Posted: Oct 20, 2019

Behind Bowen Lewis’ rushing, Vandegrift romps Westwood

By Jay Plotkin / American-Statesman Correspondent

Posted Oct 18, 2019 at 10:41 PMUpdated at 10:39 AM

Bowen Lewis ran 52 yards for a touchdown just before halftime to help Vandegrift surge past Westwood 42-17 Friday night in a District 13-6A game at Monroe Stadium.

Lewis' score came with 17 seconds left in the first half and just 20 seconds after Westwood had cut Vandegrift's lead to 14-10.

"That touchdown right before the half was a dagger," said Westwood coach Anthony Wood.

The Warriors had grabbed momentum following R.J. Martinez's 4 yard pass to Jace Lyne with 37 seconds left. But Vandegrift needed just two plays to steal momentum back before heading into the locker room.

After a short kickoff, Lewis needed just two carries to put the Vipers back in control. While the Warriors looked for the Vipers to pass with such little time left, the Vipers changed things up and hit paydirt.

"I'm really impressed with our offensive staff, especially at the end of the half," Vipers coach Drew Sanders said. "Instead of trying to pass, we ran the ball. It was taking what they gave us, and we broke it. And that was huge."

Leading 21-10 at the break, Vandegrift thwarted Westwood's fake punt early in the third quarter and extended its lead to 35-10 when quarterback Dru Dawson scored from 9 yards out. Lewis added a 7-yard run to open the final quarter.

Vandegrift (8-0, 6-0 District 13-6A) used a patient, punishing rushing attack to pull away from Westwood (3-4, 2-3) in the second half. Lewis led the way with 179 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Dawson added 80 yards on seven carries. He also passed for 98 yards and two scores, one each to Blake Youngblood and Trey Mongauzy.

Westwood moved the ball against Vandegrift's defense on a bevy of short passes from Martinez, who completed 34 of 44 passes for 310 yards and touchdowns to Lyne and Oliver Yu. Julian Deberry caught seven passes for 109 yards, and seven different Warriors caught at least one pass.

Despite allowing the Warriors 389 yards, Sanders liked the way his defense stepped up in key spots.

"We had to make some adjustments based on what they were doing in the first half," Sanders said. "I love that our kids were able to take some of those little adjustments from drive to drive."

Vandegrift clinched a playoff spot with the win. The Vipers have their bye week next Friday. Westwood looks to bounce back against Leander.