Game Night: Southlake Carroll Dragons vs. Justin Northwest Texans

Oct. 19, 2013
The opening minutes of last night’s contest between the Southlake Carroll Dragons and the Justin Northwest Texans were pretty uncomfortable for the Dragon faithful, and it had nothing to do with the cold rain being driven into their faces by a stiff northern wind.

It had everything to do with a frisky Texan offense guided by quarterback Jesse Drummer, which took the opening kickoff and cruised unheeded into Dragon territory. At that point, a little over a minute into the game, Drummer hit wide-open receiver Emmanuel Moore, who trotted into the end zone untouched and unnoticed by the Dragon secondary, which must have taken time out for a cappuccino.

 The Dragons responded 40 seconds later, when junior quarterback Ryan Agnew connected with WR Joe Heineman to tie the score. Undaunted, Drummer came right back, tossing a 50-yard TD pass to WR Brady Bird, who enjoyed a lonely lope to paydirt while the Dragon defenders ordered a scone to go with the cappuccino.

A half-minute later, Agnew, who had a stellar game that earned him “Best of the Week” recognition in this morning’s Dallas Morning News, dashed 51 yards for the Dragons’ second TD. It looked like a classic shootout was shaping up in Texan Stadium, an excellent football facility a stone’s throw from Texas Motor Speedway.

 But on the next Texan possession, the Dragon defense, apparently refreshed from its break, abruptly ended Drummer’s upstart offensive display, and turned the game over to Agnew and company.

 It was all over by the end of first quarter, with the Dragons leading 28-14. They added another TD seconds into the second quarter and led the stunned Texans 56-14 at half. The final Texan score didn’t occur until the fourth, long after Dragon backups had taken over duties from the starters.

Final score: Dragons 63, Texans 21.

 Agnew completed 18 of 19 passes for 315 yards and five TDs. He ran for 143 yards and another TD. His only incompletion of the night was on his 16th attempt, a deep end-zone pass slightly behind WR Keaton Duhon, who came within a foot and a half of keeping Agnew perfect. The pair did better on three other TD connections.

 To give you some idea of Carroll offensive efficiency, it took the Dragons only 7:32 minutes to roll to their 56 points in the first half. In the decisive first quarter, the offense was on the field only 2:57 minutes. Its longest drive was 51 seconds. (Stats thanks to the Star Telegram.)

 Dragon fans expected a bit more from the haughty Texans, who came into the game with the same season record as the Dragons, losing only to District 4-5A rival Keller Fossil Ridge. Carroll now takes sole possession of first place in 4-5A.

 The Dragons return home next week after three straight road games. They face the Keller Indians in the annual Pink-Out game for breast-cancer awareness. Pink isn’t exactly my color, but I’m game for a good cause. Go Dragons!