PFLUGERVILLE – Lake Travis’ delayed season opener couldn’t have gone much better. The Cavaliers honored Odin Hensley, their senior offensive lineman who died last month, then beat the Weiss Wolves 38-21 in a matchup of two of Central Texas‘ top five-ranked preseason teams.
New Cavs quarterback Jason Carter tossed a pair of touchdown passes and Lake Travis (1-0) – especially on defense – impressed with its toughness against one of the Austin area’s top programs.
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Lake Travis Cavaliers running back Teddy Lofgren (3) looks for a way through the defense in the first quarter as the Cavaliers play the Weiss Wolves at the Pfield in Pflugerville, Sept. 4, 2026. Lake Travis won the game 38-21. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Lake Travis has a dominant start to season
Lake Travis Cavaliers defensive back Carter Lofton (8) tackles Weiss Wolves wide receiver Dallas Schad (11) in the second quarter as the Wolves take on the Cavaliers at the Pfield in Pflugerville, Sept. 4, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
The Cavaliers were leading 10-0 before Weiss (1-1) managed to gain a first down and eventually stretched their lead to 38-7 in the fourth quarter. The Cavs didn’t find too many tough moments early, but when they did, they found a way to make plays, especially defensively:
• Weiss finished the first quarter with zero total yards. The Wolves ran only seven plays.
• Led by defensive tackle Austin Doane, Lake Travis stuffed the run early and got pressure on Weiss quarterback Jaxon Schad, keeping the Wolves’ high-powered offense in their den.
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• Schad, last year’s first-team All-Central Texas quarterback who threw five touchdowns in Weiss’ season-opening win over Round Rock, threw just one Friday. He completed 20 of 36 passes for 229 yards, was sacked three times and saw a handful of Cavs defensive backs break up passes downfield, including Buddy Phillips II and Luca Antoun.
Lake Travis celebrates after running back Teddy Lofgren’s (3) touchdown in the first quarter as they take on the Weiss Wolves at the Pfield in Pflugerville, Sept. 4, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
“It’s always important to get those first couple of plays,” Doane said. “That just kind of kicked us into high gear for the rest of the game. Everyone played hard today.”
Said Antoun, who also caught a 61-yard touchdown pass: “It wasn’t like anything special that we did. We ran our defense and we competed. We weren’t going to let down. We have to compete out there and that’s what we did.”
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Lake Travis shows off balanced, ball-control offense
While Weiss struggled, Lake Travis took its time. The Cavaliers uncharacteristically huddled between most plays and continually worked to establish the run early. While Teddy Lofgren and Henry Hopping combined for just one run that went for 10 yards, they did enough to give Carter room to throw.
Making his first start, Carter delivered an efficient, turnover-free game. He completed 18 of 25 passes for 278 yards with touchdowns to Antoun and Westin Smith. He also rushed for 33 yards, most of them coming on a pair of runs that kept drives alive.
“He did really good,” offensive lineman Jackson Koeppel said. “There were a couple of times where he had some pressure and he dealt with it really well. I think he got hit once and it didn’t phase him at all.”
Weiss Wolves running back Trae Collins (23) carries the ball as Lake Travis Cavaliers defensive lineman Austin Doane (97) reaches to defend in the first quarter as the Cavaliers play the Wolves at the Pfield in Pflugerville, Sept. 4, 2026. Lake Travis won the game 38-21. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Odin Hensley honored before the game
The game was played at The Pfield in Plugerville, but the stadium honored Hensley, who died Aug. 12 following a cardiac emergency early during preseason practice, before kickoff.
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“We played really tough today,” Carter said. “We were very gritty and just battled through it. That’s what he would want. That’s the type of player Odin was, just a grinder and a worker, and that’s how we played tonight.”
Friday’s game was one that Hensley would have loved playing in, said Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter. The Cavs snapped the ball 18 times on their first two drives and ran it on 13 of those plays.
“If Odin was here and he was playing right guard or right tackle, he would have been able to come around and be a part of a double team, and he would have loved that,” Cavs head coach Hank Carter said. “He really would have liked how physical we were and how we ran the ball tonight.”
Said Koeppel: “I think he would have liked how we kept going even when things got tough.”
This article originally published at Top-ranked Lake Travis dismantles powerful Weiss in Cavs’ delayed season-opening win.