HS Countdown to Kickoff: Rattlers host reigning champion Austin Westlake

Reigning 6A Division II champion Austin Westlake will clash with John Walsh again in 2020.

The Chaparrals defeated Walsh’s old team, Denton Guyer, in last year’s title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, 24-0, though Walsh was without his starting quarterback. Now the head coach of San Marcos, Walsh will get to host Westlake as a fellow member of District 26-6A.

After going 15-1 overall and 7-1 in district play, Westlake graduated 42 seniors in the spring but brings back 32 lettermen, including nine starters — four on offense and five on defense. With talent at nearly every position, the Chaparrals are in good position to make another deep run in the playoffs this season.

Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik sat behind a pair of senior signal-callers in 2019, completing 53 of 69 passes for 680 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception in limited playing time, but should get his chance to lead the offense this year. He’ll have one of the team’s top targets back from a year ago in Jaden Greathouse, who caught 47 passes for 715 yards and 10 scores as a 6-foot-3 freshman. Klubnik should also get a major boost out of Westlake’s backfield, featuring the dynamic duo of Zane Minors and Grey Nakfoor, who combined for 1,415 yards and 23 touchdowns on 183 carries (7.7-yard average).

The Chaparrals’ secondary is stacked with experience, with defensive backs Carter Barksdale (one interception, four pass breakups), Brady Lamme (three pass breakups, 48 tackles), Dave Campbell’s Texas Football (DCTF) magazine District 26-6A preseason defensive MVP Lucas Mireur (two interceptions, six pass breakups) and 2019 6A DII championship game MVP Michael Taaffe (three interceptions, five pass breakups) all coming back. Star defensive lineman Taevin Brown, with 83 stops and 4.0 sacks last season, will also return to help upfront.

San Marcos is scheduled to host Westlake inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. DCTF magazine predicts the Chaparrals to win the district crown, earning the division’s top seed in the playoffs.