http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/high-school-football/lake-travis-dominates-bowie-in-15-5a-showdown/nbGWj/
Posted: 11:28 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2013
Lake Travis dominates Bowie in 15-5A showdown
American-Statesman Staff
With Shaun Nixon and a stout defense leading the way Friday night, the Lake Travis Cavaliers shook off a challenger to their throne.
Nixon accounted for 295 yards of offense and four touchdowns in Lake Travis’ 43-0 victory over previously unbeaten Bowie. Nixon’s defensive teammates also recorded their best defensive effort of the season in the shutout at Cavalier Stadium.
A victory for Bowie, which defeated Westlake 21-16 last week, would have created a clear path to the District 15-5A championship for the Bulldogs. But Lake Travis, the district’s defending champion, now sits alone atop the standings with a 2-0 record against its 15-5A foes.
“It was shocking, people just thinking that we’re not there anymore,” Lake Travis junior James Bailey said. “After that, we showed everyone that we’re back.”
Lake Travis (4-1) got into the end zone twice within the game’s first six minutes as Dominic De Lira threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Packer, and Nixon scored on a 2-yard run. Nixon scored again in the second quarter as the Texas A&M commitment rushed for 153 first-half yards.
But as good as Nixon was in the first half, the stars of the first two quarters were Bailey and Chris Roller, two junior defensive backs. With names fit for a buddy cop movie, Bailey and Roller menaced Bowie’s offense during the first half.
Bailey partially blocked a punt to set up Lake Travis’ first touchdown, and the Cavaliers’ second score came nine plays after Bailey pounced on a fumble forced by Roller. Later, Roller gave Lake Travis a 29-0 halftime lead when he returned an interception of Austin Eschenburg for a touchdown.
“Roller, he’s like my brother,” said Bailey, who also sacked Eschenburg on a third-down play. “We were coming in, we were fired up. Bowie was talking some smack, and we were just getting fired up from that, too.”
Bowie was limited to 50 yards of offense in the first half. Bulldog receivers dropped three passes, and Eschenburg, who had accounted for 16 touchdowns during Bowie’s undefeated start, completed only 3 of his 13 attempts. “When you’re playing a team like that, you’ve got to get some breaks, and I don’t think we got a break all night,” Bowie coach Jeff Ables said. “They’re a good football team. They came at us, and we didn’t have an answer for it.”
Nixon rushed for another 2-yard score after halftime, and he closed his night with an 81-yard touchdown catch. Nixon finished with 202 yards on 23 carries. “He’s been playing a lot more running back instead of receiver,” Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said. “The offense is kind of being run through him. He made some amazing plays tonight.”
Preston Wheeler replaced an injured Eschenburg in the second half, and the Bulldogs made two trips into Lake Travis territory. But Bowie (5-1, 1-1) failed to convert a 47-yard field goal attempt or a fourth-and-goal from the Lake Travis 5 as the Bulldogs suffered their first shutout since 2011.
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