Josh Vineyard's steady march to perfection is over, but his team's isn't.
The Lakeway Christian quarterback had gone three games without an interception and only had five incompletions. In his first drive at Webb on Sept. 11, an errant pass sailed toward a green jersey.
Vineyard's streak of spotless play slipped a little. It didn't stop him from throwing four touchdowns and keeping the Lions (4-0, 2-0) perfect after trouncing Division II-AA East opponent Webb, 41-7.
"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time," Lakeway football coach Greg Vandagriff said. "How do you go 10-0? One win at a time. You can't go 10-0 until you go 4-0, then 5-0. One week at a time."
Week 4
Along with the touchdowns, the junior quarterback threw for 281 yards on 13-of-18 passing.
"Just got to move on from that," he said about the interception. "Can't be stuck on one play. Got to keep going through the game and keep balling."
Much of Vineyard's attention drifts toward senior receiver PK Hodari. He caught seven targets for 134 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Hodari typically plays on offense and defense. Against Webb (0-4, 0-2), he spent even more time on the field when Lakeway needed an emergency kicker and went 6-of-7 on extra-point attempts.
"Whatever the coaches ask me, I'll step in there and do it," Hodari said.
In Vandagriff's first season at Lakeway in 2025, the Lions finished with a 3-8 record. They've already surpassed last year's total and put teams on notice after taking down the reigning region champions Boyd-Buchanan, 49-0, in Week 3.
Vandagriff credited the quick turnaround to Vineyard, Hodari, and the entire team for putting their trust in the coaching staff.
"What I love for these kids is, they were in a situation where they've been sort of beat down a little bit," he said. "People saying, 'Lakeway can't play.' But now we're going out there and proving it one game at a time."
The Lakeway football program has yet to win more than five games in a single season. While Vineyard said the "sky is the limit" for the Lions, Hodari was a bit more cautious.
"I can't speak about it," he said about the team's ceiling, flashing a bright smile. "We'll see. The main focus is to keep winning games."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Josh Vineyard kept Lakeway football perfect after his first mistake in 2026
