All-around effort gives Austin Westlake victory in Dodge Bowl

By Thomas Hays

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There couldn’t have been a more appropriate bow on the 2020 football season.

In a clash that was originally scheduled to open the 100th season of UIL football, Austin Westlake (14-0) beat Southlake Carroll (12-2), 52-34, in the 6A DI state title to cap off a tumultuous year that stretched all the way into the new year. The Chaps’ Division I championship comes after winning the Division II title a year ago.

“We did something last year that hadn’t been done (at Westlake) in 25 years. A lot of people wondered if it’d ever happen against at Westlake and we got it done,” Westlake head coach Todd Dodge said. “And now, something that’s even more difficult to do was to come back and win it again.”

Leading up to the matchup, the hype understandably surrounded the two head coaches, Todd and Riley Dodge, facing off in the first-ever father-son head coaching matchup in state history. After winning a title together in 2006 at Southlake Carroll, the two were on opposing sidelines for the first time.

“This is something that we never saw (happening at state),” Todd Dodge said.

But according to Todd Dodge, the only one in the family doing much trash talk in the lead-up to the game was his grandson, Tate, the son of the Dragons head coach.

And starting off, it lived up to the fireworks.

The Dragons and Chaparrals exchanged scores in the first half and Westlake went into the half with a narrow 28-21 lead.

The Chaps defense hadn’t given up more than 21 all season.

But it also hadn’t faced a quarterback-wideout combo like five-star Quinn Ewers and future Minnesota receiver Brady Boyd before either. The pair connected on two deep throws in the first half and struck early blows to the staunch Westlake defense. Luckily for the Chaps, their three-headed rushing attack of quarterback Cade Klubnik and running backs Zane Minors and Grey Nakfoor had the defense’s back with three combined rushing touchdowns in the first half.

“We just didn’t get it done and I felt like we had a great plan,” Riley Dodge said. “Offensively we were able to put up some yards tonight playing against a really good defense and a veteran defense.

“When you have a quarterback that can run and you have two running backs in the backfield, you’re playing with three running backs. That’s tough for anybody and they do a heck of a job, they’re very, very balanced and do a great job of staying ahead of the chains.”

After a weekend of blowouts, it looked like the final game of the 2020 fall season was the barnburner fans had hoped for.

Unfortunately for them, Westlake defensive coordinator Tony Salazar had other ideas following halftime. After scoring on the opening possession of the second half, senior defensive back Michael Taaffe snagged a highlight-reel one-handed interception off Ewers, the first major stop of the game for the vaunted Chaps defense and Taaffe’s second pick of the night. Klubnik punched it in the endzone four plays later. Taaffe finished as the game’s Defensive MVP.

“It came my way, and I made the play, but it would be super selfish and factually wrong if I said that I did this myself,” Taaffe said.

Westlake’s defense shut the Dragons out the remainder of the quarter. For a team that was more known for its defense heading in, it was the offense that held firm the entire way until the defense founds its footing.

“If we didn’t have an offense that just bounced back every time we got scored on, our confidence would be hurt really bad,” Taaffe said.

In a battle of highly touted 2022 quarterbacks, the four-star Klubnik finished with 220 yards passing on an efficient 18-of-20 passes with 97 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Ewers, the top prospect in the nation for 2022, finished with 351 yards and three touchdowns. Klubnik also played after having not thrown a pass during the week nursing a shoulder injury her suffered against North Shore in the semifinal. He was the game’s Offensive MVP.

“(Cade) knows how to jump on a sword for his teammates,” Todd Dodge. “He’s got a tremendous style, a very encouraging style of leadership.”

After the game, Todd Dodge, who helped start Southlake Carroll’s dynastic run 20 years ago, commented on his son’s job so far in charge. It was the Dragons’ first trip back to the finals in nearly 10 years.

“One of the biggest things that Riley’s brought back to the Dragon Nation is treating kids the right way, treating the guys on the attack team, the guys that no one in town really knows about and getting back to that,” Todd Dodge said.

“It’s about treating that bottom 30 percent of your roster, that doesn’t get to play as much, and treating them like kings. That’s the biggest thing that Riley has done.”

Score by Quarters  Score 
Austin Westlake   14  14  17  7  52 
Southlake Carroll   14  7  0  13  34 

 

SCORING SUMMARY   WESTLAKE-CARROLL  
1st  08:25  CARROLL   Owen Allen 3 yd run (Joe McFadden kick) 
         10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:35  0 - 7 
  08:13  WESTLAKE  Zane Minors 75 yd run (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         1 play, 75 yards, TOP 0:12  7 - 7 
  06:24  CARROLL   Brady Boyd 49 yd pass from Quinn Ewers (Joe McFadden kick) 
         5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:49  7 - 14 
  03:07  WESTLAKE  Grey Nakfoor 38 yd run (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         8 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:08  14 - 14 
2nd  10:51  WESTLAKE  Jaden Greathouse 15 yd pass from Cade Klubnik (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         7 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:50  21 - 14 
  06:44  CARROLL   Brady Boyd 27 yd pass from Quinn Ewers (Joe McFadden kick) 
         9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:07  21 - 21 
  01:12  WESTLAKE  Cade Klubnik 1 yd run (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:32  28 - 21 
3rd  09:10  WESTLAKE  Grey Nakfoor 4 yd run (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:50  35 - 21 
  06:48  WESTLAKE  Cade Klubnik 4 yd run (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         4 plays, 24 yards, TOP 1:25  42 - 21 
  02:14  WESTLAKE  Mark Sayegh 36 yd field goal 
         10 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:09  45 - 21 
4th  08:29  WESTLAKE  Grey Nakfoor 5 yd run (Mark Sayegh kick) 
         10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:56  52 - 21 
  04:25  CARROLL   RJ Maryland 10 yd pass from Quinn Ewers (Quinn Ewers pass failed) 
         8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:04  52 - 27 
  03:14  CARROLL   Owen Allen 2 yd run (Joe McFadden kick) 
         4 plays, 34 yards, TOP 1:11  52 - 34 

 

Kickoff time: 7:07 pm  • End of Game: 10:22 pm • Total elapsed time: 3:15
Referee: Bill Stevens  •  Umpire: Rogers Christma •  Linesman: Stephen Prihoda •  Line judge: John Farris  •  Back judge: Charles Gurney  •  Field judge: Brian Gorman  •  Side judge: Brian Raines  •  Center judge: Bob Hubbell  • 
Temperature: 72  • Wind: INDOORS  • Weather:
2020 UIL Conference 6A DI State Championship
Offensive MVP- Cade Klubnik (Westlake)
Defensive MVP- Michael Taaffe (Westlake)

 

 Team Totals  WESTLAKE  CARROLL 
FIRST DOWNS  23  20 
   Rushing  11 
   Passing  10  13 
   Penalty 
NET YARDS RUSHING  295  50 
   Rushing Attempts  41  23 
   Average Per Rush  7.2  2.2 
   Rushing Touchdowns 
   Yards Gained Rushing  320  65 
   Yards Lost Rushing  25  15 
NET YARDS PASSING  220  351 
   Completions-Attempts-Int  18-20-0  23-39-2 
   Average Per Attempt  11.0  9.0 
   Average Per Completion  12.2  15.3 
   Passing Touchdowns 
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS  515  401 
   Total offense plays  61  62 
   Average Gain Per Play  8.4  6.5 
Fumbles: Number-Lost  0-0  1-1 
Penalties: Number-Yards  13-117  4-21 
PUNTS-YARDS  1-27  1-28 
   Average Yards Per Punt  27.0  28.0 
   Net Yards Per Punt  27.0  28.0 
   Inside 20 
   50+ Yards 
   Touchbacks 
   Fair catch 
KICKOFFS-YARDS  9-540  4-238 
   Average Yards Per Kickoff  60.0  59.5 
   Net Yards Per Kickoff  36.8  35.2 
   Touchbacks 
   Fair Catch Yards 
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD  0-0-0  0-0-0 
   Average Per Return  0.0  0.0 
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD  1-22-0  1-9-0 
   Average Per Return  22.0  9.0 
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD  2--3-0  0-0-0 
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD  0-0-0  0-0-0 
Miscellaneous Yards 
Possession Time  25:43  22:17 
   1st Quarter  5:10  6:50 
   2nd Quarter  6:49  5:11 
   3rd Quarter  7:49  4:11 
   4th Quarter  5:55  6:05 
Third-Down Conversions  8 of 10  3 of 9 
Fourth-Down Conversions  0 of 0  2 of 5 
Red-Zone Scores-Chances  6-7  3-3 
   Touchdowns  5-7  3-3 
   Field goals  1-7  0-3 
Sacks By: Number-Yards  3-19  2-14 
PAT Kicks  7-7  4-4 
Field Goals  1-1  0-0 
Points off turnovers 

 

Austin Westlake

  

Southlake Carroll

RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg. 
Zane Minors  12  135  135  75  11.2 
Cade Klubnik  17  111  14  97  44  5.7 
Grey Nakfoor  10  74  74  38  7.4 
TEAM   11  -11  -5.5 
Totals...  41  320  25  295  75  7.2 
  
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg. 
Owen Allen  15  39  39  2.6 
Quinn Ewers  26  15  11  12  1.4 
Totals...  23  65  15  50  12  2.2 
  
  
 
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack 
Cade Klubnik  18-20-0  220  47 
Totals...  18-20-0  220  47 
  
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack 
Quinn Ewers  23-39-2  351  49 
Totals...  23-39-2  351  49 
 
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg 
Jaden Greathouse  103  47 
Michael Taaffe  50  16 
Luke Nicklos  23  11 
Zane Minors  29  14 
Keaton Kubecka  15  15 
Totals...  18  220  47 
  
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg 
Brady Boyd  12  190  49 
Landon Samson  91  25 
RJ Maryland  67  31 
Owen Allen 
Totals...  23  351  49 
  
 
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB 
Charlie Barnett  27  27.0  27 
Totals...  27  27.0  27 
  
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB 
Joe McFadden  28  28.0  28 
Totals...  28  28.0  28 
 
   Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept 
ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg 
Michael Taaffe  22  22  -3 
Totals...  22  22  -3 
  
   Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept 
ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg 
Cinque Williams 
Totals... 
 
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total 
Zane Minors  135  29  164 
Jaden Greathouse  103  103 
Cade Klubnik  97  97 
Grey Nakfoor  74  74 
Michael Taaffe  50  22  -3  69 
Luke Nicklos  23  23 
Keaton Kubecka  15  15 
TEAM   -11  -11 
Totals...  295  220  22  -3  534 
  
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total 
Brady Boyd  190  190 
Landon Samson  91  91 
RJ Maryland  67  67 
Owen Allen  39  42 
Quinn Ewers  11  11 
Cinque Williams 
Totals...  50  351  410 
  
  
 
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 
Mark Sayegh  3rd  02:14  36 yards  Good 
  
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 
  
 
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg. 
Charlie Barnett  540  60.0 
  
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg. 
Joe McFadden  238  59.5 
 
FUMBLES: Austin Westlake-None. Southlake Carroll-Quinn Ewers 1-1.

 

##  Austin Westlake   Solo  Ast  Total  TFL/Yds  FF  FR-Yds  Int-Yds  BrUp  Blkd  Sack/Yds  QBH 
4   Jax Crockett  6.0  .   .   .   .  
13  Nicholas Morris  5.5  .   .   .   .  
14  Michael Taaffe  4.5  .   .   2--3  .  
90  Ethan Burke  4.5  1.0/10   .   .   1.0/10  
21  Carter Barksdale  4.0  .   .   .   .  
18  Ford Dickerson  3.5  .   .   .   .  
3   Lucas Mireur  3.5  .   .   .   .  
17  Brady Lamme  2.5  .   .   .   .  
98  Haden Bray  2.0  .   .   .   .  
92  Nick Hogan  1.5  1.5/5   .   .   1.5/5  
23  Beau Breathard  1.0  .   .   .   .  
95  Braden Davis  0.5  0.5/4   1-0   .   0.5/4  
34  Christian Fournier  .   .   .   .   .  
##  Southlake Carroll   Solo  Ast  Total  TFL/Yds  FF  FR-Yds  Int-Yds  BrUp  Blkd  Sack/Yds  QBH 
4   Cinque Williams  8.0  .   .   .   .  
40  Allan Kleiman  7.5  .   .   .   .  
19  Logan Anderson  7.0  1.0/12   .   .   1.0/12  
25  Barrett Baker  5.5  .   .   .   .  
7   Avyonne Jones  4.5  .   .   .   .  
24  Max Reyes  4.0  .   .   .   .  
11  Josh Spaeth  3.5  .   .   .   .  
52  Cade Parks  2.5  .   .   .   .  
20  Parker Schnieders  1.5  .   .   .   .  
34  Travis Keener  1.5  1.0/2   .   .   1.0/2  
44  James Lehman  1.0  .   .   .   .  
97  Marquette Seaton  1.0  .   .   .   .  
13  RJ Maryland  1.0  .   .   .   .  
48  Aiden Pell  0.5  .   .   .   .  

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