasting of Cedar Ridge, a game that finished Saturday afternoon after a power outage at Chaparral Stadium early in the second quarter Friday night delayed it for 16 hours.
In what was effectively the district title game, Westlake (8-1, 5-0) blocked a punt, made three fourth-down stops, produced a defensive touchdown and was effective in both running and throwing the ball. The Chaps handed the Raiders (8-1, 4-1), who are arguably Central Texas' surprise team of the season, their first loss. Cedar Ridge was the No. 1 team in the American-Statesman's Class 6A area rankings.
"It was a complete win by our football team, and that's what we wanted to see," Salazar said.
Westlake quarterback Patton Jones lines up a pass to a teammate in the first quarter as the Westake Chaparrals play the Cedar Ridge Raiders at Westlake High School, Oct. 30, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)Westlake received its usual stellar performances from running back C.J. Jones and quarterback Patton Jones, with the former rushing for 88 yards and three touchdowns and the latter throwing for 144 yards and two scores, but it was the individual performances on defense and special teams that stood out.
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Rhett Jenkins, who also hauled in a 44-yard TD pass, blocked a punt in the first quarter to set up Westlake's first score.
"That was kind of what we had seen all week in film, and we knew that shield block would split and I just had to go take it off his foot," Jenkins said. "It really shifted momentum and got our team going. And after that, we got rolling."
Westlake wide receiver Nash Chapman carries the ball in the second quarter as the Westake Chaparrals play the Cedar Ridge Raiders at Westlake High School, Oct. 30, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)Keenan Gotcher had an interception which gave the Chaps another short field for one of C.J. Jones' first-half touchdown runs. But Westlake's biggest defensive play came shortly after the restart Saturday when Colton Fromberg's big hit caused a fumble that Rhett Henry recovered in the end zone.
Westlake celebrates a point as they face off against Austin High School at Burger Center in Austin on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. Westlake won 3-1. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)"It's pretty amazing to put points on the board from the defense and help the offense out a little bit," said Henry, who had one of Westlake's three sacks. "Shoutout to Colton there. … But all game, we were just executing. We stopped the run early, and then they tried to pass, and we stopped that, too."
Cedar Ridge is in rare territory having to respond to a loss
Cedar Ridge had done almost everything right in its dream 8-0 start to the season, but against Westlake, the Raiders had too many miscues. Turnovers, missed defensive assignments and penalties plagued them. The Raiders have a rivalry game against Round Rock to close out the regular season.
"I'm disappointed for our players, coaches and community," Cedar Ridge coach Bryan Vardeman, one of the clear candidates for Central Texas coach of the year. "I told our guys that one game does not define us. … We still have a lot to play for, and if we play like we're capable of, we'll have plenty of opportunities to put multiple gold footballs on the shelf. … But hats off to Westlake. They were the better team today."
It's possible the two teams will meet again in the playoffs. Both will be in Division II, so each would have to win three postseason games to reach the regional finals. That would require Cedar Ridge's best playoff run since it went to the 6A DI state semifinals in 2017.
"I asked my guys if they'd like to see them again, and they agreed they would," Vardeman said. "For that to happen, it means we'd be taking care of business in the playoffs. … But we're turning our attention to a really good Round Rock team."
A dark Chaparral Stadium after the lights went out Friday early in the second quarter of the game between Westlake and Cedar Ridge. (Sara Diggins/American-Statesman)A 19-hour timeline from start to finish
Salazar praised his team for how it handled the strange circumstances of the power outage and having to come back Saturday to a stadium that lacked the usual large crowd and festive atmosphere of a Friday night.
"We talked to our kids about how there wasn't going to be a band there, and then I was a little surprised we didn't have cheer there, so it was on us to create the energy," he said. "And I think our kids did that."
Westlake defensive back Eric Abraham said some of the players went to P. Terry's for food after the power outage, then went home. Henry noted he just went straight home afterwards to go to sleep.
"It was definitely weird," Henry said. "Certainly a first-time thing, but, you know, you just stay locked in and stay focused."
Vardeman, who said Friday night he'd never been a part of anything like the power outage, thought his team dealt with the logistics well.
"Our guys did fine with it," he said. "We brought them up in the morning and had an activation lift, then had breakfast and meetings. … I thought we responded to the situation well, we just didn't have our best stuff. ... When you get a three- or four-possession separation in a game like that against a team like Westlake, it's just very hard to overcome. And some of those things compounded on us."
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