Charting Vandegrift's rise to Texas high school football power: 'Tradition really matters'

After rising into a state power quickly, the Vipers' quest for longevity faces an inevitable hurdle — high turnover

Austin Vandegrift players celebrate a win over San Antonio Harlan in the 2022 UIL (Texas) 6A Division II regional finals. / Photo by Blake Purcell, SBLive

AUSTIN, TEXAS - In 2010, the inaugural season of varsity football at Vandegrift High School, the roster was void of seniors.

It was far from the only challenge head coach Drew Sanders had to deal with when it came to building a new team. Especially with a roster competing at the junior varsity level.

His biggest early challenge: A "vaccum of leadership."

“Instead of having a losing or winning tradition, you literally have nothing," Sanders, who in 2009 went from Austin’s Travis High to start up the Vandegrift football program, said. "So to teach them to run through the Viper (inflatable mascot) before games, how do we look like when we’re doing the national anthem, all those things where they don’t have other people to teach them, so you have to teach that stuff.”

Nearly 15 years later, Sanders remains the only coach the Vipers have ever had. From those humble beginnings, Vandegrift - which is a part of the Leander Independent School District - has risen to become an Austin area and Central Texas high school football power.

The Vipers have posted three perfect regular seasons, the last coming in 2023. They’ve also either shared or won the district title outright each of the past six seasons. Two years ago, they made it to their first state championship game, losing to DeSoto in the 6A Division II title.

“It has been very rewarding to build a program to where it is now, and I think another thing I’ve learned is that tradition really matters,” Sanders said. “Once you kind of get going, people understand the expectation, and so being the only head coach here, it’s my expectation and my expectation only, and if it fails, it’s on me, but if it succeeds, then I feel great because I feel like I’ve had a pretty big part in that, so it’s been fun to do that.”

And from having no seniors on the first varsity roster, Sanders just saw the graduation of his largest senior class — approximately 55 in June. But while many programs may be hit hard by the loss of that many seniors, Sanders and his staff have adapted on an annual basis.

“It’s my largest senior class, but I’ve lost 45 seniors every year. … We lose 45 kids every single year and we have a huge program of over 300 kids,” Sanders said. “If you’re talking starters, we have eight we need to replace on offense and then six on defense. I’ve replaced over eight starters on defense four times the last six or seven years, that’s just what big programs do.

“We have depth in our program, so this is pretty usual for us. Kids have to wait to start here at times, and a lot of times to have an underclassman starting is very unusual at Vandegrift, and so to have a returning starter is good, always nice, but it’s not really the norm here at Vandegrift because of our depth. The last three years, we’ve gone 30-0 on our JV ‘A’ team, and our freshmen won district again, that’s six out of the last seven years, so we have talent coming up; the depth allows our talent to stay where it is and just develop.”

One such player which got the proverbial call-up is Miles Teodecki, a junior who will be the Vipers’ starting quarterback this season. Teodecki remarked that he has spent his first two seasons preparing for this moment in the sun.

“I’ve spent the last couple of years on the sideline helping the staff with game operations,” Teodecki said. “This has allowed me to get a feel for the environment in a varsity setting. I also did scout team against our defense last year, which was one of the top (defenses) in the state, and this has allowed me to get a feel for the speed of the game.

“I’ve also been fortunate enough to attend camps such as 3DQB with (former NFL quarterback) John Beck, where I was able to learn about what it takes to succeed.”

THE 4 HALLMARKS

The Vandegrift Viper football trophy display. / Photo by Buck Ringgold, SBLive

Another benefit for the players who get the call up to play on the varsity and perhaps start is that they have already been indoctrinated into the program’s culture. Sanders’ program is anchored by the numbers four, three and two, not to mention one.

The number "four" indicates the hallmarks the Vipers follow on a daily basis.

“Discipline, effort, toughness and honor,” Sanders said. “Every kid can tell you those.”

Teodecki for sure knows those hallmarks.

“Our four hallmarks set the standard for every Viper that comes into the building,” he said. “They guide us through each decision we make, and they help us not only become better football players, but better men.

“It’s the foundation of our program and helps us build the culture of excellence.”

Three indicates the questions each player must ask as a Viper, with “yes” expected to be the response from all.

“Do you care about me, can I trust you and are you committed to excellence?” Sanders said.

Then, there are the two results Sanders and his staff want to eventually see, and neither pertains to the scoreboard.

“Discipline, effort, toughness and honor. Every (Vandegrift) kid can tell you those.”

- Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders

“We want to graduate with honor, take academics seriously and then become men of honor,” Sanders said.

“Our academics are crazy high; I don’t know the average ACT/SAT score, but I guarantee it’s top five percent in the nation. We have kids going everywhere; we recently had graduation, and tons are going to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and a lot of schools like that. It’s academics, athletics, it’s a complete school.”

And then the team’s one constant over the years in Sanders, who is also the school’s athletics coordinator, and someone who takes a great deal of pride in the overall success at Vandegrift in all sports. The school has twice won the Lone Star Cup, which awards programs based on championship prowess across UIL activities.

“I’m proud of the type of coaches that I’ve hired that put kids first and that it’s a great way for me to influence not only my football program but all programs because if I put good people there," he said, "then they’re doing the same things that I’m trying to do here, and it’s like all these great things are happening all at once, so those are some things definitely that I’m proud of.”

Those core results implemented by Sanders are embodied by the school’s namesake.

THE NAMESAKE

The Vandegrift football team take the field ahead of the state championship playoff game against Lake Travis at Vandegrift High School, Friday night, Nov. 10, 2023. Lake Travis won the game 13-10, knocking Vandegrift out of the running for a state title. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

Matthew Vandegrift was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, who was fatally wounded by a roadside bomb in 2008 while fighting in the War on Terror in Iraq. He was the first Leander Independent School District graduate to perish in the war.

Vandegrift’s officer sword was donated to the school by his father, and it is placed in Sanders’ office. Every program at Vandegrift High, including athletics and academics, gives out an award called “Second To None,” which was the tagline of Matthew Vandegrift’s battalion, and Sanders remarked receiving that award is the highest honor any Vandegrift student can receive.

“I think our success can be attributed to the culture we have built in such a short time,” Teodecki said. “We understand that hard work and mental preparation leads to success, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to win.

“Being a Viper is a very special honor to represent the namesake Matthew Vandegrift. He gave his life for our country, and we take that sacrifice seriously.”

Another byproduct of the Vipers’ rise as a football program can be seen in a hallway not far from Sanders’ office. It is a collage of photos, each indicating a significant win by the Vipers, with the words “The Moment” above the photo gallery.

Those include a photo of that first varsity team in 2010, a photo with the details of the very first win in program history and all the way to include photos from the 2022 season, including the team’s 38-35 semifinal win against Katy which sent Vandegrift to the 6A II title game.

Sanders certainly didn’t expect to be part of “The Moment” all these years later.

“To be honest, when I got this job, I said to my wife, ‘If we can just stay three to four years, get all of our kids into elementary school, I would be very happy with that,’” he said. “Coaches are nomads by nature, and so they’re kind of always looking for the next opportunity.

“Some of those have come, and I’ve just continued to choose Vandegrift because this place has become home and there’s value in building a program and then sustaining that, and now I’m coaching brothers, I’ve coached entire families and if I stay a little longer, I might even coach some players’ kids. As far as planning, I just gave that up to the good Lord, but He’s been faithful and has allowed us to win enough games to where people want us to still be here and touch enough lives for people to feel like we’re doing a good job in the community, and it’s a great relationship. I like being here and we have great support.”

Sanders also had the good fortune to coach both of his sons at Vandegrift, Matthew and Caleb, each of whom were All-District players. Sanders and his wife, Janet, also have a daughter, Sadie, who will be a junior at Vandegrift and competes in both basketball and track.

'CHIP ON OUR SHOULDER'

Vandegrift fans cheer from the student section during the first half of the Vipers' game against the Cedar Park Timberwolves, Sept. 1, 2023 in Austin. The Vipers won the game 41-17. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

Even with the loss of his biggest group of seniors, Sanders thinks the Vipers are primed for another strong season in 2024.

“Offensively, our strength will be our skill I believe; we’ve got one of the more talented skill groups that we’ve had,” he said. “We’ve got an underclassmen quarterback that we’ve named the starter, so we’re excited about seeing what he can do. Defensively, I like our d-line and linebacker crew; our front six is as good as I really believe anybody around.

“We replaced all of our offensive line, so that’s probably our biggest concern on the whole team is will these new guys that I’m expecting to step up step up, so that’s an important part obviously. Secondary wise, we’ve got some key pieces back, two of the five, but we’ve got some new guys that we need to step up and make plays but we do have two really good all-state level players back and that will help.”

Despite the team’s perfect regular season last fall, things ended on a sour note when the Vipers lost their 6A Division I opening round playoff game to Lake Travis, another Austin-area powerhouse, on a last-second field goal.

“Throughout the offseason, we have had a chip on our shoulder,” Teodecki said. “We are reminded daily of the loss, and it drives us to work even harder.”

Though the season is still weeks away, Sanders is one who is just more than ready to get things kicked off, with the Vipers expected to be shifted back to 6A II.

“I’m always excited about football season. … I’m ready and I don’t need summer, let’s get going and let’s get to football season because this is what we train for,” he said. “But all of it, I’m excited.”

Teodecki is also eager to finally hit the field.

“We’ve got some key returning starters such as (receiver) Brock Chilton and (running back) Brendan Fournier, and some talented athletes such as (receivers) George Farley and Gavin Koester,” Teodecki said. “And we’ve got a group of offensive linemen ready to battle in the trenches this year that are working their tails off to get ready.”

Vandegrift, which will be playing in a nine-team District 25-6A, opens the 2024 season with non-district games against perennial playoff contenders Dripping Springs (Aug. 30) and Cedar Park (Sept. 6). The Vipers’ district opener is on Sept. 12 against Round Rock Stony Point. 

“Our emphasis never really changes,” Sanders said. “Our process, what we do, there’s not special emphasis for any year. … We just go and do what we do. We’ve got our offseason program that we’re doing and we’re just working hard and getting better.”

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx