Austin, TX

Texas high school football: Austin-area UIL scores, highlights from Week 12 playoffs

Published

1 year ago

November 15, 2024

Texas high school football: Austin-area UIL scores, highlights from Week 12 playoffs

Mark Champ
| Special to Austin American-Statesman

The playoffs are here for Texas high school football. Pflugerville kicked things off on Thursday night for Central Texas with a 63-13 win over San Antonio Burbank, the Panthers’ first playoff win since 2012.

All of the top Austin-area schools are in action Friday night, including heavyweight programs Westlake, Lake Travis, Vandegrift, Cedar Park, LBJ, Liberty Hill and Bastrop.

9 UIL PLAYOFF TEAMS TO WATCH INCLUDE STATE TITLE DEFENDERS, HOPEFULS

FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

CLASS 6A | CLASS 5A

Follow this thread throughout Friday night for live updates and scores from playoff games throughout Central Texas:

On Georgetown’s first possession of overtime, Georgetown’s 2000+ yard ball carrier Jett Walker scored from 17 yards out as the Eagles regained the lead 42-35 lead over Burleson Centennial.

Angleton has ended Weiss’ season with a 35-28 win in the 5A-Division I bi-district win.

The Cavaliers have advanced to the Area Round with a 41-14 win over Round Rock at the Palace on Parmer in a 6A-Division 1 playoff opener.

Lake Travis faces San Antonio Johnson next week.

Georgetown marched the length of the field to tie Burleson Centennial 35-35 as Jett Walker scored his 2nd TD of the night, this one on a 4-yard run.

The game is heading to overtime.

Johnson is pounding Laredo United 31-0 in the 3rd quarter.

Dripping Springs is 35 points better than McNeil 49-14 in the final stanza.

JD Jackson has scored again, this from 6 yards out, for Vista Ridge but Westlake leads 46-17 midway through the fourth quarter.

LBJ has increased its lead to 32-14 over Fredericksburg in the 3rd quarter.

Cedar Park has scored for the first time since the second quarter, but the Twolves still trail Red Oak 35-15 with 7:26 left in the contest.

Following a punt, Centennial has shocked the Georgetown home crowd with an 86-yard TD pass with around 2 minutes left in the game. The Spartans lead the Eagles 35-28.

Reggie Hurley has taken a 36-yard pass from Garrett Marshall for Round Rock but Lake Travis still leads 41-14 with 2:58 left in the fourth quarter.

Westlake has scored its fourth TD of the second half as the Chaps lead Vista Ridge 46-10 with 9:17 remaining in the game.

Though down early, LBJ has rallied to take a 25-14 lead over Fredericksburg at the half.

Weiss is now tied with Angleton at 28 in the 4th quarter.

La Porte leads Anderson 28-21 in the final quarter.

Burleson Centennial has come all the way back as the Spartans marched 83 yards to tie Georgetown at 28 with about 5 minutes left in the game.

Vandegrift leads Austin High 49-7 in the fourth quarter.

Liberty Hill has extended its lead to 27-18 over SA Sam Houston early in the third quarter.

Bastrop is not having any problems as the Bears are whitewashing SA Lanier 42-0 in the third quarter.

Brody Wilhem just took a pass from Rees Wise for 43 yards as Westlake now leads Vista Ridge 32-10 in the third. That is two TDs in 2 possessions for the Chaps in the third quarter.

It looks like Lake Travis will advance in the 6A-Division I playoffs as the Cavs’ Chaston Ditta has scored from 2 yards out. Lake Travis leads Round Rock 38-7 lead late in the third quarter.

If the score holds up, Lake Travis will face SA Johnson in next week’s Area round.

Burleson Centennial is rallying as they now trail Georgetown 28-21 in the fourth quarter.

Josiah Thomas has hit the trifecta as he has hauled in a 23-yard throw from Chaston Ditta for his third TD of the night as Lake Travis leads Round Rock 31-7 with 9:20 left in the 3rd.

QB Jack Appl has not played yet in the 3rd quarter for Round Rock.

Grady Bartlett has scored on an 8-yard run for Westlake as the Chaps lead Vista Ridge 25-10 in the third quarter.

Red Oak has pushed its lead over Cedar Park 35-14 with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter.

Dripping Springs leads McNeil 21-7 in the third.

Vandegrift still leads Austin High 42-0 in the third.

Johnson is up on Laredo United 24-0 at the half.

Unofficially, Lake Travis’s Josiah Thomas has hauled in 5 passes for 161 yards and a pair of scores to lead the Cavalier offense. Defensively, USC commit Gus Cordova has 3 sacks of the Round Rock quarterback with a pair of pass deflections.

Georgetown looks like it will be playing next weekend as the Eagles lead Burleson Centennial 28-0 lead in the third quarter.

Red Oak is doubling up Cedar Park 28-14 in the third.

La Porte has taken a 20-14 lead over Anderson in the third.

Angleton has rallied to tie Weiss 21-21 in the third quarter.

Liberty Hill 14, SA Sam Houston 12 (2nd)

Bastrop 28, SA Lanier 0 (2nd)

Elgin 24, SA Jefferson 10 (half)

Fredericksburg 7, LBJ 3 (2nd)

Canyon Lake 14, Travis 2 (2nd)

Somerset 28, Taylor 0 (2nd)

La Vega 42, La Grange 0 (2nd)

Lago Vista 35, Bandera 3 (2nd)

Llano 27, Crystal City 7 (2nd)

Thrall 23, Tidehaven 14 (half)

Thorndale 21, Riesel 21 (3rd)

Vandegrift 42, Austin High (half)

Lake Travis 24, Round Rock 7 (half)

Dripping Springs 14, McNeil 7 (2nd quarter)

Westlake 18, Vista Ridge 10 (2nd quarter)

Johnson 10, Laredo United 0 (2nd quarter)

Georgetown 28, Burleson Centennial 0 (half)

Red Oak 21, Cedar Park 14 (half)

Highland Park 34, Rouse 0 (half)

Weiss 14, Angleton 7 (half)

Anderson 14, La Porte 14 (half)

Weiss has taken a 14-7 lead over Angleton at intermission in a 5-A Division I tilt.

Aiden Archer returned an interception 55 yards and a touchdown as Lake Travis extended its lead over Round Rock to 24-7 with 1:08 left in the half.

Vista Ridge has kicked a field goal to narrow the Westlake lead to 8, 18-10 in the second quarter.

Red Oak has scored 14 unanswered taking a 21-14 lead over Cedar Park with 2:22 left in the half. Red Oak’s Kingston McAdams scored on a two-yard run while Jacque Overton has scored on a 37-pass.

SA Sam Houston has taken a 12-7 lead over Liberty Hill in the second quarter.

Westlake has cashed in a Vista Ridge turnover as Rees Wise called his own number on a one-yard power run over the left side. The Chaps lead 18-7 in the second quarter.

Liberty Hill leads San Antonio Sam Houston 7-6 in the opening quarter.

Highland Park is dominating Rouse 27-0 in the second quarter in a 5A-Division 1 playoff match up.

Granger leads La Pryor 28-0 in the second quarter.

Thorndale has reached half as the Bulldogs are tied with Riesel at 21.

Thrall leads Tidehaven 16-14 in the second quarter.

Johnson leads Laredo United 7-0 in the opening quarter.

Elgin and San Antonio Jefferson are tied 10-10 in the second quarter.

La Vega is up 21-0 over La Grange in the first quarter.

Llano leads Crystal City 13-7 in the second stanza.

Vandegrift leads Austin High 21-0 in the second quarter. in a 6A Division II bi-district affair.

La Porte leads Anderson 14-7 in the second quarter.

Georgetown leads Burleson Centennial 14-0 in the second in a 5A-Division I playoff opener.

Bastrop leads SA Lanier 14-0 in a 5A Division II bi-district championship tilt in the opening quarter.

After converting on a fourth down, Grady Bartlett scored from 2 yards out to give Westlake the lead back 12-7 with 11:51 left in the opening half.

Cedar Park has regained the lead as Jamal Porter is on the receiving end of a 39-yard scoring pass. The Timberwolves lead Red Oak 14-7 with 7:41 left before intermission.

In 6A-Division I, Vista Ridge leads Westlake after 1 7-5. Using a 58-yard return the Chaps are knocking on the door looking to regain the lead.

Round Rock has scored as Jack Appl evades the Lake Travis rush to score. The Cavs still lead the Dragons 10-7 with 9:24 left in the half.

Braydon Doane has kicked a 27-yard field goal to give Lake Travis a 10-0 lead over Round Rock with 11:51 left in the second quarter.

At Westlake, Vista Ridge has intercepted a Rees Wise pass and returned it deep into Chap territory and JD Jackson has cashed in the turnover hauling in a 8-yard pass to give the Rangers a 7-5 lead with 1:58 left in the first quarter.

Red Oak has responded to Cedar Park’s opening score with one of its own.

Billy Middleton hits Brayden Robinson on a 29-yard scoring pass with 3:48 remaining in the opening quarter.

Westlake has extended its lead to 5-0 over Vista Ridge after a punt pinned the Rangers on the one-yard. One play later, Westlake’s defense swarmed the Vista Ridge running back for a safety.

Cedar Park’s Cameron Graham has scored from 19-yards out as the Timberwolves lead Red Oak 7-0 with 4:42 remaining in the opening stanza.

Meanwhile in Round Rock, Lake Travis draws first blood Josiah Thomas took a short pass from Chaston Ditta 46 yards for a score. The Cavs lead Round Rock 7-0 with 4:21 left in the opening quarter.

After holding Vista Ridge on a fourth down, Westlake took over and marched into the red zone but had to settle for a 28-yard Nolan Barkley field goal. Barkley’s third three-pointer of the year gives Westlake a 3-0 lead over Vista Ridge in the opening quarter.

Round Rock and Lake Travis are scoreless midway through the first as is Cedar Park and Red Oak.

After an initial first down on its first play from scrimmage pushed the ball into Vista Ridge territory, the Ranger defense held and took over as Westlake quarter back Rees Wise was sacked on fourth down.

Vista Ridge, 6-4, takes over near midfield.

Taking its opening possession

The Statesman’s Caleb Yum is at the Cedar Park – Red Oak 5A Division I Bi-district game where there are reports that Cedar Park running back Trae Hill’s season has been cut short due to an injury suffered during the regular season.

Round Rock hosts Lake Travis at Kelly Reeves

In a 6A-Division I matchup, Lake Travis (9-1) heads north into Williamson County as the Cavaliers take on Round Rock (8-2) in a Bi-district tussle.

Offensively, Lake Travis is led by the duo of qb Chaston Ditta and running back Vann Hopping. Ditta has thrown for 2096 yards with 20 TDs, while Hopping contributes 1041 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Round Rock counters with signal caller Jack Appl and a 2-headed monster at running back of Joaquin Maldonado and Moose Garlington. Appl has thrown for just over 1400 yards with 14 scoring throws. He has also added 8 scores on the ground.

Maldonado and Garlington have combined for over 1300 yards and 11 TDs.

The winner will face Johnson SA Johnson in the Area Round next week.

Panthers, Texans and Badgers roll into Area round

Pflugerville, Wimberley and Burnet all scored convincing wins in the Bi-district round of the state playoffs last night.

Pflugerville, the fourth-place qualifier out of 11-5A Division II, stunned 12-5A Division II champ San Antonio Burbank 63-13 at the San Antonio ISD Athletic Complex.

The Panthers, who upped their season record to 8-3, await the winner of the Iowa Colony – Killeen Ellison match-up in next week’s Area round.

Wimberley, 9-2, ran its winning streak to seven as the Texans whitewashed Pearsall 69-0 in the opening round of the 4A Division II playoffs.

The Texans will face the winner of the King vs. Rockport-Fulton in next week’s second round.

Lampasas routed Pecos 53-14 in the 4A Division I Bi-district round to advance to next week’s Area Round.

With the win, the 9-2 Badgers advance to the Area round where they will face the winner of the El Paso Austin – Dumas clash.

Manor New Tech was steamrolled by San Antonio Davenport 91-0 in the 4A Division I Bi-district round to conclude a 3-8 season.

Burnet, 5-6, saw the curtain fall for the season after dropping its fourth consecutive game, 35-21 to Andrews in the 4A-Division I playoff opener.

In the opening round of the 3A Division II playoffs, Van Vleck edged District 13 winner Blanco 48-41.

The Panthers end their season with a 7-4 mark.

Thursday night finals

Pflugerville 63, San Antonio Burbank 13

Davenport 91, Manor New Tech 18

Andrews 35, Burnet 21

Wimberley 69, Pearsall 0

Lampasas 53, Pecos 14

Van Vleck 48, Blanco 41

Westlake, Georgetown, LBJ finish atop regular season Statesman’s Fab Five rankings

#1 Westlake (9-1) hosts Vista Ridge

#2 Vandegrift (9-1) hosts Austin High

#3 Lake Travis (9-1) hosts Round Rock

#4 Round Rock (8-2) visits Lake Travis

#5 Dripping Springs (7-3) hosts McNeil

#1 Georgetown (9-1) hosts Burleson Centennial

#2 Weiss (8-2, 5-2) visits Angleton

#3 Bastrop (8-2) hosts San Antonio Lanier

#4 Liberty Hill (8-2) hosts San Antonio Sam Houston

#5 Pflugerville (8-3) beat San Antonio Burbank 63-13 last night

4A/Others

#1 LBJ (10-0) face Fredericksburg

#2 Wimberley (9-2) beat Pearsall 69-0 last night

#3 Lampasas (9-2) beat Pecos 53-14 last n

#4 Regents (9-1) – TBA

#5 St. Michael’s (9-1) – TBA

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Austin, TX

Austin Police Department updates procedures after controversial deportation

Published

1 hour ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Austin Police Department updates procedures after controversial deportation

AUSTIN, Texas — An update to the Austin Police Department’s (APD) procedures outlines that officers are not required to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when a person is found to have an ICE administrative warrant if they have no other arrestable charge.

The update follows a controversial deportation from January, when a woman’s disturbance call to APD led to her detainment, alongside her 5-year-old child, who is a U.S. citizen.

The incident led to questions from the community regarding the way APD is supposed to interact with ICE.

In a March 4 memo, APD Police Chief Lisa Davis said that the directives provided by ICE administrative warrants could be confusing in their wording.

According to Davis, officers have not historically regularly encountered administrative warrants while using the National Crime Information Center database, which is used to conduct identity checks. However, in 2025, federal agencies began entering a large volume of administrative warrants into the system.

According to the memo, administrative warrants are formatted in a way that looks similar to criminal warrants in the system.

The APD General Orders have been updated to clearly define the difference between criminal warrants and ICE administrative warrants, as well as specific instructions for how ICE administrative warrants should be handled moving forward.

“APD recognizes the sensitivity of this issue, not only within our city but across the nation. These policies were updated to provide clarity to our officers, ensure compliance with state law, and maintain officer discretion guided by supervisory oversight and operational consideration,” Davis said in the memo.

The updated procedures instruct officers to contact their supervisor when a person is found to have only an ICE administrative warrant, but no other arrestable criminal charge. From there, the officer or their supervisor may contact ICE, but is not required to.

“Austin Police and City of Austin leadership share a paramount goal for Austin to be a safe city for everyone who lives, works, or visits here,” Davis said in the memo. “We particularly want to ensure that anyone who witnesses or is the victim of a crime feels secure in contacting the police for help.”

According to the memo, the entire APD staff will be required to complete new training regarding these updates.

“In concert with the policy updates, APD is launching a public webpage to help people understand their rights and provide links to resources available from the City of Austin and community organizations, such as Know Your Rights training,” Davis said in the memo. “The webpage will also include information on the option of using APD Victim Services as an alternative to calling 9-1-1, when appropriate, and links to all general orders and policies related to immigration.”

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Austin, TX

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Published

13 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” […]

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Austin, TX

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.

Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.

Texas, though, is a different story.

For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.

“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”

It all depends on the weather

How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.

Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.

If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.

How can you treat allergies in Austin?

If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:

Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
Take a shower before going to bed.
Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.

Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:

Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
Vacuum and sweep regularly.
Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
Keep doors and windows closed.
Clean out the vents in your home.
Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.

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