The UIL playoffs opened Thursday night with one of Texas’ marquee programs stepping right into the spotlight. Austin Westlake, the District 25-6A champion, hosted Buda Hays Consolidated in a 6A Division II bi-district matchup at Chaparral Stadium.
Westlake entered the postseason at 9-1 after rolling through district play with a perfect 6-0 mark. The Chaparrals’ only loss came back in their third game, a 49-40 shootout at Prosper.
Since then, they’ve looked every bit like the powerhouse they’ve been, with three of their last four regular-season games producing at least 56 points. That stretch included last week’s 68-33 win over Stony Point.
The Chaparrals are trying to build on a season that looks much stronger than last year’s 7-4 finish, when they were knocked out in the bi-district round. That was an unusual result for a program that has reached 12 title games and won four state championships.
Hays Consolidated came in at 6-4 overall after finishing in a three-way tie for third in District 26-6A with Austin High and Buda Johnson. The Hawks had a rough midseason stretch, dropping three straight, but they closed the regular season with back-to-back blowouts. They beat Del Valle 68-14 and then shut out Austin Akins 76-0.
Senior running back Gabriel Peach has been the engine for Hays, rushing for nearly 1,150 yards and 15 touchdowns this season.
Westlake has plenty of firepower of its own. Senior quarterback Patton Jones has completed 72% of his passes, going 114-of-158 for 1,741 yards and 19 touchdowns. On the ground, freshman Cooper Jones has led the way with 785 rushing yards and 14 scores.
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