AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Friday's season opener for the Westlake Chaparrals was certainly a story of two halves, with the Chaps turning a slow start in the first quarter into another dominating performance by the final whistle.
With Friday's 44-14 win over Ridge Point, Westlake extended its now 41-game winning streak in the debut for new head coach Tony Salazar.
Ridge Point jumped out to a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, giving the Panthers a brief hope of pulling the upset. Nearing halftime, Westlake started to close that door - and then slammed it shut in the second half, rolling off 37 unanswered points in the game's final 34 minutes.
Quarterback Paxton Land, in his first starting performance, finished the night 9 of 13 for 103 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers; running back Jack Kayser scored three rushing touchdowns to lead the Chaps' ground game.
"We just cleaned some things up," Salazar said when asked about halftime adjustments. "We talked about playing a little more clean football, getting off the field on third down, we had a couple three and outs to start the second half, and that's our game."
Next week, the Chaps take a road trip down Interstate 35 to Converse's Rutledge Stadium, where they'll face the Judson Rockets. Judson opens its season Saturday afternoon against San Antonio Johnson. Coverage on Talk 1370AM and 95.5 HD2 gets underway with ATX Kickoff at 6 p.m.; kickoff from Converse is set for 7:30 p.m.