The 2014 season of Southlake
Carroll Dragon Football officially opened Wednesday with the annual Green &
White Game, the culmination of spring football.
It was an opportunity for the
Dragon faithful to get their first glimpse of what’s in store in the fall,
when Southlake’s gridiron warriors dip their toes into one of the toughest
districts in the state. But more on that later.
For most of us, it was
a somewhat confusing affair, as these glorified practices always are. Unless
you’re a coach on the field or a heavily involved parent in the stands, it’s
hard to tell what the hell is going on.
The knowledgeable fans with whom I was sitting provided somber assessments of
the action on the field. There is, they agreed, much work to be done.
Most viewed the Dragon
defense with deep suspicion, not an entirely unexpected assessment at this early
stage. There was general agreement that the Dragon offense, helmed by returning
quarterback Ryan Agnew, is a potentially lethal weapon, if and only if a
presently questionable O-line can keep the senior superstar “vertical.”
“The Big Guys can get
better,” one football analyst opined. “The question is how much better? This
season isn’t going to be another March through Georgia, now is it?”
The reference is to the
easy time Southlake Carroll has had the last two years in a creampuff district
that included the sad sacks of Keller ISD and the only marginally better schools
of Birdville ISD. Many observers – including yours truly – referred to the
district race in 4-5A as the “Cupcake Parade,” a label no one bothered to
challenge, even the cupcakes.
But the 2014 season
will be different. Oh, brother, will it be different. District 7-6A includes
football powerhouses Euless Trinity and Coppell, along with the up and coming L.D.
Bell. The foregone conclusion of the recent past that the Dragons will glide to
a district championship disappeared when the UIL unexpectedly placed Southlake in
a district with two of its biggest rivals.
The smart money is on a
dogfight for district between the Dragons, the Trinity Trojans and the Coppell
Cowboys. Regardless of the outcome of that brawl, Southlake probably still
makes the playoffs. But make no mistake, a failure to win district will be a
big disappointment to Dragon fans, who have become spoiled to the point they
consider the district trophy as part of their birthright.
Meanwhile, Southlake
Carroll has its work cut out for it in pre-district matchups, too. It faces
Oklahoma juggernaut Tulsa Union in Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 5 and meets the always
dangerous Abilene High Eagles at home on Sept. 26.
Which brings us to the
season opener in Dragon Stadium on Aug. 29. That’s when the Austin Westlake
Chaparrals arrive in Dragon Stadium with their brand-new head coach, Todd
Dodge.
That’s right. The same Todd Dodge who led the
Dragons to state 5A championships in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The same Todd
Dodge who coached Southlake to a 79-1 record before departing for UNT, where he
met defeat and disaster.
Dodge is back in the
high school ranks, where he has demonstrated an ability to motivate kids,
nurture quarterbacks and devise crushing offenses. After leaving college
coaching, he spent a couple of undistinguished years at Marble Falls, where the
talent pool was lacking. At Westlake, he inherits a powerful and storied
program, with a winning tradition and a fan base much like Southlake, which is
to say privileged and demanding, with a low tolerance for failure.
The pressure will be on
Dodge to prove his detractors wrong. Many point out that Dodge has an
unexceptional record as a coach, except for his phenomenal tenure at Southlake.
Here, his string of championships – which include a last-minute defeat in the 2003
state title game against Katy – still is referred to reverently as “The Run.” Without
exaggeration, I can attest that it was a magnificent, magical time that those
of us who lived through it will never, ever forget.
And that’s why Dodge
and his Westlake boys no doubt will receive a prolonged standing ovation when
they appear at Dragon Stadium, and why some of us – in the deep recesses of our
hearts and souls – will not be extravagantly disappointed if they emerge from the
game victorious.
That’s not likely to happen
since Westlake is immersed in a down cycle – the reason Dodge was hired, of
course – but as you’ve heard me say before, this is Texas football and anything
can happen.
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