Picture this. It’s the playoffs. Your team is tied with one of its biggest rivals. The score is 10-10. The players are as amped up as ever. The fans are sitting on the edge of their seats. And then, all the years of hard work and practices in the hot Texas sun pay off, and magic happens.
Cav’s Magic, that is.
With just a few seconds left in the game against rival undefeated Vandegrift Vipers in the first round of the UIL 6A State Playoffs, Cav Nation decided to go for a 34-yard field goal. After a snap from Robby Belmarez, tight-end and holder Drew Rhodes caught the ball for kicker Braydon Doane to hit his mark by splitting the uprights, putting the Cavs ahead 13-10. To say the crowd went wild is an understatement. It was pure exhilaration. This game might have been the most high-octane one of the season, with great offensive and defensive plays for both sides.
Even though the first and third quarters went scoreless, the second kicked off with a 47-yard Viper field goal, to make the score an unsettling 3-0. Cav Nation quickly responded with a 31-yard touchdown pass from QB Chaston Ditta to wide receiver Kadyn Leon.
“I think, as offense, we feel like we were just having to move the ball on them,” said Coach Timothy Flanders. “I don’t think it was one major point [that we beat them in], we just played pretty good as a whole.”
The fourth quarter brought fans on both sides to their feet as they watched Doane pull off a 32-yard field goal between the uprights to give the Cavs another 3 points, making the score 10-3. Vandegrift responded swiftly with their own 35-yard pass for a converted touchdown, tying it up at an even 10-10.
And then. . . magic.
“It’s always good to win a playoff game, and for us to keep playing. [The] season goes on, so it feels good [to win],” said Flanders. “You never know how playoff games go, so take it one game at a time. As long as we keep making plays that come to us, I think we’ll be just fine.”
Cav Nation (9-2) will play against the Johnson Jaguars (10-1) at Texas State Bobcat Stadium on Friday, November 17 at 7 p.m.
LET’S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
