Chaparral Stadium Dark After 2 Transformers Fail at Westlake-Cedar Ridge Game

Two transformers failed at Chaparral Stadium on Friday night, cutting power during a top-ranked high school football game between Westlake and Cedar Ridge in District 25-6A.

The lights went out just before 7:40 p.m., shortly after Westlake quarterback Patton Jones connected with Nash Chapman on a 9-yard touchdown pass. The Chaps were ahead 20-7 and had not yet attempted the extra point when darkness fell on the field.

Eanes ISD officials said one of the transformers caught fire. Austin Energy crews were on site working on repairs. Westlake Hills Fire Department personnel were already at the stadium before the outage and were later seen leaving the press box. Rain during the day kept attendance down to about 400 fans. Cellphone screens were the only light on the field after the failure, and most people left the stadium within 30 minutes.

The game was postponed and will resume at noon Saturday. Both teams entered the contest undefeated in district play, and the matchup pitted the top two teams in the American-Statesman's weekly Class 6A rankings. The UIL playoffs are two weeks away.

Westlake coach Tony Salazar said he had seen power outages during games before but never one that forced a postponement. "It's unfortunate because the kids and community were ready," Salazar said. Cedar Ridge coach Bryan Vardeman said the interruption was unlike anything he had experienced in 23 years of coaching. "I've never been a part of something like this in 23 years of coaching, with a transformer blowing up and catching on fire," Vardeman said. "Our guys were good in the locker room.. For us, it's kind of a good, hard reset."

The teams returned to the field Saturday morning to resume the contest.