It wasn't lost on either Lake Travis receiver Lark Sidle or quarterback Chaston Ditta that they were returning to the scene of one of their best 2023 games.

In a 66-14 win over Bowie in 2023, Ditta passed for 337 yards and 5 TDs in just his second start while Sidle made a striking varsity debut with 6 catches for 88 yards and 2 of those TDs. You'll forgive Bowie coach Jeff Ables if he felt a bad deja vu feeling.

In a 44-6 win, Ditta again topped the 300-yard mark, completing 25 of 36 passes for 303 yards. All 3 of his touchdown passes went to Sidle, who managed a season-best 5 catches for 58 yards.

“Lark and I talked about it before the game,” Carter said. “I reminded him that this was his coming out party last season, and he said something like that was awesome but tonight will be even better. And I agree.”

For their parts, Ditta and Sidle said they have no plans to petition to play more games at Burger. They want to keep working so Lake Travis’ offense keeps improving.

“I feel like it’s just good coaching and I’m put in position by my team to make plays,” Sidle said. "I think we have great options. We can gash teams with the run and we can also go over the top. It’s hard for defenses to scheme for us.”

The quarterback likes having multiple receivers to turn to. Patrick Colby and Josiah Thomas have had big games already this season, but neither has registered 3 touchdown grabs as Sidle did Friday.

“I just continue to get comfortable playing with my guys,” Ditta said. “I think every receiver we have is bound to have a big game like this. I think we have good matchups everywhere and I’m just looking for the best one.”

Colby and Thomas joined Sidle with big games against Bowie as well. Colby caught 8 passes for 110 yards while Thomas added 5 grabs for 66 yards. Just 5 games into his first varsity season, Colby's already on pace to surpass the totals for catches and yards that led last year's team after 14 games. His 486 yards are already more than the 428 yards Dylan Cullers amassed to lead the 2023 team. His 28 catches are just 7 behind Sam Self's team-best 35 grabs last year. His 5 TD grabs are just 1 behind Cole Munnerlyn's team-leading 6 from 2023.

They aren't the only ones clicking offensively. Vann Hopping rushed for 118 yards and 3 more touchdowns, including a 55-yarder, against Bowie. Through 5 games, he's scored 14 TDs, which has already surpassed his team-leading total of 10 from a year ago.

“I’m really proud of the job that (offensive coordinator Tommy) Mangino has done with our offense," Carter said. "The way Chaston's playing, the way our offensive line is playing, it's fun. Guys are catching the ball. Each week it’s kind of a different guy. That’s what we need.”

The Cavaliers also needed - and got - a big game from Southern Cal-bound defensive end Gus Cordova. He deflected a pass that teammate Landon Watkins intercepted, and he blocked 2 kicks, including a short field goal at the end of the first half that robbed Bowie of a chance to grab momentum.

While Cordova has had moments this season (he recovered 2 fumbles at Midland Legacy, 1 of which he returned for a touchdown), Carter challenged him to become more of an impact player.

“I told him in the first quarter, I said ‘hey bro, you’re going to USC for a reason…so you need to be a playmaker…it’s not enough for you just to be in the right spot,’” Carter said. “We need him to win and he did that a few times.”

Before Carter’s in-game challenge, Cordova said the entire defense focused during the week on stepping up its play.

“We just have to bring it every play,” Cordova said. “I really think we haven’t been playing as fast as I know we can, so I’m just happy that we played as hard as we could and left it all out on the field. We hadn’t been doing that recently.”