By 
ROUND ROCK – Cedar Ridge quarterback Dylan Snoga made a crucial mistake early in Friday's game against Round Rock.
While scrambling out of the pocket late in the first quarter, he was hawked down by a Dragons defender and fumbled the ball. Round Rock converted the turnover into a field goal to go up 10 points in the District 25-6A clash at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex.
The veteran quarterback was even-keeled in spite of the miscue, completing 29-of-36 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns as he led Cedar Ridge (9-1, 5-1) to a 35-32 victory in its senior night regular season finale.
"He had a couple plays early in the game that he'd probably like to have back, but at the same time, you don't control that," Cedar Ridge coach Bryan Vardeman said postgame. "You get to choose how you respond to that, and the way he responded the rest of the game, I think resonated with our team and shows that man, he's a competitor and he's a leader for us."
PHOTOS: See the best moments from Friday's game
Cedar Ridge has extra motivation
Friday's contest had no playoff implications. Still, Snoga, as well as the rest of the Raiders, had an extra jolt of motivation heading into the matchup.
First off, this is an intracity rivalry, one that Cedar Ridge lost by four touchdowns a year ago. The Raiders also wanted to rebound from a 56-21 defeat to Westlake last week, which cost the team its bid for a district title and a potential undefeated regular season. Snoga said he was disappointed in his own performance in the loss to the Chaparrals.
"Going into this game, I was just like ‘I need to have a get-back game,'" said the senior, who finished the regular season with 26 passing touchdowns against just two interceptions. "I need to do the things I've been doing (throughout) the season and just rely on that."
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Scores, updates from Austin-area games
A poor start
While the Raiders went into the game needing a win, it faltered over the first two quarters. Round Rock (6-4, 3-3) quarterback Dov Stickler ran in the game's first touchdown from a yard out midway through the first quarter. And a 31-yard Santiago Irizarry field goal after Snoga's fumble put the Dragons up 10 two minutes into the second.
Round Rock attempted a surprise onside kick following Irizarry's boot, which the Raiders recovered. Three plays later, Deondre Crank sprinted by the defense as he ran for a 39-yard touchdown for the Raiders' first points of the game. Cedar Ridge took the lead on its next possession via a 20-yard touchdown from Snoga to Zaccai Williams.
A Ryan Sirwaitis touchdown gave Round Rock a three-point lead at the half but the Raiders stayed the course.
MORE:Jalani Culpepper finally unleashed on offense, East View makes playoffs
"Hats off to Round Rock, they have an incredible football team," Vardeman said. "Coach (Cody) Moore does an outstanding job, and that's a very good football team. At the same time, I'm really proud of the way our guys competed all game."
Raiders take control
Cedar Ridge dominated much of the second half. Snoga spread the ball around as he tossed touchdowns to Terrez Harrison, Tyler Burchett and Devin Patterson to build a 35-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Numerous skill position players made an impact for Cedar Ridge against its in-town rival. Snoga's touchdown passes all went to different players and six Raiders caught multiple passes Friday. Crank had 153 all-purpose yards; he made an impact as a runner and receiver. Williams, the junior who gave the Raiders their first lead of the day, paced the receiving group with seven catches for 113 yards and a score.
"It helps a lot actually," Williams said of the team's variety of options in the passing attack. He added that Cedar Ridge's top receivers "get doubled every game, so it's just getting (the ball) to the other guys."
Looking toward the UIL playoffs
An 18-point lead with six minutes to go is often safe. However, that's when the Round Rock offense found its spark after being silenced for the entire second half. Stickler connected with Simon Sylvain for a 59-yard touchdown with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left in the contest.
After Cedar Ridge missed a field goal on its next drive, Stickler, who threw for 311 yards and two scores Friday and ran for another, connected with Dylan Harper on an 8-yard touchdown, as well as the 2-point conversion, to slice the lead to 35-32 with 1:53 remaining.
MORE:Vandegrift vs Hutto game score
Cedar Ridge recovered the following onside kick, its third one of the day, and earned the first down it needed to seal a morale-boosting victory.
"We didn't really need the win on the stat line, but it was definitely a big mental game for us," Snoga said. "Going into the playoffs with a win against a team like Round Rock, that's such a big confidence boost for me, the guys, the coaches, just everybody."
It was an nerve-racking finish for the Raiders, who will face District 26-6A champions Dripping Springs next week in the bi-district round of the postseason. But Vardeman, the team's second-year head coach, believes navigating uneasy moments against difficult opponents, like they did Friday, will help Cedar Ridge make the deep playoff run it believes it's capable of.
"You got to go win football games like that," he said as music from the marching band blared nearby. "Was it perfect? No. Was it the prettiest win? No. But sometimes you got to go win football games like that. … That one right there is going to help us in the future."
This article originally published at Cedar Ridge QB rips off 4-touchdown, 345-yard game to beat rival Round Rock.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cedar-ridge-qb-rips-off-140230409.html
