Varsity Football Brawls Bastrop Bears for 49-42 Win

Conall Coats, Sports Editor| September 11, 2022

  • The Warriors run through the sign for the start of halftime. The score at this point was tied 21-21.

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  • Grant Jaeger ’23 runs down the field with the ball. He was able to gain several yardage for the Warriors.

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  • Right back Demani Stewart ’24 attempts to dodge an opponent. Although he was unsuccessful, he was able to gain several yardage for the Warriors prior.

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  • Quarterback Owen Norrell ’24 looks to throw a pass. He was successful in the pass and was able to help move the ball up.

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  • Hayden Schultz ’23 and Jeremiah Ortiz ’23 tackle an opponent with the ball. They were successful in their attempt and were able to stop the player from gaining additional yardage.

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  • Right back Demani Stewart ’24 attempts to dodge an opponent. Although he was unsuccessful, he was able to gain several yardage for the Warriors prior.

    Arushi Sharma
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  • Along with the other cheerleaders, Raelee Gingerich ’25 celebrates following halftime. The score was tied 21-21.

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  • Smiling, Meredith Strain ’23 performs on the field during halftime. The SunDancers were also joined by the Westwood Warrior Band.

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  • The sundancers stand in lines during their halftime performance. This was their second halftime performance of the 2022 football season.

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  • The sundancers perform during halftime. They were accompanied by the band.

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  • The JROTC runs along the side of the field after a Warrior touchdown. They did this for every Warrior touchdown made.

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  • The Warrior Band performed during halftime with the eighth graders. Eighth grade night is a tradition where middle school students can experience a typical high school schedule on a Friday game night.

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  • The student section stands up to cheer during overtime. The Warriors were able win 49-42.

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  • The Warriors chant during the football game. The chant was taught to the student section by principal Erin Campbell.

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After a long knock-down drag-out game, the Westwood Warriors won 49-42 against the Bastrop Bears. The two teams battled out until overtime when the Warriors were able to seal the game with a win.

In the game’s first play, Westwood caught Bastrop off guard with a returned kick for a 98-yard touchdown by Brian Perkins ‘26. This energy carried into the rest of the quarter, where Westwood drove down to the 5-yard line, scoring in the first play of the next quarter, making the score 14-7.

“I’ve been playing football my whole life,” Jack Ziebell ‘23 said. “Playing O-line and D-line at the same time is very physically demanding, however, if it helps the team win, and help me get into college, I’ll do it.”

The second quarter took a turn for Westwood when Bastrop got on their feet and scored 14 points to catch up. However, the quarter was not all bad, Grant Jaeger ‘23 returned an 80-yard punt, and a follow-up run by superstar Demani Stewart ‘24 put up seven more points on the board.

“We really just went with what was working best,” Head Coach Anthony Wood said. “In the first quarter, our throwing game was working, and then inevitably, they started covering it and we switched to the run for the rest of the game.”

Westwood’s defense picked it up in the third quarter with multiple tackles for losses and three blocked passes. However, with many little mistakes and separate supplementing penalties on Westwood, the game stayed tied up at 21-21.

In the fourth quarter, Bastrop started with two injuries in just the first two minutes. Both teams’ defenses started to slow down, making the points of both teams double in just nine minutes, tying the game up at 42-42 with 30 seconds left in the game. Westwood drove down to the 38. However, they were not quick enough to spike the ball to stop the clock, making the game go into overtime.

“We had some unfortunate penalties that got us into trouble,” Wood said. “We have to remember to maintain our composure and make sure the penalties don’t kill us.”

During overtime, not a single person in the stadium was sitting down. With that energy, the offensive line stripped the ball off of Bastrop’s quarterback, blocking out Bastrop of their first win and winning 49-42.

“Just to see our overall team play better against this football team makes me excited to see what else we can do,” Coach Wood said.

The Warriors will play the Round Rock Dragons for the Battle for the Bell next Friday, Sept. 16, at 7:00 P.M. at the KRAC.