Semifinal Preview: Westlake vs North Shore

Jack Densmore

January 9, 2021 @ 11:30 AM

One of the most elite teams in the Central Texas area and in the state of Texas is Westlake. This year, the Chaparrals are undefeated so far entering the semifinals against North Shore. The game will be later today at 2 p.m. at Legacy Stadium. There are many parts that make the well-oiled machine of Westlake run but to start off, junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="60713" first="Cade" last="Klubnik"] is one of the many leaders on the team. Klubnik has thrown for 3,099 yards and 32 touchdowns this season with just three interceptions. On top of this, he has also rushed for 483 yards and 12 touchdowns. In the past three games, Klubnik has thrown over 300 yards in each game and for nine touchdowns. Two of his three interceptions this year came against Steele just last week. Despite this, Klubnik has still played nearly flawlessly as of late and all season. The rushing attack also aids the Chaparalls with seniors [player_tooltip player_id="60490" first="Zane" last="Minors"] and Grey Nakfoor being the leaders. Minors has rushed for 910 yards and 19 touchdowns this season while Nakfoor has rushed for 820 yards and 17 touchdowns. In the past three games, Minors has rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, Nakfoor has had some bigger games as of late, as he rushed for 143 yards against Steele last week, and scored three touchdowns against Stevens the week before. Both Minors and Nakfoor each seem to switch off on who has a bigger game, which makes Westlake so dangerous in the running game as if one player is struggling the other fills that gap. Receiving-wise, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="60848" first="Jaden" last="Greathouse"] leads the way with 61 receptions for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns. Easily Klubnik’s favorite target this season, he was quiet last week in the game against Steele but had two touchdowns against Stevens and 87 yards against Smithson Valley. Following Greathouse is senior Luke Nicklos, who has 802 yards and 11 touchdowns. Nicklos had over 100 yards receiving against both Steele and Stevens. This season, this duo has been the main part of the passing game but other players like Nicholas Watanabe and Michael Taaffe do have the potential to create big plays in a snap as well. In terms of defense, the three main leaders in the tackling game are seniors Brady Lamme, Nick Morris and Lucas Mireur. Lamme has 77 total tackles, Morris has 75 and Mireur has 71. Morris also leads in sacks on the season with 13, averaging 1.2 sacks per game which means he gets in the backfield often and disrupts the quarterback often. Senior defensive end [player_tooltip player_id="60594" first="Hayden" last="Bray"] is also disruptive as he has 11 sacks on the season. In the secondary, senior defensive back Jax Crockett leads with five interceptions on the season while Taaffe follows with three. In the past three games, Crockett has gotten two interceptions against Steele and Smithson Valley.