![The fire department came to the school after students were evacuated when smoke started coming from the ceiling of a classroom. All students and staff are safe. “All of my friends left their stuff too, so we couldn’t contact our parents, and it was stressful,” senior Brynn Fowler said. “It was scary because I didn’t know [what was going on], and I couldn’t find anyone because it was a big crowd.” Photo by Anthony Garcia](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/firetruck.jpg)
![As he sprints with the ball, senior running back Trae Hill breaks a tackle during Friday’s 35-14 loss against the Vandegrift Vipers. Hill ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns during the game. “[Scoring] was electric,” Hill said. “It always feels good to score, but the O-line did everything.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_0795allie.varfb_-1200x799.jpg)
![Posing with their UIL State Trophy, the Robolobos Van Halen Team beams with excitement after their win. “It was a team effort,” junior Noah Vo said. “I was happy because something happened in the first match and the match was also really close. So [when] they finally revealed it, I was pretty happy.” Photo courtesy of Amy Lovelace](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_0910-EDIT-1200x723.jpg)
![Looking down at his racket, junior Hasun Nguyen hits the green tennis ball. Hasun has played tennis since he was 9 years old, and he is on the varsity team. "I feel like it’s not really appreciated in America as much, but [tennis] is a really competitive and mentally challenging sport,” Nguyen said. “I’m really level-headed and can keep my cool during a match, and that helps me play a bit better under pressure.” Photo by Kyra Cox](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/hasun.jpg)
![Clutching the ball to his chest, senior running back Trae Hill takes a handoff from junior quarterback David Cooper in last year’s 49-46 victory against Vandegrift. This year, Cedar Park plays Vandegrift Friday at Monroe Stadium, with both teams entering the game at 0-1. “[There were] a lot of good things but also some bad things that we could work on,” Cooper said after last week’s loss. “Our offense is going to keep on working and so is our defense. We’re going to be a different team next week.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Addie-24-1200x801.jpg)
![Broadcast, yearbook and newspaper combined for 66 Interscholastic League Press Conference awards this year. Yearbook won 43, newspaper won 14 and broadcast took home nine. “I think [the ILPC awards] are a great way to give the kids some acknowledgement for all of their hard work,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Paige Hert said. “They typically spend the year covering everyone else’s big moments, so it’s really cool for them to be celebrated so many times and in so many different ways.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/edited-ILPC.jpg)
![Bringing her arm over her head and taking a quick breath, junior Lauren Lucas swims the final laps of the 500 freestyle at the regionals swimming competition on date. Lucas broke the school’s 18-year-old record for the 500 freestyle at regionals and again at state with a time of 4:58.63. “I’d had my eye on that 500 record since my freshman year, so I was really excited to see if I could get it at regionals or districts,” Lucas said. “ State is always a really fun experience and medaling for the first time was really great. It was a very very tight race, [so] I was a bit surprised [that I medaled]. [There were] a lot of fast girls at the meet in general, [and] it was like a dogfight back and forth, back and forth.” Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kaydence-2.7-23-edit-2.jpg)
![As the support team sits and poses for a photo in the cafeteria with the counseling team they eagerly wait to start their day. "We [all] seem to be a team, I get up every day and there's days where I don't want to go to work today, but I'm thankful that I have a job and I'm blessed to have what I have," Christopherson said. Photo Courtesy of Julie Weltens.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AF9E8470-10D7-4C91-BF28-EC8F86BAB66C-1200x852.jpeg)
![Officer Stephanie Cash is in her second year as an SRO at CPHS. “Seeing [students] grow over the years has been kind of cool,” Officer Cash said. “Freshmen that [are] all over the place and then in the next couple of years get a little more squared away and go to class and do work and start thinking about the future. Being a part of a student's growth is the best way to measure my success as an SRO.” Photo Courtesy of Cedar Park Police Department's PIO, Alicia Gallagher.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CPHS-SRO-900x1200.jpg)
The varsity football team will take on the Vandegrift Vipers on Friday at Monroe Stadium after a 52-35 defeat against Harker Heights Aug. 29. Both teams head into the rivalry game at 0-1 after Vandegrift was upset by Dripping Springs in a 41-14 loss last week.
Last year, the Timberwolves won in double overtime, ending the game with an unanswered field goal to bring the score to 49-46. That defeat was the only one that the Vipers suffered on their way to a 6A Division II state championship, finishing the season 15-1 overall and 8-0 in district play.
“The Cedar Park game was the one game we lost last year and we are constantly reminded about that sour feeling,” Vandegrift senior quarterback Miles Teodecki said in an interview with the Vandegrift Voice. “We have revenge on our minds and are definitely going to be ready for that game.”
Notable players for Cedar Park include junior quarterback David Cooper, senior running back Trae Hill, senior defensive lineman Brooks Bouffard and senior linebacker Jaheim Porter, on a team that returns 14 starters, including four on the offensive line.
On offense, Vandegrift returns Teodecki, who threw for over 3,000 yards last season as the starter, as well as three starters on the offensive line and senior wide receiver Brock Chilton. On the other side of the ball, the Vipers have room for concern with only three returning defensive starters.
“I feel like there’s a lot of guys that we brought back as well, but I feel like all those guys that are going to step into those new roles will definitely succeed and do their thing because we always lose players,” Chilton said in an interview with the Vandegrift Voice. “It’s always just a part of football at this point in high school. There’s plenty of guys that will be able to fill in those spots.”
After Cedar Park’s loss last week, head football coach Michael Quintero said that he was impressed with the offensive and defensive lines but wants the team to work on staying consistent after success on early downs.
“We just weren’t consistent,” Quintero said. “We were good for three downs, then all of a sudden, we would bust.”
In the defeat, Cooper threw for 98 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 28 yards and one touchdown, with one interception.
“[There were] a lot of good things but also some bad things that we could work on,” Cooper said. “Our offense is going to keep on working and so is our defense. We’re going to be a different team next week.”
After Cedar Park’s loss against Harker Heights and Vandegrift’s loss against Dripping Springs, both teams go into Friday’s game with an 0-1 record, eager to avoid another non-district loss, especially against their biggest rival.
“We just have to keep moving forward,” Quintero said. “We’re not hanging our hat on this one loss. We’ve got to attack each day.”
