Undefeated Cedar Ridge pulled off a 35-34 thriller against Lake Travis on Friday night, using two incredible goal-line stands in the final two minutes to absolutely spoil Lake Travis’s grand $48 million stadium reopening party. This wasn’t just a win; it was a statement game, showing everyone that a rebuilt defense can shut down even the biggest moments.
Cedar Ridge’s Defense Just Didn’t Flinch
Leading 35-30 with under two minutes left, Cedar Ridge’s defense stared down a Lake Travis offense on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. They stuffed running back Teddy Lofgren cold, denying what looked like an easy score. You’d think that’s the game, right? Nope. On the very next play, Cedar Ridge’s offense snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety, making it 35-32 and giving Lake Travis new life. Most teams would buckle, but not these Raiders. Coach Bryan Vardeman said it best, “We believe in those guys. Our guys didn’t flinch at all.” And they proved it.
The defense, which got rebuilt after giving up a brutal 40 points per game last season, went right back out there. Lake Travis marched deep again, but the Raiders held firm, with Jason Carter’s fourth-down pass glancing off Luca Antoun’s hands in the end zone from the 2-yard line. That’s two goal-line stands in crunch time. Two! Vardeman summed up their attitude perfectly: “Our defense, they love it. We talked about a challenge… our defense was excited to go back out there on the field and make another stand and show that they’re the real deal.” They did exactly that, and it was glorious to watch. While Deondre Crank caught a touchdown and Hunter Sellers threw one, the defense owned this win.
Lake Travis Left Points All Over the Field
This was a game Lake Travis had every chance to win, and honestly, they just fumbled it away. Trailing by one, needing only a short field goal to tie and force overtime, they ran out of time with less than 20 seconds left. Gage Prebenda-Wilson caught a short pass, but he was caught inbounds fighting for yardage toward the end zone. The clock kept ticking. By the time the officials set the ball for the next play, Lake Travis couldn’t even get their field goal team out there. They had to rush a final pass into the end zone, and it went nowhere. Coach Hank Carter took full responsibility, admitting, “I 100% mismanaged that. The plan was not to go for it there.” Ouch.
It wasn’t just the clock management that burned them. Earlier, in the third quarter with Cedar Ridge up 21-17, Antoun caught a pass and was headed for the end zone. But Cedar Ridge’s Zion Thorne made an incredible play, catching him and popping the ball loose. The fumble bounced right through the end zone for a touchback, turning a sure touchdown into zero points. Lake Travis linebacker Powers Wallis also delivered a huge tackle late in the game, keeping Prebenda-Wilson in bounds when Lake Travis was trying to score, saying, “I knew we had to keep him in bounds, so it was great.” Every little mistake, every missed opportunity, piled up until the clock hit zero, leaving Lake Travis with a devastating 35-34 loss.
Cedar Ridge walked out of Cavalier Stadium still undefeated, leaving Lake Travis to pick up the pieces of a crushed stadium reopening and a 2-2-1 record. Sometimes, believing in your defense, even when your offense hands the ball right back, is all you need.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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