Arlington – Vann Hopping rushed for 181 yards and 5 touchdowns, both career highs, to power Lake Travis past Arlington Martin 51-12 to open the 2024 season.

Hopping gave Lake Travis a 7-0 lead with 8:34 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run but then didn’t touch the ball again until early in the second quarter, by which time Martin had taken a 10-7 lead thanks to a 12-play drive that resulted in field goal and an onside kick that led to a touchdown early in the second quarter.

“Our offense didn’t get many touches early because they held the ball so much,” Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said afterwards. “We made some mistakes on defense and they had a good plan, and we helped them by not falling on the second onside kick.”

The extended period without the ball kept the Cavaliers from developing any offensive momentum. Lake Travis punted on its first 2 second-quarter possessions before taking advantage of short field. Chaston Ditta connected twice with Josiah Thomas, and Hopping ran through a gaping hole in the middle of the defense for a 19-yard score that put Lake Travis ahead to stay 2:50 before halftime.

After halftime, Hopping continued to punish Martin’s defense despite carrying the ball just 4 times. With those 4 carries, though, Hopping scored 3 times and gained 138 yards. After the game, he credited the quick maturation of an offensive line that included 4 players making their varsity debuts.

“Our offensive line really started clicking,” Hopping said. “I mean, 4 out of the 5 of them were playing their first games on varsity. They were probably pretty nervous, but once they got past that, they did great.”

Hopping was always confident that the line would open holes, but the room they created as the game went along surprised even him.

“Obviously I knew they’d do great, but I didn’t expect them to blow it out of the water like that,” Hopping continued. “They made the right calls and it all worked out.”

While Hopping gave the credit to his blockers, Carter made sure Hopping got his kudos as well.

“He has had a great off-season and summer,” Carter said. “He gained some muscle and dropped a little body fat, not that he needed to, and he is consistent every day. He has the ability to make big plays and he sure did tonight.”

While Carter hinted before the season that his offense would throw the ball more than it has in recent seasons, that didn’t come Friday night, though using a bit different base formation created space for Hopping.

“We were in our spread formation and that gave us some opportunities,” Carter said. “We stuck with what we had been doing (in the first half) and Vann made some good cuts. The offensive line fit them up well for the most part and Vann took advantage of the space.”

Noteworthy:

• Walker Moore's interception and 80-yard return was a key play late in the 2nd quarter. With Martin driving deep in Lake Travis territory, Moore stepped in front of a Brooks Brigance pass and raced the other way. Brigance eventually chased him down, but Lake Travis got a short field goal from Braydon Doane to take a 17-10 lead at halftime.
• Moore's interception proved doubly costly for Martin. In chasing him down to make a touchdown-saving tackle, Brigance suffered an apparent leg injury and didn't play after halftime. It marked the 2nd time in as many season-openers against Martin that the Warriors' starting quarterback didn't finish the game. Martin backup Alex Mathiesen struggled to move the ball against Lake Travis defense. Martin gained just 100 yards after Brigance left the game, 56 of which came on a pass play midway through the final quarter.
• DL Gus Cordova and LB Easton Aird each had quarterback sacks to spark the Lake Travis defense.
• TE Josiah Thomas led the Lake Travis passing attack, catching 7 passes for 55 yards, both career highs, and a touchdown. He caught just 9 passes in 2023.