With starting quarterback Bo Edmundson sidelined, Lake Travis falls in football season opener
Jay Plotkin American-Statesman Correspondent
Published 1:46 p.m. CT Aug. 26, 2022
ARLINGTON — Without Michigan State-bound quarterback Bo Edmundson, normally pass-happy Lake Travis went all in on the running of Nico Hamilton and Kadyn Leon but couldn’t quite get over the hump in a 39-31 loss to 15th-ranked Arlington Martin on Thursday night.
The seventh-ranked Cavaliers fell behind 18-3 and never quite recovered despite pulling within one score a handful of times.
“We didn’t want to throw the ball a whole lot because that would play into their strength,” Cavaliers coach Hank Carter said. “We had some things that were available but just couldn’t convert when we needed to.”
Edmundson, who ranks seventh on the Cavaliers’ all-time passing list with 4,774 career yards, aggravated a back injury in last week’s scrimmage against Cedar Ridge. Rather than force the issue and risk further injury, coaches sat him for the opener.
“He came to us following the scrimmage (last Thursday against Cedar Ridge) and told us his back didn’t feel right,” Carter said of Edmundson. “After talking with Bo, his family and (offensive coordinator Tommy) Mangino, we felt it’s best to hold him out.”
Edmundson’s injury thrust Leon, an athletic three-sport junior, into the lineup in a different spot. Leon had been Lake Travis’ most effective receiver throughout spring and preseason practice. Against Martin, he completed just 4 of 12 passes for 47 yards and a score.
Going away from their trademark passing attack, the Cavaliers put their offense on the shoulders of the line, and it delivered. Time and again the combination of Leon and Hamilton found room to run as Lake Travis pushed Martin’s defense around. Hamilton finished with a career-best 201 yards on 29 carries, including a 72-yard touchdown. Leon ran through Martin’s defense for another 172 yards.
Even when it became evident to everyone at Choctaw Stadium and most everyone watching on ESPNU that the Cavaliers were running the ball, Martin’s defense had few answers.
“Knowing it’s coming and stopping it are two different things,” Carter said. “Our offensive line and our tight ends did well. When we stay away from friendly fire, we can be really effective running the ball.”
Leading up to the game, Hamilton noted that the Cavaliers didn’t have anyone on the ESPN 300 watch list for either the class of 2023 or 2024, and that motivated him and his teammates to put their best foot forward. It’s likely that he and several of the offensive linemen might get a few more looks on the recruiting trail.
“We couldn’t ask for a better performance from the line today,” Hamilton said. “I told them before the game that I’d have their back as long as they had mine, and they blew my expectations away by far.”
With no real timeline for Edmundson’s return to put the Cavaliers back on their pass-happy axis, the offense might look more like Liberty Hill’s in the short term. However, Carter said his team must throw the ball effectively if Cibolo Steele or future opponents load the box to stop the run.
“We are going to have to get better,” Carter said of the passing attack. “If we can force people to load the box, there will be opportunities for big plays, and we’ll need to hit those. We had chances tonight but just didn’t do it. We want to throw the ball better, and we will. It’s choreography and precision and timing.”
Junior Cam Fitzpatrick, who is new to the program, is also listed at QB for the Cavaliers. Fitzpatrick threw for twelve touchdowns in five games as a starter for Pocahontas County High School in West Virginia last season. He moved to Austin over the summer.
"He just needs more time in the system before he's ready to be out there. He's close."
Though the Cavaliers ran the ball effectively, they struggled to stop Martin, particularly when they needed to down the stretch. Lake Travis held Martin scoreless in the third quarter but couldn’t get the Warrior offense off the field in the fourth.
Led by Michael Barrow (125 yards on 13 carries, four total TDs), Martin converted a trio of crucial third downs in the fourth quarter to keep Lake Travis at arm’s length. Martin scored touchdowns on its first two possessions in the final quarter and ran out the clock on its third.
“We weren’t good enough on the edge, and we just didn’t tackle well enough,” Carter said after his defense allowed 304 yards on the ground. “We need to be better at executing in the big moments.”
Frustrating as it is, the Cavaliers know one nondistrict loss doesn’t take away from long-term goals.
“We love learning things in a win, but that didn’t happen tonight,” Carter said.
Another solid opponent and a final nondistrict learning opportunity await next week at Cibolo Steele.
