'We believe in those guys:' A year after fixing its defense, Cedar Ridge tops Lake Travis
· Yahoo Sports
LAKEWAY - Undefeated Cedar Ridge used two goal-line stands in the final two minutes to spoil Lake Travis' grand $48 million stadium reopening party Friday night.
Leading 35-30, the Raiders' defense stuffed Lake Travis running back Teddy Lofgren on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line with 1 minute, 43 seconds left only to have its offense snap the ball out of the end zone for a safety to make it 35-32 on the next play, giving the Cavaliers new life. Down by a field goal, Lake Travis marched deep into Cedar Ridge territory only to see the final drive stall at the 2-yard line when Jason Carter's fourth-down pass glanced off Luca Antoun's hands in the end zone, sparking a wild Cedar Ridge celebration.
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"We believe in those guys," Cedar Ridge coach Bryan Vardeman said of his defense, which has been rebuilt after a disastrous 2025 season in which opponents averaged 40 points per game. "Our guys didn't flinch at all."
Not even when the offense gave up a safety after the initial goal-line stand, sending the defense back out to try and hold Lake Travis again.
"Our defense, they love it," Vardeman said. "We talked about a challenge. Yes, if we don't snap it over our head, we can probably run the clock out there, but our defense was excited to go back out there on the field and make another stand and show that they're the real deal."
Cedar Ridge quarterback Hunter Sellers, right, throws a touchdown pass during the first half of the Raiders' 35-34 win over Lake Travis on Friday, October 9, 2026 at Cavalier Stadium in Lakeway, Texas. (Jay Plotkin /Special to American-Statesman)Lake Travis falls victim to missed chances
Needing only a short field goal to tie the game and force overtime, Lake Travis (2-2-1, 1-1) missed its chance in the closing seconds. Out of timeouts and with less than 20 seconds left, Gage Prebenda-Wilson caught a short pass and was caught inbounds fighting for yardage toward the end zone as the clock ticked away.
By the time officials set the ball for the next play, the Cavaliers didn't have time to run the field goal team into the game and instead had to hurry to take a final shot at the end zone.
"We needed that third-down play to either be an incomplete pass or go into the end zone," Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said. "When it didn't, I didn't think we could have gotten our people out there. I 100% mismanaged that. The plan was not to go for it there."
Cedar Ridge linebacker Powers Wallis led the scrum that kept Prebenda-Wilson out of the end zone.
"I was coming across the middle and knew I had to make the tackle," Wallis said. "I also knew we had to keep him in bounds, so it was great. They had to hurry to the line and they hadn't had much success doing that the whole game, so we liked our chances."
Lake Travis also left points off the board early in the third quarter. Trailing 21-17, Antoun caught a pass and headed toward the end zone. At the last moment, though, Cedar Ridge's Zion Thorne caught him and popped the ball loose. The fumble bounced through the end zone, turning a touchdown into a touchback.
All hands on deck for Raiders
Cedar Ridge (7-0, 3-0) showed its depth on both sides of the ball. Starting quarterback Dylan Snoga tried to play after injuring his left shoulder last week, but was ruled out during warmups, forcing Hunter Sellers into the lineup. Sellers delivered a solid performance, completing 16 of 28 passes for 219 yards and touchdowns to Terrez Harrison and Zaccai Williams.
Deondre Crank, a rotational running back, ran for 101 yards and two scores on 11 carries after starter Devin Patterson found the going tough against Lake Travis' defense. He also had a key catch to convert a fourth down try in the third quarter.
"It's all about our preparation," Vardeman said. "We always prepare our guys like it could be their opportunity at any minute. So they are ready and they aren't allowing the moment to be too big for them."
Not even during a stadium grand opening.
Next up for Cedar Ridge, Lake Travis
Cedar Ridge can enjoy the win and give some of its injured starters time to mend. Snoga, defensive back Trent Bell and defensive end Alex Nelson all missed the game as did receiver Carter Copeland. Lake Travis travels to Stony Point.
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