The buzz around Wilkerson-Sanders Memorial Stadium was palpable with Lake Travis coming to town. Rockwall was fresh off a 75 point performance against Jesuit and was looking to upset the No. 6 team in 6A per Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

Just looking out onto the field, you would think Rockwall was at a disadvantage from a size perspective alone. Lake Travis was bigger on both sides of the line of scrimmage, even towering over at times.

Well, the game is not played on paper and none of it mattered. From the get-go, you could tell Rockwall was ready to play. Especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Pace was the name of the game for the Yellow Jackets, using their speed at an efficient rate. Running an RPO offense, a bunch of quarterback Braeydn Locke’s passes were out within the first three seconds of the ball being snapped.

Rockwall took advantage of the sugar huddle as well, getting lined up and taking off before you could read the personnel they were in. The Austin high school had no answer for the fast-tempo offense.

Locke proved to be the star of the show, dominating in the passing game all night. The three-star prospect finished with 506 yards and five touchdowns on 30 of 43 passing.

At halftime, Rockwall led 31-21 after punting just once and throwing an interception. Then came 28 unanswered points in the second half were scored, all in the blink of an eye. Three of Locke’s five touchdowns came after the break.

Getting a win over a program such as Lake Travis can help push Rockwall toward its end-of-season goals. Locke insists learning from the previous season’s mistakes come first, though.

“I think [the win] will motivate us going forward,” said Locke. “Really just because last year we were in a similar situation, started out 3-0, beat a really good Southlake team, and then dropped the ball against Highland Park.”

Highland Park came to town last season and beat up on Rockwall pretty well. The final score was 46-18 in favor of the Scots and Rockwall barely saw 300 total yards.

Locke knows he and his team will be dialed in on the road next week at Highlander Stadium.

“Personally, for me, I know I am more motivated than ever to not let that happen again. I think the guys will too.”

Sticking to the game plan will be the goal. In Locke’s opinion no defense is going to be able to keep up with the Yellow Jackets. Focusing on playing their own game will yield positive results.

“We just gotta have really good attention to detail,” Locke said. “We gotta get out there, gotta play fast. A lot of people talk about it but until you really go against us, you don’t know how fast we go. Having a lot of attention to detail and being ready to go will really help us next week.”

Locke is currently committed to play for Mike Leach at Mississippi State beginning next season. Something Texas fans to keep an eye out for during the program’s transition to the SEC.