Caden Berry and Gabe Quanstrom combined for four touchdowns to lead Westlake to a 45-0 victory over Hays in their Class 6A Division II bi-district playoff game at Chaparral Stadium on Thursday. Both receivers had modest regular seasons but came alive in the postseason, showing why coach Tony Salazar trusts the team’s depth at the position.
Berry, a 6-foot-4 senior, opened the scoring with a 69-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. After catching the ball in stride, he sprinted past his defender to give Westlake a 14-0 lead. He added a 16-yard touchdown reception on the next drive. Entering the game with 14 catches for 178 yards and three touchdowns, Berry finished with three receptions for 101 yards and two scores Thursday.
“This feels great,” Berry said after the game. “It’s just a dream to come out here with the people I love, my teammates, and just put on a great performance in front of the home crowd.”
Quanstrom, who had eight catches for 119 yards but no touchdowns during the regular season, caught his first varsity touchdown less than two minutes into the second quarter on a 9-yard pass. He later outran the defense on a 48-yard touchdown reception with 2:30 left in the half. The junior finished with two catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was super fun,” Quanstrom said. “Getting my first two (touchdowns) in a big game like this, it matters. We’re not guaranteed next week. Just trying to get to that next week, keep playing as long as we can.”
Westlake quarterback Jones completed 8-of-11 passes for 225 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. He also ran for 40 yards. His touchdown-to-interception ratio now stands at 24 to 5 for the season. Freshman running back Cooper Jones added 67 yards and two touchdowns, including a 4-yard rushing score and a 20-yard receiving touchdown.
Defensively, Westlake dominated from the start. The Hays offense did not cross midfield until late in the first half. Defensive back Mateus Teixeira forced a fumble that Collin McClune recovered in the second quarter, helping maintain Westlake’s shutout bid.
Coach Salazar praised the team’s performance across all phases after the game. “Our football team showed up in all three phases; what we’ve been doing, feeding off each other,” he said. “Defense getting stops, punt returns setting up short fields, and then offense continuing to be productive and explosive. So, heck of a start to the playoffs for our football team.”
Westlake led 42-0 at halftime, and Salazar gave the backups playing time in the second half. The only points after the break came from an Anton Kopp field goal.
Following the win, Salazar addressed his team holding the first gold ball of the postseason. “This is a special team,” he told the Chaparrals. “We know what we have.”
Westlake improved to 10-1 and will face a San Antonio team on neutral ground in the area round next week. Their opponent will come from either 6-4 Pieper or 4-6 Churchill. The Chaparrals enter the matchup as favorites after their dominant showing against Hays.
According to Yahoo Sports.
