Here To Prove.

[djp73]

FOOTBALL
Lake Travis caps historic season with state championship
Jay Plotkin American-Statesman Correspondent
Published 6:28 p.m. CT Dec. 16, 2023


KADYN LEON LOOKS IN HIS THIRD TD OF THE GAME

DUNCANVILLE - Lake Travis' historic season has come to an end in the finest way possible, with a win in the state championship game.



Duncanville's defense kept things close in the first half by stacking up the box to stop the run, holding Lake Travis to 14 points while scoring 6 themselves.

The first score of the game came on a 21 yard Cam Fitzpatrick to Cole Munnerlyn touchdown pass late in the first quarter.



Duncanville's offense put together two long drives but each stalled and they were forced to settle for field goals by Jonathan Batres.

Between the pair of field goals the inevitable happened as Fitzpatrick connected with WR Kadyn Leon over the top for a 78 yard touchdown.



Lake Travis extended their lead midway through the third quarter when Fitzpatrick and Leon connected for their 34th touchdown of the season and second of the game.



Nico Hamilton, who had a tough time finding any room to run throughout the entire game, was finally able to find the endzone early on in the fourth quarter to make the score 28-6.



Duncanville put together a long drive and capped it off with a Keelon Russell to Dakorien Moore touchdown pass followed by a two point conversion to make it a 28-14 game.

Less than a minute later Fitzpatrick and Leon struck again, this time putting the game away with a 35 yard connection.

The championship is the seventh for Lake Travis and current head coach Hank Carter's fourth.

Lake Travis accomplished the feat by leaning on a dominant offense which was led by the performances of three record-breaking players in QB Cam Fitzpatrick, RB Nico Hamilton and WR Kadyn Leon.

Fitzpatrick set new school records for the most passing yards in a season with 5,077 which surpasses Garrett Gilbert's 4,851 set in 2008. Fitzpatrick also set the single season record for passing touchdowns with 59, which surpasses Gilbert and Charlie Brewer who were tied with 56 previously. Fitzpatrick's 292 completions is good for third all time as is his 434 attempts. Gilbert is first and second in both of those categories.

Nico Hamilton now holds the school's single season records for carries in a season with 314, well ahead of Shaun Nixon's 253 from 2013. Hamilton also topped Nixon's rushing yardage record of 1,747 with a whopping 2,012 and is tied for fifth with 19 touchdowns.

Kadyn Leon's monumental season saw him breaking the school record for receiving yardage, previously 1,815 set by Jason Bird in 2007, by over 500 yards with a new mark of 2,344. He topped Garrett Wilson's previous record of 27 touchdowns by eight with 35. He set a new record of 23.67 yards per catch, besting a 22.08 mark set by Andy Erickson in 2009. Leon's 99 receptions is good for fourth all time.

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Cam Fitzpatrick 2023 Stats:
REGULAR SEASON
08/25/2023 vs Martin W 17-14 17/30 271Yds 1TD 1Int, 1Car 39Yds 1TD
09/01/2023 vs Steele W 20-10 19/29 277Tds 2TD 1Int
09/08/2023 vs Johnson W 56-28 20/28 333Yds 6TD 0Int
09/14/2023 @ Akins W 35-0 18/28 313Yds 4TD 0Int
09/22/2023 vs Westlake L 21-24 24/39 363Yds 2TD 0Int
10/06/2023 @ Del Valle W 55-0 10/13 282Yds 4TD 0Int
10/14/2023 vs Anderson W 42-20 21/36 359Yds 6TD 0Int
10/20/2023 @ Dripping Springs W 31-24 22/34 319Yds 3TD 2Int
10/27/2023 vs Austin W 63-14 11/12 319Yds 4TD 0Int
11/02/2023 @ Bowie W 63-3 19/26 416Yds 4TD 0Int
-----------------------------------
PLAYOFFS
11/10/2023 vs Vandergrift W 31-24 17/24 285Yds 3TD, 1Car 34Yds
11/17/2023 vs Johnson W 49-3 22/30 349Yds 5TD
11/24/2023 vs Brennan W 45-24 15/22 342Yds 4TD, 1Car 2Yds 1TD
12/02/2023 @ Westlake W 28-21 16/22 283Yds 4TD
12/09/2023 @ North Shore W 31-21 22/34 261Yds 3TD, 2Car 40Yds 1TD
12/16/2023 @ Duncanville W 35-14 19/27 305Yds 4TD, 1Car 10Yds
-----------------------------------
Season Totals: 292/434 67% 5,077Yds 59TD 4Int, 6Car 125Yds 3TD

[The JZA]

Congrats on winning the state championship. Now, let's address our commitment issues

[djp73]

Long hard road
February 7th, 2024

Cam peeked in the window and then reached out and pulled the door, expecting it to be locked. Much to his surprise it opened and he walked in slowly, looking around the gym. At the far end sat a lone table with some chairs. Behind it was a brand new banner with "Seven time state champs" and the Lake Travis logos printed on it.

He made his way across the space, gently pulling out the chair in the center of the table and settling into it. He looked out over the table at the chairs around it. He imagined what the scene might be in a few short hours.

He pictured his teammates and classmates in the stands. He pretended the chairs were filled with members of the local media, all anxiously awaiting his words.

He ran through parts of his speech in his head, hoping the last paragraph would write itself as he did. When he came to that part he found himself stuck, just as he had for the past several months.

Things had been a whirlwind since the season ended. Cam and his mother had visited a different school every weekend since Christmas. Messages with different coaches, recruiting coordinators and players had flown back and forth endlessly.

It had been a couple days since he had decided to sequester himself, turning off his phone and steering clear of other electronics, media and even most people. He had hoped the solitude would provide some clarity but still, mere hours before a decision had to be made, the answer was still unclear.

---

Cam took a deep breath and looked around the gym, now packed to capacity. The cacophony of voices a far cry from the silence he had enjoyed a few hours before. He looked to his mom next to him, receiving the smile he'd grown so used to as a response. She leaned in.

"You've got this sweetie. I love you." Cam found her words to be surprisingly relaxing, knowing that no matter what he decided she would be there for him.

"I love you too." He replied.

Cam leaned forward and spoke into the microphone.

"Thank you all for coming today." He began, a slight crack in his voice.

"I'd like to start by thanking coach Carter and the rest of the coaching staff for helping make me the best football player I could be."

He paused, looking up from his notes toward his coaches and gave them a nod.

He looked back to his notes and continued.

"I want to thank all the staff and students here at Lake Travis for accepting me into the culture here on day one and making me feel like I belong."

Again he paused, looking around at all the familiar faces throughout the gym.

"I want to thank all my teammates. What looks like a Hollywood story from the outside is a long, hard road on the inside and it took every last one of us to accomplish what we did. What a run!"

He paused, pointed to the poster behind him then looked toward his teammates, who had errupted into a chorus of cheers and shouts.

Once things had settled down again he continued.

"I especially want to thank my mother. Without her determination, support and love none of this would have been possible for me."

He leaned over and embraced his mother, fighting back tears.

He regained his composure, took a deep breath and leaned toward the microphone.

"My journey to today has been a long and winding one. I want to thank everyone who has been involved with my recruitment process for their patience while I focused on this past season."

"The decision I have reached was not an easy one and there were several factors that I considered to get to this point."

His mind raced, trying to find any last reason to reconsider his choice.

"All that being said..."

He paused again, taking another look around the room at everyone who had helped him get to this point. His heart raced.

"I have decided to continue my education and my football career..."

He leaned away from the mic, turned his head and cleared his throat.

[The JZA]

USC

[djp73]

USC

[The JZA]

Can't knock me for trying to recruit lol

[djp73]

Published Feb 7, 2024
Austin's Fitzpatrick shocks Texas with announcement




Adam Friedman • Rivals.com
Rankings Director and National Transfer Portal Analyst

Austin, Texas four star pro style quarterback Cam Fitzpatrick was one of the last players in our top 150 who remained unsigned going into today's National Signing Day deadline.

Fitzpatrick, who had given Texas a verbal commitment last year before decommitting, shut down his recruitment to focus on his senior season at Lake Travis High School. The decision proved to be a good one as he led the Cavaliers to a state championship while throwing for over 5,000 yards along with 59 touchdowns.

This morning a rather large crowd gathered in the Lake Travis gym to find out where he would be playing in the fall.

Most of the time in these situations where a higher profile recruit has delayed making an announcement there is a general consensus of 2 or 3 schools that are left in the running. For Fitzpatrick there was no real sense of that in the community.

Fitzpatrick went on a whirlwind tour of schools between Christmas and the end of January, taking visits with no less than 12 ranging from Texas Tech to San Diego State.

Fitzpatrick drew a collective gasp from those in attendance when he announced his destination, the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Fitzpatrick said two of the most important things to him were to find a school where he had an opportunity to compete for the starting job immediately and to stay close to home. UTSA offers both of those things.

Fitzpatrick will likely compete with Owen McCown and Eddie Lee Marburger for the starting job. McCown was the favorite to beat out Marburger before the signing of Fitzpatrick. McCown threw for 442 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions while appearing in seven games for the Roadrunners last season.

For UTSA Fitzpatrick joins fellow four star OL Jonah Miller to give them one of the top classes in the American Conference. Coming off a 9-4 season in 2023 hopes are high in San Antonio.

"We feel like with the returning players we have coupled with this class we have assembled we're one of the teams to beat in the conference." Head Coach Jeff Traylor said.

Fitzpatrick did not speak to the media after the announcement.

[The JZA]

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