District showdown: Westlake and Cedar Ridge resume after blackout

Two transformers failed at Chaparral Stadium on Friday night, one of them catching fire, and left Westlake's football field dark just before 7:40 p.m. Austin Energy crews were on site to repair the units, Eanes ISD officials said. Westlake had just gone ahead 20-7 on a 9-yard pass from Patton Jones to Nash Chapman, and the Chaps never got to attempt the extra point before the lights went out.

The game is now set to resume at noon Saturday, in the middle of the second quarter, with Westlake holding that 13-point lead. It was District 25-6A's top-versus-second matchup, with both teams undefeated in district play and the UIL playoffs two weeks away. The two sides were also ranked first and second in the American-Statesman's weekly Class 6A poll.

Rain during the day thinned the crowd, but about 400 fans remained at kickoff. Once the field went dark, their cellphones became the only source of light on the premises, and most people had cleared out within 30 minutes. Westlake Hills Fire Department personnel were at the stadium before the outage and were later seen leaving the press box.

Chaps coach Tony Salazar said he had seen power failures during games before in his coaching career, but never one that forced a postponement. "It's unfortunate because the kids and community were ready," Salazar said. He added that he planned to get the players home and to bed, then feed them and start over the next morning.

Cedar Ridge coach Bryan Vardeman said he had never seen anything comparable in 23 years of coaching, "with a transformer blowing up and catching on fire." He described the stoppage as "a good, hard reset" for his team, and said the players stayed composed in the locker room while the situation was assessed. Both teams are scheduled to return to the field Saturday morning to pick up where Friday's game ended.

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