AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the first time in school history Friday at Chaparral Stadium, Dripping Springs beat Westlake.
The No. 13 Tigers scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally for a 45-35 win over the No. 15 Chaparrals, securing a home playoff game in the 6A-Division II bracket next week. Dripping Springs finished second overall in District 26-6A with the win and 5-1 record, relegating the Chaps to a third-place finish at 4-2.
Both squads will play in the D-II bracket, with Lake Travis and Bowie making up the D-I teams in the playoffs from District 26. The Tigers will host Vista Ridge, and the Chaps will take on Vandegrift at Monroe Stadium in the bi-district round. Game times and dates have yet to be announced, but should be decided by Saturday night.
After Westlake moved into the lead 35-28 with 10:40 left following a 52-yard touchdown pass by Rees Wise to Lawson Grimes, the Tigers mounted their comeback. Quarterback Chase Ames tossed touchdown passes to Merrick Bloomgren and Cooper Reid, and then kicker Ian French iced the game with a 44-yard field goal, stretching the advantage to the final score with 1:04 left. Westlake’s last-gasp drive fell short, and the Tigers earned the district’s top D-II seed to the postseason.
Ames threw for five touchdowns, two each to Bloomgren and Reid, with the other to James Montgomery. Jaceton Gotta chipped in a 16-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter for the Tigers.
Bloomgren hauled in the first touchdown of the game on a 30-yard pass, and then hit pay dirt for the game-tying score early in the fourth quarter with a 52-yard reception. The big play came immediately after a 48-yard kickoff return by the Tigers in which it appeared the Dripping Springs kick returner’s knee touched the ground in the end zone after a small stumble. The officials didn’t see it that way and allowed play to continue, resulting in the big return instead of a touchback.
Reid’s second touchdown gave the Tigers the lead for good with 5:57 left. He hauled in an 8-yard pass, leaping high over the Westlake defender to pull the short pass down. Reid caught a 47-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14.
Montgomery’s score was the biggest scoring play of the night, a 75-yard play with 0:34 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 28-28.
Wise connected with Grimes twice for touchdowns and rushed for two, and he also threw a scoring pass to Braden Riddell.
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