Live score updates: Austin Westlake defeats Prosper in 2024 Texas high school football opener

Follow live as Westlake leads Prosper late in third quarter as perennial UIL 6A powers clash to begin 2024 season

Austin Westlake takes on Lake Travis in the 2023 Texas high school football playoffs. / Photo by Paul Brick, SBLive

Prosper and Austin Westlake open the 2024 Texas high school football season against one another in a nondistrict UIL 6A clash on Thursday.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Central time at Crusader Stadium at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, in between Prosper and Austin.

• LIVE TEXAS HS FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD

The NFHS Network (subscription required) is carrying a live stream.

SBLive will be providing live score and game updates throughout the game. Scroll down and refresh this page for the latest.

4Q (LIVE): WESTLAKE 35, PROSPER 14

FOURTH QUARTER

Refresh for the latest.

-- And on the very next play from scrimmage, Rees runs a play action and delivers a touchdown strike over the back of the defense to Brody Wilhelm for a back-breaking touchdown with 4:53 left. (35-14, Westlake | 4Q, 4:53)

-- On 3rd and 5, Westlake runs a play action swing out tot he left and Chase Bowen converts a first down.

-- Touchdown, Westlake. On the very next play, Justice Johnson punches in a counter up the middle. Westlake's push-up squad is inexplicably flagged on the play. (28-14, Westlake | 8:55, 4Q)

-- On 2nd and 19, Rees throws a deep ball to juninor wideout Lawson Grimes over the top of the defense, who is brought down in the redzone. What a big play for Westlake in a game with relatively few of them. (4Q, 9:05)

-- Westlake secondary converges to swap away a deep ball on fourth and long and the Chaparrals take over on their own 30 to start the fourth quarter.

THIRD QUARTER

-- On 3rd and 18, Elliot Schaper sacks a rolling Prosper QB to bring up fourth and long. Schaper limps off the field after a momentous solo tackle deep in Chap territory nursing a one-touchdown lead.

-- Westlake defenders sneak into the backfield on a blitz and light up Prosper's quarterback to bring up third and long. On said third and long, Prosper converts on a long pass over the middle.

-- Westlake regains the lead after a long drive. Rees throws a high-arcing deep ball into the left corner of the endzone to Brody Wilhelm, then the Chaps convert on a run for the two-point conversion. (Westlake 21-14 | 3Q, 4:24)

FIRST HALF

-- Prosper's one-point lead heading into the half is thanks to a late second quarter scoring flurry and a blocked point-after attempt. The preseason No. 4 team in the state trails after the first half of the season.

-- Westlake responds in the form of another Rees Wise TD haul. He connects on an eight-yarder to Brody Willhelm on a slant route. Prosper blocks the PAT to maintain the lead. (Prosper, 14-13 | 2Q)

-- Junior QB Braeden Imhoff hits Lathon Latiolais for a 39-yard TD connection and Prosper takes the lead. (Prosper, 14-7 | 2Q)

-- Braeden Imhoff hits Dallas Boozer over the middle in the center of the endzone and Prosper evens it up with the Chaparrals. (7-7 | 2Q, 4:53)

-- Westlake strikes first as quarterback Rees Wise hits Lawson Grimes early in the second quarter. (Westlake, 7-0 | 2Q, 11:02)

About Austin Westlake

The Chaparrals, who opened the season No. 4 in Texas and on the SBLive/SI National Power 25 bubble, bring back one of the top defenses in Texas.

A bonafide Central Texas powerhouse, Westlake vies to repeat a season that included 14 wins without a loss until the 6A Division I state semifinals. The Chaps return 12 starters. Lead rusher Jack Kayser is gone, but QB Rees Wise, defensive lineman Maddox Flynt and linebacker Elliot Schaper are among the standout returners.

About Prosper

Prospers went 11-2, swept its way (7-0) to a 6A District 5 championship and reached the third round of the 6A Division I state playoffs, where it lost to North Crowley. Senior offensive Connor Carty is a Texas A&M commit, SBLive's No. 78 most impactful player in Texas entering the season, and one of the top returners for an Eagles team that averaged 39 points and more than 400 yards of offense per game.

—

2024 Texas high school football preview

Stay with SBLive's preseason coverage in the lead up to the 2024 Texas high school football season and the start of games on Thursday.

Who are the most underrated teams in the Lone Star State entering the season? We're taking a look by region at the programs poised to out-perform expectations, starting with North Texas, Southeast Texas and Central Texas.

• Who are the 25 best teams in Texas, regardless of classification or association? Here are the SBLive Preseason Texas Power 25 rankings, as well as the 20 winningest active coaches.

• Who are the 100 most important high school football players in Texas? We scoured the state and counted down from 100 to 1: Part 1 (100-51) |Part 2 (50-1)

• We're taking a position-by-position look at the top players returning in the Lone Star State this fall, starting with 50 quarterbacks, 70 running backs, 40 wide receivers, 25 tight ends, 25 offensive linemen, 30 cornerbacks, 25 safeties, 45 linebackers and 25 kickers/punters.

• Finally, we examined offseason player movement and the 12 transfers that will have the biggest impact in the fall.

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.For more information, visitsi.com/high-school.

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx