Vandegrift opens with impressive 31-14 win over Dripping Springs

It’s too early to proclaim new Vandegrift quarterback Miles Teodecki a star, but after his first career start Friday, he certainly looks the part.

Teodecki showed no first-game jitters as he threw for 226 yards — nearly all of which came in the first half — and three touchdowns to spur the Vipers to a 31-14 win over Dripping Springs at Monroe Memorial Stadium. He connected on 14 straight passes at one point in the first half, including scoring strikes of 34, 50 and 19 yards to help stake the Vipers to a 31-7 halftime lead.

“It was kind of surreal,” said Teodecki, who ended the game 18 of 25. “Kind of felt like a video game out there. I mean, you’re going out there and just having fun with your boys.”

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Teodecki may raise a few eyebrows around the Austin area with this performance, though one person who wasn’t surprised by it was his own coach.

“I knew he’d be calm,” Vipers coach Drew Sanders said. “He’s great in the pocket, big, can move around and is very accurate. He probably could have had a couple more touchdowns, and I was very impressed with him.”

After losing the bulk of its starters from a year ago , questions lingered about the Vipers' offense coming into the season. And while one can’t overreact to one game against a young Dripping Springs defense, Vandegrift should feel much better about its offensive potential going forward than it did 24 hours earlier.

“You could tell we were mentally prepared to perform tonight,” Sanders said. “I couldn’t be more impressed with my offensive staff … and how they worked together to come up with a game plan.”

Here are some more thoughts from the game that was one of the premier matchups on the first Friday of the Austin-area high school season:

Vandegrift’s defense is the real deal

The Vipers may not have the best front seven in the Austin area — Westlake probably makes that claim — but they aren’t far off. Vandegrift didn’t allow a first down until early in the second half, forced two turnovers and kept the Tigers to 61 yards rushing and less than 250 total yards.

Defensive linemen Daeshon Morgan and Ian Witt lived up to their preseason hype , with fellow lineman Hugo De La Vara Vasquez looking like he also has a future playing in college. Their dominance allowed linebackers Scott Buchanan, CJ Mooring and Adam Scott to be everywhere.

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“Having the defensive line give us those type of fits just makes everything so much cleaner,” Scott said. “It’s really nice for the linebacking corps just to be able to run and hit. The defensive line is fantastic, and we shut down a good offense with a big back (Jack Tyndall).”

Dripping Springs: young, but there's potential

The Tigers fielded an entirely new defense and almost an entirely new offensive line from last fall. That showed early on when they fell behind 21-0 a few minutes into the second quarter. But from that point on, Dripping Springs held its own.

Quarterback Maddox Maher made a lot of good throws in finishing with 185 passing yards, a touchdown pass and a rushing TD, while the defense pitched a shutout in the second half.

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“There was a lot of growing up in the first half,” Dripping Springs coach Galen Zimmerman said. “Vandegrift was the more physical team, and our kids figured out what Friday night football at a high level is about. But I like how our kids responded and played all four quarters. … We have a lot of work to do, but I really, really like our kids’ mentality.”

Being in a seven-team district, the Tigers have four nondistrict games to work out any issues, something that is beneficial for a mostly inexperienced squad.

“We’ve kind of got one more game than normal before district play,” Zimmerman said. “We play four good opponents, and that should help us get better.”

Benefits of a tough first game

Both coaches spoke to the benefit of playing a game against another perennial area power to open the season instead of a contest against a team that might be overmatched. With Vandegrift starting district play Week 3, it quickly needs to jell and be tested before the gantlet of the nine-team District 25-6A.

“When you play somebody really good, you find out if your own team could be good,” Sanders said. “And a team like Dripping Springs is going to expose some problems, and we got exposed tonight at times on certain things. … It’s a nice win, but it’s just the start. And you know, who knows, we may face them in the playoffs.”

Other notable stats

Vandegrift: Brendan Fournier rushed for 86 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2 midway through the second quarter. ... George Farley caught five passes for 93 yards and a TD. ... Brock Chilton and Gavin Koester each caught a touchdown pass.

Dripping Springs: Cooper Reid finished with four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Vandegrift opens with impressive 31-14 win over Dripping Springs