The sleeper awakens: Southlake Carroll 38, Byron Nelson 10

 

Dez Bryant Jr., shown in action against Keller last week, energized a drowsy Dragon team in its District 4-6A matchup last night against Bryon Nelson.

No Homecoming surprise

JUSTIN – For a few moments there – oh, heck, who are we fooling here? – for most of the first half, it looked like the Byron Nelson Bobcats might really have something to celebrate at their Homecoming matchup last night against the Southlake Carroll Dragons.

At halftime, the Dragons were hanging on to a 9-3 lead over the Cats, after being left scoreless in the first quarter. Despite the deficit, an opportunistic Nelson squad was leading in total yardage (at night’s end, it would outpace Carroll 222-172). And its feisty defense had stymied a sleepy, sluggish and skidding Dragon offense lacking timing, precision and efficiency.

But thanks to a series of Nelson miscues and to the heroics of Dez Bryant Jr., who scored three touchdowns last night – two of them the result of a pair of brilliant and heart-pounding punt returns – the resurgent Dragons declawed the Bobcats and decreed there would be no Homecoming miracle at Northwest ISD Stadium.

Before all that, however, worried Dragonheads had to endure a somnolent first-half performance by their Dragons. They comforted themselves with the fact that the Bobcats (3-5, 2-3 in District 4-6A) were unable to capitalize on Carroll's naptime. Except, of course, for Jake Sartin’s 45-yard field goal midway through the 2^nd quarter.

Then, thankfully, as the unsettling half drifted to a close, signs of life appeared in the Southlake visitors.

Over his head

It began when the Dragon D stopped a Nelson drive at the 28, and the snap to the Cat punter sailed over his head and out of the endzone, rewarding the the Dragons with a 2-point safety.

Bryant returned the following kick to the 47. Carroll QB Hudson Tomcheck then launched 10- and 16-yard passes to star receiver Brody Knowles, which brought the Dragons to the 21. Tomcheck sprinted to the 12, Bryant darted to the 9, then surged across the line to give Carroll that tenuous halftime lead.

Bryon Nelson came out of halftime with gusto and initially sent the Dragons reeling.

It held Carroll to a 3-and-out, then moved swiftly downfield, capping a 4-play, 60-yard drive with a 10-yard pass from Cat QB Ben Odem (6-13, 86 yards) to Collin Janese (3-66).

The promising Carroll drive that followed was cut short when Tomcheck (6-13, 56 yards) was intercepted in the Nelson endzone. Stunned Dragonheads began to contemplate the unthinkable.

Could an ambitious Bobcat squad with limited talent slip past a Carroll group having a very bad evening?

 As it turns out, no. And the Cats have only themselves to blame.

Three plays after the Tomcheck interception, Nelson’s Odem fumbled the ball. Dragon defender Bennet Hart seized it and scampered 33 yards to the house. A 2-point conversion succeeded, and the Dragon surged ahead 17-10. They never looked back.

Astounding return

In response, the Bobcats struggled to midfield on the next drive, but Odem was sacked, forcing a Nelson punt. That’s when Bryant staged the first of his pair of astounding punt returns, weaving and juking 74 yards to extend the Dragon lead to 24-10.

The Nelson collapse intensified on the next drive as the Dragon defense turned up the heat on the fading Bobcats. Dragon Drew Oakley ripped the ball out of Odem’s hands, and Cole Spaeth snatched it up and scurried 30 yards to the endzone. As the third period ebbed away, the Dragons now led 31-10.

Nelson only could manage a wimpy 3-and-out on the next drive. In stepped Bryant to seize the Cat punt and dart up the right sideline 59 yards to punctuate the best performance of his young career.

As everyone knows, Bryant is the son of former Dallas Cowboys great Dez Bryant. It appears that in football, as it in a lot of things, I suppose, blood will tell.

Turnovers, of course, proved to be the key to Dragon success. The Cats turned the ball over four times – two interceptions and two fumbles. Try that against a Dragon defense, and you’re toast. The Cats were burned to a crisp.

Dragonheads hope last night’s near-miss, if you can call it that, will be a lesson learned by this Dragon team. Even less-gifted squads, properly motivated and coached, can be giant-killers.

How do you prevent such calamities? By following the hallmarks of the Southlake program: discipline, determination, dedication. You can be sure that’s the message head coach Lee Munn’s staff will deliver in no uncertain terms this week to these young Dragons.

Senior night for the Dragons is next Friday, when they host Keller Timber Creek at Dragon Stadium. The Falcons fell hard this week to Haslet Eaton, 48-24.

It’s the night before Halloween so let’s hope the affair won’t be too frightening!

Go, Dragons!

Satisfying punch: Southlake Carroll 40, Keller 28

 

Parker Olson intercepts a pass from Keller quarterback Matt McCroskey in last night's matchup.

They didn’t go quietly

SOUTHLAKE – It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t particularly pretty. But as the philosopher wisely observed: “A win is a win.”

And for the Southlake Carroll Dragons, it’s a win that packs a particularly satisfying punch.

Their close-fought victory over the determined and dangerous Keller Indians last night means Carroll most probably has earned another District 4-6A championship trophy. It remains the only undefeated squad left in the 4-6A lineup.

But the Indians, bless ’em, didn’t go down quietly. Not only did they bring a boisterous and noisy student section with them to Dragon Stadium. They also played head-to-head and toe-to-toe against the Dragons, scoring handily against the Carroll D and waging an aerial attack that the Dragon secondary found hard to dismantle.

For their part, the Dragons struggled, as they have all season, with penalties that disrupted timing, momentum and scoring. Consider this: Carroll was penalized a whopping 13 times for 125 yards, while Keller drew only six for 35.

Against a better team – and those teams are coming, if not in district play, then in the quickly approaching playoffs – it would have proved deadly. Head coach Lee Munn acknowledged after the game the problem had to be addressed – and corrected.

Fiercely focused

Keller arrived in Dragon country last night fiercely focused and full of fight. The Indians, who at 6-0 were enjoying their best season since 1967, hoped mightily to slay the Dragons, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 1999.

And they almost carried it off. Don’t be misled by the 40-28 final score. The game was a lot closer than the numbers indicate, and the Indians remained within striking distance until the waning moments of the contest.

The lead changed seven times in the see-saw contest. A minute into the final period, Keller edged ahead a razor-thin 28-27. Indian quarterback Matt McCroskey, aided by a dramatic 53-yard pass reception by WR Graham Kaler, had moved his team to the Dragon 3, where RB Blake Dyniewski bolted across the goal line.

The Dragon offense, no doubt feeling the brush of angel wings, countered immediately.

Hard running by Dragon RB Brooks Biggers (17-107) – aided by a 4^th-down, 17-yard pass reception by star receiver Brody Knowles (9-143) – carried Carroll to Keller’s 9-yard line. From there, Biggers plowed into the endzone to give the Dragons a 5-point lead, 33-28, with 4 ½ minutes left on the clock. (A 2-point conversion attempt failed.)

It seemed inevitable that McCroskey (24 of 37 for 359 yards and 3 TDs) and the Indians would respond. They had done exactly that all evening in tit-for-tat scoring exchanges with the Dragons.

But the Carroll D, as it seems always to do, stood tall when it counted, smothering the Keller drive at its own 16. In the end, it held the Indians, who were averaging 51 yards per game before last night, to their lowest point total of the year.

Muffed punt

Forced to punt, the Indian kicker muffed it, sending the ball a meager 12 yards, and the Dragons began work at the Keller 28.

Stellar receiver Blake Gunter, demonstrating his rushing skills, delivered the knock-out punch against the Indians.

Stellar receiver Blake Gunter then stepped into the spotlight. He already had caught seven passes for 80 yards, and he had lined up in the wildcat to receive direct snaps at critical moments earlier in the game.

A smart, sure-handed receiver, Gunter runs with power and passion. He’s hard to bring down and can be counted on to extend plays after receptions.

On the crucial Carroll drive that followed the abbreviated Keller punt, Gunter (5-29 rushing) gobbled up yards in the wildcat, finally sprinting 7 yards across the line with 1:48 left to hand Carroll a well-earned 40-28 victory.

Gunter’s versatility isn’t lost on his teammates.

In a post-game interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, quarterback Hudson Tomcheck (21-31, 305) heaped praise on the California commit.

“I see Blake as a Swiss Army knife,” Tomcheck told the Star-T’s Charles Baggarly. “He can play quarterback and running back. We can put him at receiver. He can do it all.”

Tomcheck didn’t do so badly last night, either. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 305 yards, ran 12 times for 53 yards and scored once in the air and twice on the ground.

Dragon-killer

Brushed by a brisk, westerly autumn breeze, Keller wasted no time in revealing its Dragon-killer ambitions. It scored on its first drive, a six-play, 75-yard effort that ended with McCroskey hitting Ethan George in the end zone.

Carroll’s following drive died at the hands of a 15-yard penalty. Disaster loomed when the ensuing punt was blocked and the Indians took it to the house.

The Dragons caught a break when a penalty canceled the score, and they got another 4^th-down chance. Gunter took the direct snap and got the first down. On the next play, Tomcheck lofted a 46-yard bomb to Thomas Joyner III to tie things up.

The Dragons edged to a narrow lead with a 28-yard field goal by Kyle Vidal, but a blizzard of yellow flags prevented them from putting away the Indians.

Keller seized the lead half-way into the 2^nd period when McCroskey connected again with George. Carroll regained it with a 1-yard plunge by Tomcheck and finished the first half with another Vidal field goal, this time a 40-yarder that split the uprights literally at the buzzer.

The Dragons carried a 20-14 lead into the locker room, and Dragonheads prepared for a challenging second half.

Midway through the third quarter, Keller gained the lead yet again with a 32-yard TD pass from McCroskey to Graham Kaler. But Carroll’s stiffening defense prevented Keller from converting on 4^th down.

Carroll took over near midfield, and Tomcheck moved the Dragons to the Keller 10, where he fought his way across the line to send Carroll ahead 27-21 as the game entered the decisive final quarter.

Spirited battle

In an interview with the Star-T’s Baggarly, Munn said the Dragons expected a spirited battle against Keller.

“We know what to expect when we play this game,” he said. “Keller is always going to take their game to the next level when it’s against us. They’re always going to play with a little bit more enthusiasm.”

Enthusiasm? Keller played last night with blood in its eye and a thirst for mayhem in its heart. At least, that’s what I saw from my green seat.

Munn, who also calls defensive plays for the Dragons, showed character in post-game interviews.

He took the blame for Carroll’s struggles in containing McCroskey, admitting his man coverage scheme just didn’t work. How often do you see that kind of candor from a head coach?

The stats speak for themselves, however. Keller receivers had a field day. Cash Erdman caught 5 passes for 111 yards, Kaler grabbed 3 for 102, Dyniewski got 10 for 82 and George made the most of his two grabs, turning both into TDs.

Dez Bryant Jr., who rushed 7 times for 43 yards against Keller, heads downfield.

Munn also acknowledged the penalty-prone Dragons have much to improve.

“We protected the ball, and that was good,” Munn said to the Star-Telegram. “But there are so many things we have to get better at. Fortunately, we won the football game. But we’re not doing our team justice if we don’t look into the mirror and fix a lot of stuff.”

Mighty pleased

But overall, he told Baggarly, he’s mighty pleased with his youngsters.

“Those young kids that we had those first three weeks have grown up and matured,” Munn said. “They’re starting to figure out some things, in terms of our preparation. And also personnel, figuring out who we are and what’s our identity. We finally settled in on that and have kids in the right places. Now, it’s about, ‘How much better can we get each week?’”

The answer to that comes next Friday, when the Dragons continue their march to a district title with a slog down traffic-choked Texas 114 to Northwest ISD Stadium in Justin.

They shouldn’t have much trouble with the Byron Nelson Bobcats this year. But since this is high school football, it’s wise to take a we’ll-see attitude.

Go, Dragons!

Dez Bryant Jr. fights for yardage in the hard-hitting contest against the Indians.

Homecoming feast: Southlake Carroll 44, Justin Northwest 7

 

The mums were spectacular at last night's Homecoming game. So were the Dragons!

Gobbling them up

SOUTHLAKE – Homecoming cupcakes were on the menu at Dragon Stadium last night, and the Southlake Carroll Dragons quickly gobbled them up, leaving only a few crumbs for the cleanup crew to worry about.

And if that’s an unkind, mean-spirited and unsportsmanlike way to refer to the embarrassing destruction of the hapless Northwest Texans at the hands of the Dragons, then so be it.

Sometimes, it’s best not to sugarcoat things.

The plain truth is that the overmatched Texans, still winless for good reason, didn’t put up much of a struggle. And the Dragons – perhaps inspired by the most spectacular crop of Homecoming mums I’ve ever seen (and this is Southlake so I’ve seen some humdingers) – thoroughly trashed them, completely and definitively.

Carroll piled up 593 total yards, limiting Northwest to a meager 141. Heck, the Texans could manage only 4 yards rushing all evening and only avoided a shutout after Carroll’s backups muffed a punt in the final quarter and handed them great field position.

Until that scoring drive, Northwest had been forced to punt on every one of its first six possessions, turning the ball over the Dragons, who promptly capitalized on each opportunity and carried a 41-0 lead into halftime.

Pretty impressive

The Dragons had the run of the place. Quarterback Hudson Tomcheck completed 81% of his passes: 17 of 21 for 239 yards and five – count ’em, five – touchdowns. He would have had more, but head coach Lee Munn took pity on Texans and sidelined Tomcheck and most of his starters for the second half.

Three of those TDs went to the night’s leading receiver, Brody Knowles (6 catches for 92 yards), who scored on Tomcheck passing plays of 29, 39 and 3 yards.

Blake Gunter, the Dragons other stellar receiver, caught three Tomcheck passes for 74 yards, scoring on a 63-yard toss in the opening quarter. He also ran 3 yards at the end of the first half to score the Dragons’ final TD.

Dez Bryant Jr. shined brightly, too. He led the Dragons in rushing, cruising to 111 yards on eight carries. He also latched onto one of Tomcheck’s TD tosses, a 12-yard throw that put Carroll up 27-0 at the beginning of the second period.

When Carroll’s starters departed after securing that six-TD lead, the mismatch – never much of a barnburner – slowed to a desultory crawl.

Backup quarterback Palmer Pensom took the reins from Tomcheck and succeeded in getting the Dragons within field goal range at the beginning of the third period. Kicker Gabe Opel booted a 29-yarder to end scoring for the Dragons.

Lifeless trudge

At that point, the game dissolved into a lifeless trudge to the final buzzer, enlivened only by an ever-so-brief offensive spark by Northwest that ended with a 34-yard scoring strike from Texan quarterback Mark Hartman to Elijah Hawkins in the final quarter.

After sending the Texans packing, the Dragons now face their greatest challenge in achieving one of their season goals: To repeat as District 4-6A champions.

Standing in their way are the surging Keller Indians, who arrive in Dragon Stadium on Friday to challenge Carroll’s district dominance.

The 6-0 Indians are enjoying their best season in almost 60 years. The last time they remained undefeated at this point in the season was 1967 so you can only imagine the excitement now sweeping the Keller community.

Like the Dragons, the Indians are undefeated in 4-6A, thanks to a thrilling, come-from-behind 49-42 victory earlier this week over Trophy Club Byron Nelson.

The question for Dragonheads is whether Keller storms into Southlake riding high and mighty on the adrenaline rush of a breathtaking win. Or will the Indians show up mentally and physically depleted by this week’s gridiron dramatics?

We’ll find out soon enough, but it promises to be a donnybrook, doncha think?

Go, Dragons!

File photo. The Dragons face Keller Indians next week for a game that could determine the district championship.

Sloppy but decisive: Southlake Carroll 49, Haslet Eaton 6

File photo: The Dragons easily dispatched a mismatched opponent last night, but...

Slaughter of the innocents

SOUTHLAKE – The Southlake Carroll Dragons, now embarked on the pursuit of yet another District 4-6A championship, thoroughly dismantled the Haslet Eaton Eagles last night. But they didn’t look particularly crisp or disciplined doing it.

The final score is evidence of the thoroughness of the butt-whupping they inflicted on the overwhelmed and under-gunned Eagles. Call me heartless and brutal if you will, but the bitter truth is that it could have been – in fact, it should have been – an even greater slaughter of the innocents.

For heaven’s sake, three Dragon touchdowns were called back for holding calls, each one a dramatic, heart-racing play by the team’s top players.

Moreover, at least a half-dozen flags flew for false starts – one of the most basic rules of the game. Traditionally, well-coached and well-disciplined Carroll teams don’t make many of them. This team does.

Here’s a revealing statistic: The Dragons were penalized 11 times for 100 yards. By contrast, the struggling Eagles drew three flags for 30 yards.

Complete domination

I know, I know. It seems churlish to complain about penalties when the Dragons completely dominated the game, outpacing the Eagles in total yards, 555 to 238, and limiting Eaton to a single sustained drive and TD.

Dragon quarterback Hudson Tomcheck had a fine night, completing 67% of his passes – three for TDs – and rushing for another score. Dez Bryant Jr., who is supposed to be a receiver, rushed six times for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

Star receiver Brody Knowles caught four passes for 126 yards, two of them for touchdowns. Carroll’s other receiving stalwart, Blake Gunter, caught six for 80 yards and one TD. Even backup receiver Beckett Mackey got into the act, snagging a couple of passes from backup QB Palmer Pensom for 50 yards and scoring the Dragons’ final TD.

There’s no shortage of evidence that the Dragons were doing plenty right last night.

So why complain about a few calls from flag-happy zebras? After all, a win is a win, etc.

Put that way, I do feel a little like an old crouch ordering the neighborhood kids off my lawn. (Not that they would find it very appealing after the ravages of this summer’s sustained blast-furnace.)

A higher standard

I’ll only say this: Carroll teams enjoy the success they do by holding themselves to a higher standard, by requiring greater discipline and a higher football IQ from their players, and by striving for more demanding season goals than other teams.

This year, as always, Carroll seeks to gobble up another District 4-6A trophy and then take a deep dive into the post-season. To do that, I strongly believe it’s going to have to get its act together. 

Sloppy performances may get it through its not-so-tough district. But in the high-pressure, win-or-go-home atmosphere of the playoffs, lack of discipline, concentration and execution will get a team ejected damned quick. End of sermon.

As for last night’s mismatch, nobody expected much from Eaton, who fell to the Dragons 66-7 last year. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the definitive authority on the subject, rated it a six-TD underdog.

As expected, the Dragons seized a quick lead and slowly – too slowly? – squeezed the life out of the Eagles.

Carroll halted Eaton’s first drive, then took only three plays to score when Tomcheck lofted a 74-yard pass to Knowles, who stiff-armed an Eagle defender at the 30 as he sped to the end zone.

Eagles in pursuit

Eaton also stalled on its second possession and attempted a 40-yard field goal that the Dragons subsequently blocked. On the first play of the Dragon drive, Bryant broke free and sprinted down the right sideline with a flock of shocked Eagles in pursuit. At the 50, he kicked it into high gear and scored easily.

In the second quarter, Eagle quarterback Kalika Nisa put together a 72-yard scoring drive powered by Elijah Irvin, Eaton’s leading rusher (13-47) and receiver (7-64). Nisa (18-32, 133 yards) finished the drive by scoring the Eagles’ only TD with an 11-yard dash across the line. The PAT failed.

Carroll immediately responded. Less than 2 minutes later, Gunter sprang through the middle and broke into the clear. Nearing the goal line, he met a cluster of other Dragons who watched as Tomcheck’s spiraling pass descended toward them. In the resulting melee, Gunter ended up with the ball and staggered into the end zone, extending the Dragon lead to 21-6.

As the half ebbed to a close, the Dragons stifled the Eagles yet again, forcing a punt. Eaton’s punter, who had a busy but productive night, left the Dragons at their own 7.

Thanks to determined runs by Bryant and Tomcheck, Carroll surged to the Eagle 19, where Tomcheck zipped the ball to Knowles to send the Dragons into halftime with a 28-6 lead.

Carroll came out swinging in the third period. After Bryant returned the Eagle kickoff to midfield, Tomcheck led the Dragons to the 3, then slipped across the goal line to widen Carroll’s margin.

A scamper negated

Bryant followed that with a 30-yard TD sprint around the right end. It seemed a fitting evening climax for Bryant, who only two plays earlier had sped 37 yards to the end zone, only to have the thrilling scamper negated by a holding call.

As I mentioned earlier, it was one of three Dragon TDs cancelled by penalties. Also getting axed were a spectacular 70-yard TD catch by Gunter in first period and a heart-pumping 61-yard scoring run by Pensom late in the fourth.

Backups for both teams were called in for the final quarter. Pensom (3-4, 62) plucked the final Eagle tail feathers with a 36-yard TD pass to Beckett Mackey.

Carroll has a bye next week, then hosts Justin Northwest for Homecoming on Oct. 9. It will face the 5-0 Keller Indians, who like the Dragons are 2-0 in district play, at home on Oct. 16. Some say – ahem – it could be the game that decides the District 4-6A championship.

Dragonheads assembled for the massacre enjoyed some cool temps in Dragon Stadium last night. Dare we hope that Autumn has finally dragged its sorry, tardy self into town? Fingers crossed.

Go, Dragons!

 

File photo: Carroll has a bye next week, but hosts Justin Northwest for Homecoming on Oct. 9.

Back on track: Southlake Carroll 35, Keller Central 17

 

Dez Bryant Jr. brushes past a Keller Central Charger on his way to one of his two TDs last night.

Determined and feisty

KELLER – The Southlake Carroll Dragons, despite some twists and turns, got back on track last night, dispatching a determined and feisty Keller Central squad with more ambitions than talent.

The Chargers had their moments, lord knows, led by two twin brothers who play both ways and aren’t too shabby at either.

They managed to keep things interesting, thanks to some sloppy, undisciplined action by the Dragons. But Central simply couldn’t contain a Carroll squad tired of being knocked around by some of the top teams in the state and focused on entering District 4-6A play with a bang.

Dez Bryant Jr., son of the former Dallas Cowboys great, and quarterback Hudson Tomcheck, who accounted for three scores, were the offensive stars in overwhelming the upstart Chargers.

Last night was a welcome return to victory lane for the Dragons, who have endured a rugged three-week start to the 2026 season, barely squeaking by a premier Oklahoma team in the season opener at the Cotton Bowl, then falling miserably to Texas powerhouses North Crowley and Allen.

Early lead

Carroll leaped to a 14-point lead and never relinquished it. Bryant struck first, rolling 14 yards to paydirt, then adding a 15-yard strike with 13 seconds left in the first period.

Bryant, who normally lines up as a receiver, rumbled 77 yards on 14 carries. Carroll head coach Lee Munn told The Dallas Morning News’ Greg Riddle that the Dragons have big plans for the youngster.

“Moving forward he is going to be doing everything for us,” Munn said. “He’s going to play running back, he’s going to play in the slot, he’s going to play outside, he’s going to return kicks, return punts. He’s going to be an X factor for us.”

The Chargers could do no better than a 35-yard field goal in the first half, despite aggressive pressure by quarterback Isaiah Taylor, who also plays cornerback, and his twin, Jeremiah, a receiver who also lines up as a corner on defense.

Quarterback Hudson Tomcheck breaks clear and heads for one of his two rushing TDs against the Chargers.

Isaiah completed 12 of 24 passes and 1 TD last night. His brother was the Chargers’ leading receiver, snagging five passes for 69 yards.

But the Dragon defense, knocked around some by a surging Charger offense, stood tall when it counted.

Both teams kept the officiating crew scurrying. Carroll, normally a tightly disciplined team, racked up 11 penalties for a whopping 103 yards, including at least four 15-yard walkoffs for a variety of offenses. Central was little better, amassing 9 penalties for 95 yards.

Dramatic ending

Tomcheck, as the half dwindled, put together an 8-play, 48-yard drive that ended dramatically when he juked, jived and jolted 13 yards for the third Dragon TD. When the buzzer rang, Carroll held a comfortable and, as it turned out, unassailable 21-3 lead.

Tomcheck completed 15 of 21 (70%) for 110 yards and a 1TD. He was the second leading rusher behind Bryant, rolling to 66 yards on 6 carries and two TDs.

The Chargers’ best chance of the upset for which they yearned came early in the 3^rd quarter. Dragon defender Ty Moody intercepted an errant Taylor pass, but the Carroll drive immediately stalled at its 45.

The Carroll punter bobbled the snap, and Charger corner Jeremiah Taylor knocked it loose. Farrod Meling snatched it up and roared 35 yards to the end zone, melting the Dragon lead to 11.

But the Dragons responded briskly. Tomcheck led them on a 69-yard drive energized by a 34-yard pass reception by leading receiver Brody Knowles (6-101). Knowles then ended the drive with a 12-yard TD catch from Tomcheck.

Central refused to collapse, however. It narrowed the Dragon led to 11 yet again early in the 4^th, staging a sustained 66-yard drive that ended when Jerry Dillard surged 1 yard across the line.

A key moment occurred when a 39-yard field goal by Carroll was blocked and the Chargers recovered the ball at their 1. They moved the ball to the 26, but could go no further, and Carroll took over on downs.

The right decisions

As the Dragon band struck up “Hey, Baby,” the traditional signal that a Dragon win is imminent, Tomcheck tossed an 11-yarder to Thomas Joyner III, then slipped around the right sideline to dart 12 yards for the final Carroll score.

Receiver Brody Knowles, 1, enjoys a moment with teammate Brooks Biggers, 24, after his TD catch.

“I’m really proud of Hudson,” Munn told the DMN’s Riddle. “The decisions he’s making and protecting the football. That’s only his fourth varsity start as a quarterback, so he’s making the right decisions. You can see what his legs can do.”

As Tomcheck would be the first to point out, he had help. In addition to the worthy Knowles, receivers Blake Gunter (3-34) and Joyner (4-31) and rusher Brooks Biggers (8-35) proved too potent for the Chargers.

Bryant, interviewed by Charles Baggarly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, spoke for his fellow Dragons.

“We are a great team,” Bryant said. “We had two tough games these previous weeks, and I feel like this was definitely a bounce-back for us. This showed that we are on the map, and we are a solid team. So this win definitely means a lot.”

Some Dragonheads – me, for instance – had blithely dismissed the Chargers, who went into last night’s game 3-0 for the first time since 2019.

Shame on us for allowing our judgment to be clouded by memories of the bedraggled Central team of old, the one that won only a handful of games in the three seasons before last year.

In 2025, however, the Chargers went 5-5. And this summer, they whipped Allen to win the state 7-on-7 championship. That’s no guarantee of regular-season success, of course, but it does signal that significant change is afoot.

It’s early, of course, but the smart money is on the Chargers to make the playoffs this year, a remarkable turnaround for the program.

Munn heaped praise on the Central transformation and tipped his hat to Charger head coach Eric Vance.

“That’s a really good football team,” he told the Star-T’s Baggarly. “And they’re going to make playoffs in our district. Vance and his coaching staff, they’ve got the kids bought in. They play hard. They play respectful. And we’ve got all the respect in the world for them.”

Work in progress

Vance told Baggarly that the Chargers are a work in progress.

“We still haven’t put a game together yet,” he said. “It’s going to be scary when we do.”

Vance said Central’s biggest problem is the depth of its bench.

“At the end of the game, we ran out of bullets, to be honest,” he said to the Star-T. “We have some very good talent, but we’re having to play them both ways, just because some of the depth we’d like to have — we just we don’t have it.”

As for the Dragons, they took an initial step in achieving the first in every season’s three goals: To win district, to make a deep run in the playoffs and to win a state championship.

The Dragons’ back-to-back defeats by North Crowley and Allen will sting for a while. After all, consecutive losses at Carroll are rare. The last time it happened was a couple of decades ago.

But Munn said his team would continue to focus on getting better and being ready on game day.

“The kids did a really good job of diving into their prep, and I think it showed,” he told Baggarly. “Our kids did a really good job of playing fast and executing the game plan.”

Next up, the Haslet Eaton Eagles at home.

Go, Dragons!

Hudson Tomcheck celebrates a touchdown in last night's matchup with Keller Central.

Too much to handle: Allen 56, Southlake Carroll 35

 

Allen quarterback Ty Snell threw for three touchdowns last night against the Dragons.

Finding something positive

SOUTHLAKE – From the Southlake Carroll point of view, you can say two positive things about the Allen Eagle beatdown in Dragon Stadium last night without sounding completely ridiculous.

First of all, the outgunned and overmatched Dragons managed to hang 35 points on a team that had limited its first two season opponents – mighty Duncanville and DeSoto, last year’s state champion – to a grand total of 13 points.

Then there’s the undeniable fact that Carroll leaped to a 14-0 lead in the early going of the contest and played the high-flying Eagles even-steven football until deep into the first half.

(Not bad, you could argue, for a team most odds-makers considered 10- to 17-point underdogs. Brother, if only the bookies had been right!)

Of course, the Eagles eventually woke up to the fact that the Dragons weren’t going to go quietly into that good night. And they responded as great teams do: They quickly and efficiently asserted their superiority, rolling up 700 total yards and scoring on a thunderous procession of big plays that left Carroll gasping in their dust.

Take comfort where you can, Dragonheads. It’s not often that our local heroes find themselves 1-2 to start the season.

A sad scenario

It’s useful to remember that Carroll’s rookie head coach, Lee Munn, set this sad scenario in motion when he decided to schedule one of Oklahoma’s best teams and two Top 5 Texas titans as his graduation-depleted squad’s first three 2026 opponents.

He did so knowing the Dragons were replacing every starter on their defensive unit and were breaking in both an unseasoned quarterback and a brand-spanking-new head coach.

Nothing wrong with jumping into the deep end of the swimming pool – provided of course there’s water in it and – oh, yeah – as long as you know how to swim.

Munn had his reasons, of course. By his accounting, he got the head job late in the scheduling process and, thus, had a limited array of opponents from which to choose. And with such a young squad, he said he wanted a way to assess what he had quickly.

Whatever. He certainly didn’t do his young charges – or Dragonheads in general – any favors. For a proud program like Carroll, getting shellacked two weeks in a row doesn’t do much to build confidence or gather momentum.

Wallowing in misery

The Dragons don’t have the luxury of wallowing in their misery, however. District 4-6A play begins next Thursday against Keller Central. The Chargers, of course, don’t pose the threat that the Murderer’s Row of the first three weeks did for Carroll.

The Eagles came out strong last night in Dragon Stadium, eventually establishing their dominance despite trailing early.

But the Dragons had best put the last couple of weeks in the rear-view mirror and concentrate on winning district – which they should do handily – and preparing for another deep dive into the playoffs.

As for last night, it began quite differently than many of us feared it would.

Pinned by Allen’s opening kickoff on its own 3, Carroll QB Hudson Tomcheck promptly moved his team to the 31, then lofted a pass to a wide-open Blake Gunter, who cruised 69 yards to put Southlake in the lead.

The next Allen drive ended in the Carroll red zone where the Eagles fumbled the ball, and the Dragons recovered at the19. Tomcheck ended an 81-yard march downfield with a 17-yard TD pass to Cole Cunningham that gave Carroll a shocking – but deeply satisfying – two-score lead.

The Eagles answered with a 75-yard drive punctuated by a 4-yard dash across the line by Jrue Simmons that finally got Allen on the board with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.

On the next Dragon drive, Allen junior Dominic Butler blocked a punt, which was snatched up by teammate Raiden Johnson and taken to the house, knotting the score 14-14.

Early in the second period, Allen forced another Southlake punt, which the Eagles fielded on their 9. On the second play of that drive, Simmons (8 carries for 151 yards) sprinted a stunning 83 yards for his second TD of the night, propelling the Eagles into the lead 21-14.

Rise to the occasion

But the Dragons rose to the occasion again. While Tomcheck (12-26, 173, 3 TDs) didn’t have a great night, he certainly had his moments. His 25-yard dart to star receiver Blake Gunter (4-104, 1 TD) got this drive going. Dez Bryant Jr. (9 carries for 69 yards) then charged 13 yards into Allen territory.

That’s where Tomcheck, surging through Allen’s defensive front, roared 21 yards to the 17, then plunged through again on the next play to tie things up again 21-21 with 7:37 left in the half.

That sparked a three-score Eagle onslaught that began with a 3-yard TD bolt by Lyndon Spriggs (13-91) that sent Allen ahead.

Allen quarterback Ty Snell expanded the Eagle margin with an impressive 73-yard drive in which he completed four straight passes, culminating in a 40-yard TD throw to receiver Zach Williams (8-130, 2 TDs) with 2 seconds left in the half.

Snell racked up a 72% completion rate, throwing for three TDs and gaining 305 yards in the air, easily surpassing Tomcheck, who was harassed and hurried all night by Allen’s beefy defensive line.

Rather than coast on its two-score lead, Allen came out strong in the second half, with Snell connecting with Williams again for a 22-yard TD catch that widened the Allen lead to a now unassailable 42-21.

Tomcheck tossed a 28-yard TD to Knowles as the third half dwindled. But a 70-yard throw from Snell to Josyah Johnson restored the Eagle lead to three scores and signaled that no comeback would be tolerated.

The last word

The final period featured some admirable running by Dane Wilson against Allen’s backups. Wilson ended the night as the Dragons’ top rusher with 11 carries for 111 yards, including a 13-yard TD sprint in the waning minutes of the game.

Allen, by right of conquest, insisted on having the last word. On the very next play from scrimmage, Allen backup Devorian Hambrick sprang through the exhausted Dragon line and dashed 70 yards to the goal line, nailing a humiliating end to a humbling evening for Carroll.

Allen head coach Lee Wiginton was generous in his assessment of the game. He told Allen American reporter John Knope that the Eagles didn’t panic when they fell behind by two scores early on. That’s to be expected when facing teams like the Dragons.

“You didn’t go down 14-0 in a flukish manner,” Wiginton told Knope. “You go down 14-0 against one of the best programs in the state, who you know could make it 50 in no time. To see the way they responded after that, it makes you feel good moving forward.”

Thus ends the Dragons’ trial by fire. Are they the better team for it? Time will tell. We’ll see if the old adage is correct: “What doesn’t kill us, only makes us stronger.”

Go, Dragons!

An Eagle receiver stretches out along the Carroll sideline during last night's beatdown.

Humble pie: North Crowley 40, Southlake Carroll 10

 

North Crowley running back G'Yrell Smith ran roughshod over the Dragons, rolling to four touchdownsin the runaway Panther victory.

A baleful, merciless glare

FORT WORTH – This time, there was no dramatic, breathtaking comeback. No stunning reversal of fortune. No overcoming fearsome odds to seize sweet victory from the jaws of defeat.

This time, the Southlake Carroll Dragons – facing the baleful, merciless glare of the North Crowley Panthers – got their butts beat. Badly.

Not only that, but they went to the slaughter Friday night meek as lambs – and just about as threatening.

The Panthers wielded a potent defense and a wicked offense to deflame the Dragons. They offered Carroll no opportunity for the come-from-behind heroics it employed last week in erasing a 27-0 deficit and eking out a 34-33 win over the Jenks (Okla.) Trojans.

It’s been a while since the Dragons have fallen so hard. You have to look back to 2018 to find a similar drubbing. In the playoffs that year, a juggernaut Duncanville team humiliated Carroll 51-7. (It later lost the state title to Galena Park North Shore.)

That was a bad one. So was this.

North Crowley, hosting the Dragons in its showy south Fort Worth stadium, wasted no time in establishing its dominance.

On the third play of the game, Panther quarterback Jacob Torres lofted a 63-yard ball to receiver Kade Smith, who cruised smoothly into the end zone. Only a missed PAT spoiled the precision and workman-like quality of the drive.

The Carroll defense initially responded to the Panther challenge, stymying Torres and company for much of the first quarter. Then the Dragons managed a drive that ended in a 32-yard TD toss from quarterback Hudson Tomcheck to WR Easton Nied, rewarding Carroll with a brief and tenuous 7-6 lead.

Tomcheck completed 10 of 20 passes for 185 yards. But he was bedeviled by the swarming North defense, as were his star receivers, Blake Gunter (6-36) and Brody Knowles (3-44).

A coach favorite

Sophomore cornerback Brayley Cunningham was a big reason why. He had a stellar night, intercepting two errant Carroll passes, one from Tomcheck, playing in only his second varsity game, and one from Palmer Pensom, brought in late to witness the tragedy’s finale.

Cunningham is obviously a coach favorite. Here’s what North head coach DeMarcus Harris told The Dallas Morning News’ Ismael Johnson after the game.

“Man, he has superpowers, I'm telling you,” Harris said. “He knows routes before they happen. If you guys ever go back and watch him at camps, I'm always wondering, did they tell him the route? He jumps stuff, he feels it and he plays every receiver different.”

The Carroll lead evaporated quickly after the Panthers blew open the doors in the second period, capitalizing on a series of Carroll mistakes that doomed any attempt to keep up with take-no-prisoners North Crowley.

The cavalcade of disaster started when Carroll was forced to punt. The snap sailed over the kicker’s head, and North defenders recovered it at the Dragon 18.

Dragon receiver Easton Niel celebrates his TD catch that briefly gave Carroll the lead on Friday.

Stellar running back G’Yrell Smith (11 carries for 96 yards) promptly took the ball into the end zone for the first of his four TD runs of the night.

North struck again 2 minutes later when Pryce Demerson snagged a 28-yard TD toss from Jehzeel Mccradic, who shared signal-calling duties with Torres.

Now with a comfortable 20-7 lead, all the Panthers had to do was sit back and watch Carroll trip over its own feet.

On the next series, Carroll running back Brooks Biggers fumbled twice, recovering one loose ball but losing the second. Six plays later, Smith sprinted 35 yards and racked up his second TD, leaving North with a 27-7 lead.

With 5 minutes left in the half, the Dragons knew they had to score before the bell if they had any hope of staying in the game. They moved the ball steadily downfield, helped immeasurably by a roughing-the-passer call and a 21-yard reception by Knowles, ending up 1^st and 10 at the 5-yard-line.

But the North defense stood tall and denied the Dragons the end zone on four straight plays. It was a goal-line stand that sealed the Dragons’ fate. Harris said he told his squad it was a play for which they would long be remembered.

The second half started in the same way the first half had ended: In a series of costly, embarrassing missteps.

Costly mistakes

It began with two more Carroll fumbles, on successive plays, and provided evidence of the fierce struggle taking place in the trenches. The second turnover was the most costly.

Tomcheck, aided by a pass interference call, had moved his team to the North 27. Keeping the ball, he darted up the middle and headed for the end zone. Inside the 5, a Panther defender ripped the ball out of his arms and fell on it at the 4.

Mccradic then presided over a methodical march downfield to the Carroll 26. From there, Smith notched TD No. 3, leaving the Dragons 34-7 in the hole.

That sparked a Southlake exodus for the parking lots.

Smith added No. 4 to his record shortly before the end of the third period. Carroll booted a who-cares 47-yard field goal in the fourth, and then – thank you, Jesus – it was over.

Carroll head coach Lee Munn, now 1-1 as a head coach, gave credit where credit was due.

“They are such a momentum team,” Munn told Charles Baggarly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Part of the reason we turned the ball over was they just took it away, right? Defensively, they are very aggressive and very physical. The punt that went over our punter’s head was on us. But with some, it was them just actively pursuing the football and punching it out. Props to them.”

The Panthers' smothering defense left little room for the Dragons to manuever.

In other words, the best team won. No argument there – even from the most diehard Dragonhead.

But Munn, bless ’im, didn’t shy away from the obvious.

“We had way too many mistakes,” he told Baggarly. “We played very undisciplined and very uncharacteristic football. There were a lot of opportunities for us to stay in the game and play the kind of the style of game we wanted, and it got away from us with the turnovers.”

The Panthers and Dragons could well face each other again later this season. If both schools end up in Division II of Class 6A, they could meet in the playoffs. If that happens, lordy, let’s hope it’s a different Carroll team that takes the field. Amen.

North Crowley, based on the splendid performances it has recorded so far this season, can rightly claim to be one of the best of the best in Texas high school football this year. Trouble is, it may not be the best.

Next up: The Eagles!

That team could very well be the Dragons’ next opponent – the high-flying Allen Eagles, who obliterated the DeSoto Eagles Friday night, 50-6. They're currently ranked No. 4 in the state, but they're dangerously talented and hungry for a state championship.

The Eagles – old and bitter foes whose matchups with Carroll always provide smashmouth, take-no-prisoners football – will arrive at Dragon Stadium next Friday with blood in their eyes and mayhem and murder (figuratively, of course) in their hearts.

Mama mia! The saints preserve us!

If memory serves – and it’s often an unreliable source – Allen is one of only a handful of visiting teams to emerge from Dragon Stadium with a win. You can bet the family farm it would love to humble Southlake on its home turf.

I wouldn’t miss it. But why is there a knot already forming in the pit of my stomach?

Go Dragons!

A fast and aggressive Panther defense had Dragon quarterback Hudson Tomcheck on the run all night.