Tigers vanquish Vipers 23-20 with last-second field goal

Carl Waits

Sports Writer

If there were any doubts the Dripping Springs Tigers could not compete with the best teams in 6A, most should be eased by their play against the Vandegrift Vipers. For the past ten years, the Viper program has averaged twelve wins a year, putting it among the elite in the area. The Tigers battled toe-to-toe, scoring in each quarter to hold off Vandegrift and highlighted by a 41-yard field goal by Walker Wright with three seconds remaining. This field goal broke the tie and sealed a 23-20 victory to open the season.

All watching had confidence in the passing game with quarterback Austin Novosad (#16) flinging the passes and a bevy of fine receivers to catch them. The running game was initially a question mark, but that too looked good in the hands of running backs Kade Curry (#23), Theo Howard (#14) and Jack Tyndall (#18). Each showed they could hang in there and produce yardage, making the passing game even more effective.

Another question was how well the undersized lineman would perform against the behemoths of 6A. Well, on this night, they kept the defense off the QB for passing and made enough holes for the backs to be effective. The defense used their experienced starters to make the Vipers earn every yard they made. The Tigers swarmed to the ball and harassed Vandegrift all night, and seldom let them have any consistent drives.

The Vandegrift coach later admitted their game plan was to just line up and use their size for the advantage of winning.

Dripping Springs took the opening kickoff and quickly went three and out. Vandegrift took over and started to confidently move the ball downfield. As one back was making a good run, defensive back Gabe Quintana (#3) gave him a good pop, letting the ball loose on the ground. There were three Vipers in ready position to recover, but defensive lineman Elijah Gonzales (#93) laid out to prevent any chance at recovery. This seemed to take the wind out of the sail and added to the Tigers confidence.

It was back and forth until the 2.15 mark in the first quarter when Novosad hit his favorite receiver of the night, Garon Duncan (#8), for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Kicker Walker Wright (#7) would split the uprights to put the Tigers ahead 7-0.

The second quarter was filled with action and scoring. The first play of the quarter, Novosad was tackled in the endzone for a 10-yard loss and a safety. Vandegrift wasted little time and hit a long 57-yard pass with a penalty to the one. Their back powered it in, and the extra point put them ahead 9-7 with 11.10 remaining. Later, DS regained the lead when Novosad hit tight end Boston Papp (#25) for a 24-yard touchdown with 6.09 left. Wright's kick put the Tigers ahead 14-9. Vandegrift would kick a 24-yard field goal with 1.48 remaining to close the gap to 14-12. The Tigers pushed the ball to the goal, but a pass interception in the endzone almost cost the Tigers a pick six.

In the third, Tyndall powered the ball in from the four at the 5.18 mark, but the extra point was missed, giving the Tigers a 20-12 lead. However, Vandegrift would put together a drive in the fourth to score and tie the game with a two-point conversion. The Tigers used their 5.08 minutes in a timely fashion and did not take many chances, knowing they have an allstate kicker. Timeout was called with three seconds left and the ball on the 24. There was no doubt as Wright split the uprights for the win.

The Tigers will now take their renewed confidence as they host San Antonio Wagner in the first home game of the season. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

DS game stats: First downs: 19; Rushing: 32-89; Passing 247; Penalties 5-35.

Individual stats:

Rushing: Kade Curry 11-57; Jack Tyndall 9-33-1TD; Theo Howard 5-10, Novosad 7-()11. Passing: Novosad 18-30-247-2TD-1Int. Receiving: Garon Duncan 9-129-1TD; Boston Papp 4-49-1TD; Skylar Capone-Ford 2-44; Wright 1-13; Joseph Moreland 1-10; Howard 1-2.

Tackling (unasst/asst): Luca Picucci 8-3, Gunnar Betts 6-3, Gonzales 5-4, Derek Edgar 3-5, Keller Stafford 4-3, Tomsen Vickery 4-2, Quintana 2-3, Bryson Amrine 2-3, Peters 3-0, Raphael Siewen 2-1, Landon Requard 2-1, Nathan Prehar 2-1, JD Casteen 1-0, Owen Rhodes 1-0, Rio Hay 0-1, Braiden Vaughn 0-1, Quevado 0-1.