Lake Travis played its spring football scrimmage missing key parts

LAKEWAY — Lake Travis wrapped up its spring football season Friday night with a scrimmage at Cavalier Stadium that was as notable as much for who didn't play as who did.

The list of missing players included offensive lineman Legend Cabello, defensive end Gus Cordova, linebacker Gavin McCullough, backup quarterback Chaston Ditta — all of whom have missed practice time due to injuries — and starting quarterback Kadyn Leon.

"We have a couple of big guys injured and the quarterbacks injured (and unavailable due to baseball playoffs), so it was a tough night for the offense, but even without those guys, there was a lot of good things going on," Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said.

Leon missed the scrimmage while pitching for the Cavaliers' baseball team in a regional playoff series against San Antonio Johnson. He delivered eight scoreless innings in a game they lost 1-0 in nine.

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"I would have liked to have had both of the quarterbacks out there, but the situation with baseball is pretty neat," Carter said. "Kadyn is able to go there and play at a high level and be such a big part of those guys making a big run. We need (the quarterbacks) to get better, like everyone else, but we know a lot about those guys already. Most of spring is about figuring out who's going to be on the bus on Friday nights, and we know those two guys are going to be on there."

The Cavaliers are still trying to figure out who’ll be on the bus for the defensive line. When Jacob Henry transferred to Vandegrift, the Cavaliers suddenly needed to find two new tackles. On Friday night, converted offensive lineman Chase Medrano, defensive end Josef Aganbi and Jakob Thomson saw the bulk of the action inside and got pressure on young quarterbacks Noah Hopkins and Logan King.

Linebacker Markus Boswell, entering his third season as a starter, liked the way the defense developed throughout spring practice.

"We’re pretty solid," Boswell said. "The defense is coming together. Everyone is doing what they’re taught. The biggest thing is working as a team with everyone contributing. Obviously, getting to state is the ultimate goal, but we want to get better every day and learn something new. Brotherhood is a big thing for us."

In Friday's scrimmage, the defense came up with a pair of interceptions — including one that Ethan Montgomery would have returned for a touchdown had officials not blown the play dead — and numerous sacks, including several by returning end Jayden Turner and Carter Buck.

The offense, despite missing its top quarterbacks, had its moments. Nico Hamilton delivered several effective runs, and Cole Munnerlyn, Seth Galbraith and Sam Self made key catches, including Self's 16-yard touchdown late in the scrimmage. The offense might not have clicked on all cylinders, but starting left tackle Ezomo Oratokhai still believes the Cavaliers will be potent come August.

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"We didn't show a lot of what we can really do," Oratokhai said. "We kept it simple, but I think we’ve grown as an offense since the beginning of spring ball, and we can be one of the top offenses in Texas. Our defense is really good, and we’re able to do things against them, which shows how good our offense can be."

Oratokhai said the team adjusted quickly to playing without Leon and Ditta this spring and expects things to improve as summer stretches into preseason practice.

"Our chemistry keeps getting better," he said. "We’re on the same page as an offense, and that's something we kind of lacked last year. I think we’re doing that better this year as a whole, communication, everything."

With the season still three months away, the players and Carter know there's still work to be done after a productive spring campaign.

"To me, spring is about experimenting, trying some new concepts and schemes," Carter said. "Now we need to start figuring out which kids need to be in which spots. I think a big percentage of that is done, but we’ll have guys who improve over the summer and make some strides going into the fall. I thought it was encouraging tonight seeing guys running around making plays."