A funny thing happened to the Southlake Carroll
Dragons as they coast toward another championship in District 4-5A. The
normally pass-heavy offense is showing some real rushing muscle.
Consider last night’s slaughter of the innocents. The
Dragons, led by their senior running back AJ Ezzard, ripped the heart out of
the lowly Keller Indians, then stomped on it for good measure. Final score: 52-17.
And if the Dragons hadn’t been sleepy and unfocused in the first half, it would
have been even more lopsided.
Ezzard has been waiting for a showcase game this
season, and last night was the time and Dragon Stadium was the place. Ezzard
scored the first Dragon touchdown a little more than a minute into the game,
catching a 21-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryan Agnew, who didn’t have a
bad night himself.
It was Ezzard’s first passing TD, and he celebrated
the occasion by rolling up 151 yards on 21 carries and scoring four (count ’em)
rushing TDs. He was fun to watch, spinning and juking past overwhelmed Keller
defenders. He scored all three touchdowns in the decisive third quarter,
bursting through the line and sprinting to the goal on runs of 23, 16 and 32
yards.
Agnew was his
usual efficient self, and more, despite being sacked four times. He threw for
307 yards and three TDs, completing 31 of 35 passes. He ran for another 47 yards. His
favorite target last night was senior WR Luke Timian, who came near a
single-game receiving record, scoring a TD and grabbing 13 passes, one shy of
the record 14 nabbed in a single game by the phenomenal Peyton Williams during
his Southlake career.
For the Dragons, the glory was dimmed somewhat by
the knowledge they played uninspired through most of the first half. Of course,
that’s not a shock to anyone who’s been paying attention to the quality of
opponents they have faced all season.
Dragon fans should be grateful I suppose that we’re not
enduring the national scrutiny that the mighty Aledo Bearcats have faced all
week for “running up” the score against pitiful Western Hills last weekend. I
won’t open up that particular can of worms, but suffice to say that it ain’t
easy keeping the score down when you’re facing the football equivalent of a
defenseless child.
The Indians put up a fight, give them that. I mentioned
their success in getting to Agnew. Leading the assault were Sione Teuhema, a
senior linebacker committed to Texas, and sophomore lineman Houston Miller. Both
were beasts. Miller, in particular, had a memorable night.
In the first
quarter, Agnew and company were backed up against the Keller goal line. As
Agnew dropped back into the end zone to pass, Miller was attempting to blast
through the middle. Then he broke off, drifted left and snared a rare Agnew
miscue and lumbered 11 yards to score.
The other Keller touchdown was set up by RB Brandon
Boyser, who rushed for 107 yards last night, when he slipped through the Dragon
D-line and sprinted 76 yards before being run down from behind by a speedy
Dragon DB at the 1-yard line.
Finally, a tribute goes out to the backup Dragon defenders
who staged a magnificent goal-line stand
in the waning seconds of the game to keep the Keller starters from scoring
again.
There weren’t many fans left in the stands to see
those kids’ gritty determination and skill, but I hope their parents were there
with me and a few others to see them shine. Hats off, Dragons.
Next week the Dragons travel back to the Keller ISD
dungeon to face the Keller Fossil Ridge Panthers, who now rank No. 2 in 4-5A. Perhaps
they’ll put up a better fight that some of the other district cupcakes. They’ve
only lost one district game, a 13-9 defensive struggle against Keller Central.
Of course, the Dragons whipped the Chargers 59-3 so best to keep your expectations
in check. Go Dragons!
No comments:
Post a Comment