La Vega Eliminates Leps in the Playoffs Again
-
Klayton Michalka tries to push off the grasp of La Vega’s Ge’Unte Thomas. Photo by Ken Sury/Special to the Record -
Trey Broussard pulls down La Vega’s Benjamin Thompson along the sideline for a touchdownsaving tackle in the second quarter. However, the Pirates scored a few plays later. Photo by Ken Sury/Special to the Record
For the second consecutive season Waco La Vega put an early end to the Leopards football postseason party.
Last year La Vega beat the Leps 52-6 in the first round.
Friday La Vega knocked the Leps from the playoffs with a 42-0 win.
“A lot of hard work goes into a season and you want them to be successful and it’s disappointing to go home in Week 1 again,” said La Grange head coach Kyle Cooper.
“We’re going to build and expand on what we try to do (next season) but bottom line is we have to get into that next echelon, with those top ranked teams in the state.”
The game actually started off promising for the Leps as junior quarterback Eli Gillum hooked up with Dillan Johnson for what appeared to be a 86-yard touchdown pass on La Grange’s first possession of the night.
But it was called back because of a penalty.
La Grange (5-6) never found the endzone again, and managed just 70 total yards in the game.
La Vega (9-2) meanwhile, got four touchdown passes from junior quarterback Kourtney Parr – to four different receivers. The Pirates, who made a run to the state title game last year, look dangerous enough to do so again in 2025.
In a night as lopsided as this, there were some bright spots for the Leps.
Junior punter Colt Jobb boomed numerous kicks, including a 67-yarder.
“It’s something I always dreamed of doing and this season I got to live my dream,” Jobb said of punting. “My consistency has gotten a lot better.”
La Grange only managed 53 yards on the ground, but the leading rusher was sophomore Edric Gants, who ran the ball 10 times for 37 yards.
“It feels good to be around talent, people that can help me get better,” Gants said of playing with these juniors and seniors. “
“Next year we’re trying to go for it all. We want to make a deep run next year. We have the talent to do it, we just need to put in the effort.”
Next year’s Leps team will return nine offensive and nine defensive starters because of this year’s small senior class of players – just 12.
One of those graduating starters is linebacker Ramon Ortiz, who worked his way back into the lineup after an early season injury.
“It was my senior year, I was like, I have to get back,” Ortiz said. “We are sad, we lost badly, but I feel like we did better this year. That’s all we can do.”
Coach Cooper applauded the effort of those seniors and the entire team in 2025.
“I appreciate our kids and their hard work and how they responded to us. We’re not quite there, we’re going to continue to battle,” Cooper said. “I appreciate those seniors, they worked their tails off.”
Now building for the 2026 season begins. A realignment will be announced in the spring, which could affect what district the Leps are in, and what district they face in the first round of the playoffs.
Change is coming. “We have to continue to do a better job putting our kids in successful positions and get some continuity in our schemes – too much turnover the past couple of years defensively,” Cooper said. “We’ve got to grow some kids up and get some depth ... there will be competition at every position.”