Lake Travis v Bowie article mentioning James Bailey with picture

Jay Plotkin article

Cavaliers convincingly bounce Bowie from ranks of unbeaten

Football pundits around Central Texas tapped Friday’s Bowie at Lake Travis battle as a game of the week, a chance for Bowie to all but wrap up the District 15-5A title and secure a spot in the 2013 playoffs.

Both could happen. The unbeaten Bulldogs just needed to duplicate their previous week’s upset of Westlake.

Lake Travis had other ideas. Behind a suffocating defense sparked by junior James Bailey, the Cavaliers kept Bowie (5-1, 1-1) in the proverbial doghouse with a 43-0 domination. Lake Travis (4-1, 2-0) earned its first shutout since a 2011 blanking of Marble Falls.

The Cavaliers wasted little time taking control of the game. After a quick three and out on Bowie’s first possession, Bailey partially blocked Connor Flanigan’s punt and the Cavaliers took over at Bowie’s 35-yard line. Four plays later, Dominic De Lira found Dominic Packer for an 18-yard score. When Bowie didn’t match up on the conversion, De Lira whipped a pass to Grant Foster, who walked in for an 8-0 lead.

On Bowie’s second possession, Austin Eschenburg found Steve Johnson for an 11-yard gain on third down, but Johnson lost the ball when Chris Roller tackled him, and Bailey recovered the fumble, setting Lake Travis up in Bowie territory again.

The Cavaliers made one of their few mistakes on the next play. Offensive coordinator David Collins dipped into his bag of tricks and dialed up a double-reverse pass. By the time Shaun Nixon flipped the ball back to De Lira, Foster was alone at the goal line but uncharacteristically dropped the sure touchdown.

The drop turned out to be a delayed sentence rather than a reprieve for the Dawgs. Lake Travis marched the 38 yards in eight more plays with Nixon scoring the first of his four touchdowns from a yard out.

Bailey ended Bowie’s final first-quarter possession when he sacked Eschenburg on third down to force a punt. The Cavaliers capitalized by driving 66 yards in eight plays – six runs by Nixon – and scored on the first play of the second quarter.

Roller gave the Cavaliers a 29-0 lead when he corralled a deflected pass and returned the interception 45 yards for the Cavaliers’ second defensive touchdown in three games.

At halftime, the Cavaliers had outgained the Bulldogs 249-52, allowed only two first downs and forced Eschenburg out of the game with an apparent shoulder injury suffered late in the half.

Things didn’t get any better for Bowie after halftime, though Preston Wheeler managed to drive the Dawgs into field goal range by converting a fourth down with a pass to Mac McGarah. But Flanigan’s field goal veered wide. The Cavaliers responded with a 70-yard march capped by Nixon’s 1-yard run. His 40-yard scamper on third down got the Cavaliers into the red zone.

Lake Travis closed the scoring when De Lira found Nixon behind the Bowie defense for an 81-yard score.

Nixon finished with 189 yards rushing and another 91 receiving on the day before his birthday. Lake Travis outgained Bowie 470-130 and allowed just seven first downs. De Lira continued his solid play at quarterback, completing 17 of 27 passes for 217 yards and two scores. He didn’t throw an interception for the third straight game after tossing three in his first two.

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Picture of James Bailey

James Bailey pictures, Lake Travis v. Bowie 2013

James Bailey blocking Bowie's first punt.

James Bailey with Tackle For Loss.

Another shot of James Bailey blocking Bowie's first punt.

James Bailey sacking the Bowie quarterback.

James Bailey pictures from Lake Travis versus Bowie 2013

Lake Travis v Bowie audio replay

http://kmacsports.ezstream.com/play/index.cfm?fuseaction=embstay&id=3E1AF28973

Statesman.com article about LT v Bowie 2013 game mentioning James Bailey

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

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Ralph Barrera

Lake Travis’ Shaun Nixon finds ample running room in the first half Friday against Bowie’s Joseph Lewright in a game controlled by the Cavaliers from the beginning. Nixon accounted for 295 yards of offense and four touchdowns in Lake Travis’ 43-0 victory over previously unbeaten Bowie.

View Larger

Ralph Barrera

Bowie’s Austin Eschenburg gets sacked by Lake Travis’ James Bailey on Friday. Eschenburg completed only 3 of his 13 attempts. Preston Wheeler replaced an injured Eschenburg in the second half.

Bowie vs. Lake Travis, 10.04.13

By Danny Davis

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.

video from Statesman.com on LT v Bowie game

http://www.statesman.com/videos/news/lake-travis-rolls/vCD7B9/