By Wayland D. Clark
The Tigers put a 29-10 home loss to powerhouse Westlake behind them and rebounded to beat Lake Travis in the final minutes of the game. The Tigers trailed 31-24 in the fourth quarter until Dripping Springs quarterback Austin Novosad completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Garon Duncan with 4:16 on the clock to tie the game 31-31.
Linebacker Luca Picucci was credited with 12 tackles in the game but none were more important than one he and a half dozen others made when LT’s Nico Hamilton was stopped on fourth down and one.
Dripping Springs took over on the Cavaliers 34-yard line with 2:24 remaining in the game. With 1:12 on the clock and a first down and ten from the 24-yard line Kade Curry ran 12 yards to give the Tigers another first down. Quarterback Austin Novosad dropped back to pass but finding no receivers open threw the ball out of the end zone. With under 30 seconds on the clock on second down, Novosad handed off to Curry who ran 12 yards for what would be the winning touchdown. Lake Travis got the ball on the kickoff with :14 seconds on the clock and managed to make a first down but on the next play with :07 remaining Dripping Springs Gunner Betts kept the Cavaliers receiver in bounds as the clock ran down.
Walker Wright, who was good on all 5 PATs, kicked a 34-yard field goal in the first quarter to cut the LT lead 7-3 before a 39-yard touchdown pass from Novosad to Kyle Koch. Jack Tyndall scored on a 4-yard run for a 17-17 tie and Curry had a 1-yard run for the Tigers first lead in the game 24-17. LT put a pair of touchdowns on the board before Novosad’s pass to Duncan.
Quarterback Austin Novosad, 14 of 21 for 219 yards and two touchdowns was player of the game. The runner up would have to be Curry who rushed 32 times for 180 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning TD. Tyndall had 4 carries for 18 yards and a TD. Koch led receivers with 10 catches for 156 yards and a TD. Duncan had a pair of receptions for 44 yards and a TD.
Total Yards DS 421 LT 334, Passing DS 219 LT 130, Rushing DS 202 LT 204
Dripping Springs 7-1 (5-1) will host Del Valle 1-7 (1-5) on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the regular season home finale.
