ARLINGTON, Texas (KXAN) — Westlake’s offense jolted to life in the second half and the Chaparrals claimed their third consecutive state championship 40-21 over Denton Guyer in the Class 6A Division II title game Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
Westlake wide receiver Jaden Greathouse set a 6A title game record with 236 receiving yards on seven catches and hauled in two big scores in the second half. Quarterback Cade Klubnik hit him with 69 and 71 yard passes to put the game away. Klubnik shook off a bad first half to finish with 280 yards on 14 of 21 passing with four touchdowns and an interception.
“As bad as we played offensive in the first half, we played just as good in the second half,” Westlake head coach Todd Dodge said. “They fought their tails off in the second half against a great Guyer team.”
Dodge said despite Klubnik’s first-half struggles, he wasn’t worried.
“He is such a leader and such a great player,” Dodge said. “He’s the best.”
The Chaps outscored Guyer 27-7 in the second half after trailing 14-13 at halftime to claim their 40th consecutive win. Guyer’s defense played outstanding in the first half and did what no other team in Texas could do — hold a lead over Westlake. When Guyer took the lead 7-6 early in the first quarter, it was the first time Westlake had been behind all season.
After just 108 total yards on 20 plays in the first half, Westlake ended with 417 total yards on 48 plays.
The game turned Westlake’s way after senior kicker Charlie Barnett, who will kick for Army West Point next year, hammered a 53-yard field goal to give Westlake a 23-21 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter. The boot was a state championship game record across all classes.
Greathouse was the game’s offensive MVP with his record-breaking performance, and Westlake defensive end Colton Vasek was the game’s defensive MVP. He had three sacks and four tackles overall. Byers Petty led the Chaps with eight solo tackles and four assists on defense.
It was the last game in the illustrious coaching career of Dodge, who announced his retirement at the beginning of the year. In a postgame interview with Bally Sports Southwest, he said he wants to spend more time with his grandchildren and “be a paw-paw (grandpa).”
It’s the first time in the six classification era that a school has won three state championships in a row. Westlake beat Guyer in 2019 and then took down Southlake Carroll, coached by Todd’s son Riley Dodge, in 2021.
“They’re going down in rarified air,” Dodge said.
In other games featuring Central Texas teams during championship weekend, LBJ lost to Stephenville in the 4A DI game 38-21 on Friday and Liberty Hill fell in the 5A DII matchup to Dallas’ South Oak Cliff 23-14 in Saturday’s first game.
Westlake head coach Todd Dodge talks to his team prior to kickoff at the UIL 6A Division 2 state championship game. (Todd Bynum/KXAN) 
Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik prepares for kickoff at the UIL 6A Division 2 state championship. (Todd Bynum/KXAN) 
Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik with his championship medal after the Chaps’ 40-21 win over Denton Guyer in the Class 6A Division II championship game Saturday. (KXAN photo/Todd Bynum) 
Southlake Carroll head coach Riley Dodge walks on the AT&T Stadium field prior to Westlake’s state championship game. Riley’s dad Todd Dodge is coaching his final high school game. (Todd Bynum/KXAN) 
Westlake head coach Todd Dodge meets with quarterback Cade Klubnik before the Chaparrals’ 6A Division 2 state championship game. (Todd Bynum/KXAN) 
Westlake head coach Todd Dodge before the Class 6A D2 championship game Saturday in Arlington. (KXAN photo/Todd Bynum)
Game timeline:
FINAL: Westlake 40, Guyer 21. Westlake claims its third consecutive football state title.
0:44 4Q: FIELD GOAL – Mark Sayegh hits a 32-yard kick for the Chaps. Westlake is going to win another state title. Westlake 40, Guyer 21
3:39 4Q: Guyer can’t get anything going on that drive and punt. Westlake takes over on its 45 yard-line and they can smell another state title.
4:49 4Q: Guyer forces a punt and they’ve got some work to do. Need some urgency from the Wildcats from their own 31 yard-line
7:07 4Q: Westlake’s defense swarms Arnold numerous times on the drive and force a punt. Westlake has it on its own 26 yard-line. Expect the Chaps to bleed some clock on the ground here.
9:06 4Q: TOUCHDOWN – Klubnik to Greathouse .. to the house. 71 yards. The Guyer defender on Greathouse fell down early in the route, leading to Greathouse being wide open downfield. He has seven catches for 236 yards (new 6A title game record) and three TDs. 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:11. PAT good. Westlake 37, Guyer 21
End 3Q: Westlake 20, Guyer 21. Chaps get a long field goal and huge pass play to take the lead after 3Q.
1:17 3Q: TOUCHDOWN – The Chaps are rolling now. It’s Klubnik to Greathouse again, this time for 69 yards and a score. PAT good. It was a 1-play drive following a 3-and-out by Guyer. Westlake 30, Guyer 21.
3:11 3Q: FIELD GOAL – Westlake’s Charlie Barnett hammers a season-long 53-yard field goal straight down the middle. Wow. It’s a new UIL state championship game record for longest FG. He’s going to kick for Army West Point next year. It’s the sixth lead change in the game. Westlake 23, Guyer 21.
6:46 3Q: TOUCHDOWN – Guyer responds in a big way to retake the lead on a 6-yard run by Arnold. 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:32. PAT good. Guyer 21, Westlake 20.
10:18 3Q: TOUCHDOWN – Klubnik glides to his left and finds Bryce Chambers for a 15-yard TD. PAT good. 6 plays, 70 yards, 1:42. PAT good. Westlake 20, Guyer 14.
12:00 3Q: Guyer boots the second-half kick out of bounds and Westlake has the ball on its own 30 yard-line.
FIRST HALF ANALYSIS: Guyer’s defense has been tremendous against the potent Chaps offense. Westlake has 108 total yards on 20 plays while Klubnik has completed just six passes for 84 yards, 62 coming on one play. Guyer’s offense is also doing a great job controlling the clock with nearly 15 minutes of possession to Westlake’s nine minutes. Westlake’s offensive line has struggled and Klubnik hasn’t had much time to read the defense. Guyer has also forced two turnovers, an interception and a fumble, to stop Westlake drives early on.
Expect Westlake head coach Todd Dodge to make some adjustments on offense, perhaps running designed plays to get Klubnik out of the pocket and away from Guyer’s pass rush. Westlake isn’t running it very well either, so if they can figure out how to establish the run in the second half, that will go a long way.
Halftime: Guyer 14, Westlake 13. Neither team gets into the endzone in the second quarter, and Guyer is still clinging to a 1-point lead.
1:19 2Q: Westlake can’t capitalize on the turnover on downs and has to punt. Charlie Barnett booms one down the Guyer 15 yard-line.
3:24 2Q: Arnold tries to go for it all with a deep pass but it’s incomplete and the Chaps take over on downs. Westlake has it on its own 40.
3:30 2Q: Guyer doesn’t get the line to gain and it’s 4th-and-4 … decision time for the Wildcats. It’s too far for a field goal try, so the options are to go for it or hit a short punt to pin Westlake deep.
4:14 2Q: Big third down coming up for Guyer and the Wildcats take a timeout. It’s 3rd-and-6 on Westlake’s 39 yard-line
5:41 2Q: Westlake hits Arnold late out of bounds and that gives the Wildcats a first down.
6:07 2Q: Klubnik completes a 3rd-and-9 pass to Greathouse, but Greathouse gains 8 yards. Westlake punts and Guyer has the ball on its own 22 yard-line.
8:33 2Q: Westlake sacks Arnold twice during the drive and the Wildcats punt. Westlake takes over on its own 17 yard-line
10:42 2Q: Westlake’s drive stalls and the Chaps have to punt. Guyer takes over on its own 33 yard-line. Guyer has been controlling the clock with more than eight minutes of possession time to Westlake’s 4:30.
12:00 2Q: Westlake has the ball on its own 21 yard-line to start the second quarter,
End 1Q: Westlake is in unfamiliar territory, trailing for the first time all season. Guyer 14, Westlake 13
0:09 1Q: TOUCHDOWN – Guyer’s Arnold hits Jace Wilson for a 9-yard score. PAT good. This tie the turnover come back to bit the Chaps. 4 plays, 33 yards, 0:44. PAT good. Guyer 14, Westlake 13
0:53 1Q: Westlake RB Jack Kayser gets popped hard and fumbles. Guyer recovers and takes over on Westlake’s 32 yard-line. That’s Westlake’s second turnover of the game.
2:00 1Q: Westlake’s defense forces another punt and they’ll take over on its own 36 yard-line.
2:52 1Q: TOUCHDOWN – Klubnik floats a pass to Jaden Greathouse down the sideline, he goes up over the Guyer defender and takes it to the house for 62 yards. PAT good. 2 plays, 71 yards, 0:41. Westlake 13, Guyer 7
3:31 1Q: Guyer fumbles on a 4th-down conversion attempt, so the interception doesn’t immediately hurt the Chaps. Westlake takes over on its own 29 yard-line.
4:59 1Q: Westlake QB Cade Klubnik throws an interception, just his third of the season, and Guyer takes over on the Chaps’ 37 yard-line
5:16 1Q: TOUCHDOWN – Guyer QB Jackson Arnold runs it in from 15 yards out. PAT is good. 9 plays, 63 yards, 3:19. This is the first time Westlake has trailed the entire year. Guyer 7, Westlake 6.
8:35 1Q: Not a good first drive for the Chaps. They go 3-and-out and punt. Guyer takes over on its own 37 yard-line.
9:34 1Q: Westlake’s defense forces a Guyer punt, and this time the Wildcats get it kicked. Chaps take over at their own 28 yard-line as the offense takes the field already up a score.
10:24 1Q: TOUCHDOWN – The Chaps blocked a Guyer punt and take it the other way for a score. Will Magids got his paws on it and basically caught the punt right off the punter’s foot and returned it 8 yards. PAT no good. Westlake 6, Guyer 0
12:00 1Q Westlake wins the coin toss and they defer to the second half, so they’ll kick it to Guyer to start the game.
7 p.m.: The game is starting a little later than scheduled, looks like kickoff will be around 7:15 p.m. In the meantime, Todd Dodge and his son Riley had a moment before Todd’s final game.
6:30 p.m.: It’s 30 minutes before the scheduled kickoff from Arlington. In the Class 6A DI game that ended around 5:50 p.m., Galena Park North Shore topped Duncanville 17-10
