Clemson 5-star signee Cade Klubnik wins state championship behind huge second half

Klubnik (6) greets Greathouse after the game. (Photo courtesy of Andrew McCulloch, SBLive Sports)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Dec 19 07:20:16 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson quarterback signee Cade Klubnik shook off a sluggish first half and threw three second-half touchdown passes to lead Austin Westlake to a 40-21 over Denton Guyer in the Class 6A Division II title game Saturday at AT&T Stadium.

Westlake trailed 14-13 at halftime but came to life in the second half as the Chaparrals claimed their third consecutive state championship. Westlake wide receiver Jaden Greathouse set a 6A title game record with 236 receiving yards and reeled in two big touchdowns from Klubnik as the Chaps outscored Denton Guyer 27-7 in the second half.

Klubnik finished the night 14-of-21 pass for 280 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. The win was the 40th in a row for Westlake and sent out legendary Chaps coach Todd Dodge a winner in his last game. Dodge has won three state championships at Westlake and four others at other schools.

Dodge said that he trusted Klubnik to get the job done.

“This guy standing over here behind you, No. 6 (Klubnik), he’s the best,” Dodge said. “He is such a leader; he is such great player. He and our offensive line and Jaden Greathouse in the second half making big plays, we trusted them. We said at halftime that that was about as bad as we could ever dream about playing, and you know what? We came out and we turned the tables right from the get-go.”

Westlake started fast thanks to a big play on special teams. Guyer went three-and-out on its opening possession and it ended with a blocked punt by Westlake’s Will Magdis, who recovered the ball and waltzed into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.

Guyer eventually took a 7-6 lead and Klubnik threw an interception that seemed to swing momentum in Guyer’s favor. However, Klubnik connected with Greathouse for a 62-yard touchdown which gave Westlake a 13-7 lead. Guyer’s defense forced Westlake to punt on its final three possessions of the first half and a late touchdown saw the Chaps trailing 14-13 at the break.

Klubnik hit Greathouse with passes of 69 and 71 yards in the second half to put the game away.

The game turned Westlake’s way after senior kicker Charlie Barnett, who will kick for Army West Point next year, knocked through a 53-yard field goal to give Westlake a 23-21 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter. His kick was a state championship game record across all classes.

Klubnik said a pep talk from Greathouse at the half helped settle him down.

“Jaden has always been a leader to me and one of my best friends for forever,” Klubnik said. “He said, ‘Just be you. Just be who we are and don’t try to be anything special.’ We put those first two drives behind us, and we have a lot of trust with each other.”

Klubnik said Dodge told the team at halftime that they couldn’t play much worse.

“I take all of the ownership in the first half,” Klubnik. “I was just all over the place with some throws, and then with the pick. I just had to put trust in my teammates and we went out and played like we were playing in a place where we had always dreamed of playing. That was the state championship. We just went out and played like us.”

Klubnik called it a dream ending to his high school career – going back-to-back-to-back – but also sending Dodge out a winner with a 16-0 record.

“You couldn’t have written it up any better,” Klubnik said. “You just couldn’t have. It means the world.”

.@ClemsonFB QB signee, Cade Klubnik, meets with @SCMerrifield after securing the UIL State Championship 6A Division II Title! ??@uiltexas | #UILState | #UILonBally | @CadeKlubnikQB pic.twitter.com/DVrxntePnS
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) December 19, 2021

This was cool. Riley Dodge and Cade Klubnik embrace. pic.twitter.com/oIL5rrkIoO
— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) December 19, 2021

Cade Klubnik hits Jaden Greathouse with a 69-yd scoring strike for the Chaparrals!!! Westlake 30, Guyer 21 1:17 3Q. @Gosset41 @DentonGuyer_FB @GuyerAthletics @Westlake_Nation #txhsfb #UILState pic.twitter.com/oJU6rpPmrT
— Darren Lauber (@darren_lauber) December 19, 2021