Posted: Fri, 2 Dec 2011 07:52 AM - 22,750 Readers
By: Danny Davis
photography by Jay Janner
Tyler Paulsen is 6 feet tall and weighs 225 pounds, so he may literally be one of SpongeBob SquarePants' biggest fans.
A defensive end for Lake Travis, Paulsen said Wednesday that he has liked the Nickelodeon cartoon for years, and he has SpongeBob T-shirts that he wears around campus.
Tonight, though, Paulsen will ditch those T-shirts for a football jersey. And much like a sponge soaks up water, Paulsen will absorb blocks from Cedar Park's linemen with the goal of squeezing his arms around a ball carrier, as the Cavaliers face the Timberwolves in a Class 4A, Division I state quarterfinal at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
A victory would move Lake Travis, the winner of a state-record 27 consecutive playoff games, one step closer to an unprecedented fifth consecutive state championship.
"Sixteen games, that's our season ," said Paulsen, who is trying to win his third state championship ring. "When I was a sophomore, I was excited to be up there. Now, I want to win so bad since it's my last season to play with these guys."
Since the start of the 2007 season, Lake Travis has been led by an offense that has averaged 44 points per game and featured three stars who earned All-Central Texas player of the year awards.
The Cavaliers' defense hasn't been entirely overshadowed; former linebackers Austin Williams, Quinton Crow and Harry Hatch all earned first-team All-Central Texas honors. Just last season, Lake Travis seniors Zach Streuling and Colin Lagasse were named to the All-Central Texas team as a defensive back and utility player, respectively.
The Cavaliers' defensive line, however, has toiled in relative obscurity . Of Lake Travis' 24 All-Central Texas honorees over the past four seasons, only Trevor Gillette, a third-team pick in 2009, was a defensive lineman.
"All of the dirty work happens down on the d-line," senior defensive end Jude Jeffress said. "We don't get lovin' from the media, but our coaches know that we do good, and the fans know us."
Jeffress has 88 tackles and six sacks this season, while junior defensive tackle Spencer Staples has recorded 51 tackles. Lake Travis, which has allowed 15.3 points per game this season, has had only one team rush for more than 200 yards against it this fall.
Paulsen, who was called up to the varsity midway through the 2009 season after an injury to former Lake Travis lineman Shaquille Marable, has put up impressive numbers this year: 74 tackles and a team-high 8.5 sacks .
In an area playoff game two weeks ago, he sacked Smithson Valley quarterback Parker McKenzie on back-to-back plays in the second quarter, forcing a fumble on the second takedown. Lake Travis quickly scored after the fumble recovery, and that touchdown gave the Cavaliers a 21-7 halftime lead in a contest they won 42-21.
"The player that he is right now, he's so strong, very, very fast, powerful," Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said of Paulsen. "He's a bull, too. He's not the tallest guy in the world for a defensive end, but he's a tough matchup for people."
Paulsen, Jeffress and a Lake Travis defense that also boasts Streuling (162 tackles) and linebackers Corbin Crow (154 tackles) and Blake Burdette (131 tackles) will have a tough assignment tonight: stopping Cedar Park quarterback Brian Hogan.
Hogan has rushed for 1,592 yards and passed for 976 this season.
In Lake Travis' 24-21 victory over Cedar Park on Nov. 4, the Cavaliers limited Hogan to a 1.8 yards-per-carry average, but in a regular-season matchup in 2010, Hogan accounted for four touchdowns as Cedar Park earned a 14-point victory over the Cavaliers.
Because of a knee injury, Hogan did not play in last year's state quarterfinal between the teams, as Lake Travis won 21-20.
"We just have to play our best," Paulsen said. "You can't worry about him too much; you just have to play the game."
