Category Archives: Lake Travis

VHS rallies to beat Cedar Ridge, Smallwood rushes two 4th-quarter touchdowns, Barney hits field goal in OT

Thank you Kim Krant for this Vandegrift Viper coverage.

By ZACH SMITH, Four Points News
Photos by SCOTT W. COLEMAN

Tim Barney spent the first part of his Friday watching game-winning college football field goals on YouTube.

His extra time watching film paid off.

The senior kicker nailed a 33-yard field goal in overtime to lift Vandegrift to a district-opening 17-14 win against two-time defending district champions and state semifinalist Cedar Ridge on Friday night.

“Obviously I was nervous,” Barney said. “I knew it was going to be a close game. Right before halftime, my teammates were telling me I was going to get my chance. We all did our jobs. When I go out and kick on the weekends, I’m counting down to clock.”

Vandegrift Vipers running back Isaiah Smallwood (15) and quarterback Dru Dawson (4) during a high school football game between Vandegrift and Cedar Ridge on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Cedar Ridge scored on its first drive of the game and doubled its lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Senior receiver Jaylen Ellis was ejected for targeting with more than five minutes left in the game.

The Vipers rallied with a pair of touchdown runs by senior Isaiah Smallwood, including the game-tying touchdown with just over a minutes to go in regulation.

“If you stay within striking distance the entire game, you have a chance and that’s exactly what happened,” Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders said. “The defense was unbelievable tonight. That doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, but (Cedar Ridge) was on the positive side of the field and they came away with just one score.”

Smallwood finished the game with 70 yards.

“We just stayed patient and kept believing in the coaches and the gameplan that we had,” Smallwood said.

Vandegrift quarterback Dru Dawson finished 11 of 21 passing for 123 yards with one interception and ran for 87 yards. Senior Ryan Merrifield led the Vipers’ receiving corps with four receptions for 42 yards.

Ellis finished the game with four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders, and running back Deuce Vaughn rushed for 137 yards on 27 carries. Quarterback Jalen Brown completed 8 of 16 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s going to be hard to go through this district without a loss,” Cedar Ridge head coach Sam Robinson said. “We opened up against one of the top teams in the district and we’ve still got a lot of tough teams ahead of us. This one is over and we’ve got to move on and learn from it.”

On the first drive of the game, Vandegrift made an error in the defensive backfield and Ellis got wide open in the end zone, catching a 41-yard pass for the first touchdown of the game.

Neither team moved the ball much in the first half. Aside from the 41-yard bomb, the longest play of the half for Cedar Ridge was a 33-yard pass and Vandegrift’s longest play was an 18-yard run in the second quarter.

The Vandegrift defense came up big in the third quarter as they stuffed the Raiders’ offense deep in the Vipers’ red zone twice and only allowed them to score on a 2-yard rush by Brown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

But the rally started on the next drive when Smallwood took a direct snap in from a few yards out. The game-tying 10-yard touchdown run by Smallwood capped off an 8-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Mongauzy and Trevor Harrison combined for a sack on 3rd down and Jax McCauley got into the backfield on fourth down in overtime to keep the Raiders off the board.

“We started pushing them around at the end, it was nice to see our conditioning take place,” Sanders said. “Cedar Ridge is a very good team.”

Vandegrift continues district play on at the Pfield against Hendrickson on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., while Cedar Ridge plays host to Leander.

“We just made some self-inflicted mistakes that gave them a chance,” Robinson said. “(Vandegrift) fought their butts off and took advantage of it.”

Follow @ByZachSmith and @HCNSports on Twitter and Instagram for the latest news on all local and regional sports. Email: sports@hillcountrynews.com 

The Vandegrift Vipers student section during a high school football game between Vandegrift and Cedar Ridge on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Cedar Ridge Raiders junior quarterback Jalen Brown (11) runs for a touchdown during a high school football game between Vandegrift and Cedar Ridge on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Cedar Ridge Raiders junior defensive end Tyler Swanberg (43) attempts to corral Vandegrift Vipers junior quarterback Dru Dawson (4) during a high school football game between Vandegrift and Cedar Ridge on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Vandegrift Vipers head coach Drew Sanders during a high school football game between Vandegrift and Cedar Ridge on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Cedar Ridge Raiders junior quarterback Jalen Brown (11) attempts to elude Vandegrift Vipers junior Jax Mccauley (21) during a high school football game between Vandegrift and Cedar Ridge on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

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Local dermatologist raises funds for Dell

The Bhatt family hosted their annual fundraiser “Botox for Babes” and donated $16,662 to Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas this summer.

Some 60 patients and all of the Four Points Dermatology staff participated at the June 20 event, said Roopal Bhatt, founder and dermatologist of the local practice.

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Four Points neighbors help Kenyan orphanage

Kirsten Hanna (white shirt) and Ashley Goolsby (blue shirt) made the trip earlier this year to Shelter Children’s Home in Africa. In small ways, the two local residents are helping sustain the orphanage.

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

After visiting an orphanage in Ngong, Kenya, two Four Points neighbors decided to make it their mission to help.

In January, Kirsten Hanna and Ashley Goolsby visited Shelter Children’s Home, the orphanage and school is home to 151 Kenyan boys and girls, from newborns through their late teens, and boasts over 300 alumni.

Goolsby — who owns restaurant Shack 512 on Lake Travis with her husband — had visited previously and was sponsoring the cost of one student’s college education at the home. Timing was right, their son Gray graduated Vandegrift in 2016.

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Shorter bus commutes, air conditioning coming

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Students riding bus home from Vandegrift and Four Points Middle School are getting home much quicker now than when the school year began, and the Leander ISD school board is working to equip buses with air conditioning.   

Many parents were concerned about the long commutes on hot buses during the first week of school.

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More development coming to RM 620: Hotel, housing, retail, offices, dealership

Proposed developments along RM 620 between RM 2222/Bullick Hollow and Anderson Mill Road. Google Maps.

Hyatt Place, Ash Creek Homes, Volvo set sights on Four Points area

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

The heart of Four Points along RM 620 will be changing significantly in the months ahead as new development comes in. A new Hyatt Place hotel is under construction next to CVS, and new homes and retail space are scheduled to be built close by. Additionally, a new Volvo dealership is slated to go in a few miles away at RM 620 North and Buckner Road.

Development plans are underway on three tracts of land along RM 620 between CVS pharmacy and Home Depot. The 95-room Hyatt Place hotel is under construction at 7300 N. RM 620 on a 6.6-acre tract. A retail and office complex is proposed for the 27-acre tract between the Hyatt site and Vista Parke Drive. Ash Creek Homes is to develop a residential and commercial project at 11601 Vista Parke Dr. on a 7-acre tract.

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