Bitter
as it is to say, the best team won yesterday in the playoff quarterfinal
contest between Southlake Carroll and Cedar Hill.
The
Longhorns, with their roster of D1-bound athletes, dominated the game from
kickoff to final whistle, employing their multi-dimensional ground game to
score at will and forcing the Dragons to take to the air to keep up.
It’s
a testimony to the grit, discipline and heart of the Carroll players that they
kept things close enough for their fans to hold out hope for another last-gasp,
last-minute victory.
But
Cedar Hill was too good for that. Even as senior quarterback Ryan Agnew staged
a series of quick-attack aerial heroics in the second half, bringing the
Dragons within 5 at one point in the 3th quarter, the Longhorns came
roaring back every time.
After
each Dragon score, Cedar Hill, in business-like fashion, sent their double-threat
quarterback and fleet-footed running backs scything through the Dragon line,
marching authoritatively down the field to maintain the two-score lead it held
through most of the game.
The
Longhorns rolled up 686 total yards of offense, 572 on the ground. By
comparison, the Dragons could manage only 78 yards rushing.
Cedar
Hill’s kill-shot occurred with less than 3 minutes left when it intercepted a
pass by Agnew as he was trying desperately to close the Longhorns’ 13-point lead.
In the ensuing series, the Longhorns rolled inevitably to their final score and
ended the Dragons season.
Cedar
Hill Coach Joey McGuire told The Dallas
Morning News that his game plan was to smother the Dragon ground game and
its hard-charging lead rusher, Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, and to gamble it could
survive Carroll’s ensuing aerial assault.
It
worked beautifully. Humphrey, a junior who rushed for 1,800 yards this season
and 29 touchdowns, was held to a paltry 37 yards yesterday. Forced to the air,
Agnew and his receiving corps did their best, and it was impressive to see. He completed
15 of 23 passes for 418 yards and four touchdowns, engineering pass plays along
the way of 76, 52, 42 and 75 yards.
Senior
Tariq Gordon was his favorite target, pulling in 6 catches for 168 yards. Zach
Farrar nabbed 3 for 128, and senior Parker Fentriss got 3 for 114.
But
it wasn’t enough to blunt Cedar Hill’s abundant offensive arsenal, headed by
quarterback Justin McMillan (8-15 for 112 yards, 3 TDs) and running backs Aca’cedric
Ware (283 yards on 29 carries) and Denvre Daniels, (155 yards on 19 carries). Its
weapons included sophomore Avery Davis, a backup quarterback who went in for
one play late in the 4th and sprinted 62 yards for a touchdown that padded
the Longhorn lead, 47-35, after a Carroll rally had narrowed the margin to 6.
The
Dragons, bless’em, shrugged off that shocking development. What would have been
a dagger to the heart for many good teams, only served to inspire Agnew and his
teammates. Starting the next drive at the Carroll 25, Agnew hefted a long ball
downfield to WR Parker Fentiss, who took it to the house, narrowing the lead to
47-42.
The
Longhorns responded in turn with a 54-yard TD run by Ware, making it now 55-42.
At that point, Agnew made his first and only miscue of the afternoon, throwing
an INT on a 2nd and 9 at the Cedar Hill 40.
Thus
ends the Dragon season. For many of us, the disappointment is eased somewhat by
the knowledge that Carroll fell to a great team, well-coached, highly talented
and strongly motivated. The Longhorns, after all, are defending 6A Division II champions,
and they played like it yesterday.
They
face Spring Westfield next week in Georgetown, and the Houston-area folks had
best come prepared for a squad on a mission to repeat state. If Cedar Hill gets
past Westfield, and it should, it probably will face Katy in the finals at
Cowboys Stadium on the Saturday before Christmas. That will be quite a game,
folks.
For
the Dragons, the season ends here, and preparations will begin almost
immediately for next year. That’s the nature of sports.
It
will be sad to see seniors like Ryan Agnew, WRs Parker Fentriss and Ryan McGiboney,
safety/WR Tariq Gordon, RB Deondre Wiltshire, DL King Newton and others leave.
Also worthy of note are departing safety Andy Chelf, who left yesterday’s game
with a knee injury, and linebacker Clark Parr, who has been courageously playing
for some time with a battered knee. Both are warriors whose leadership and
talent will be missed.
But
a cadre of talented juniors will be stepping into top roles next year. Backup
quarterback Montana Murphy is Agnew’s likely replacement, at least at this
point. He got some valuable reps this year and shows great promise. Junior
receiver Zach Farrar will be back. So will Humphrey, who showed this year he
can run with the best of them. If he demonstrates half the improvement between
his junior and senior years as he did from sophomore to junior, 2015 could be a
very special season for him. Grant McFarlin will be joining him in the
backfield.
Sophomore
linebacker Jacob Copeland, who was sidelined much of this year with injuries,
will be back, as will safety Obi Eboh. Others no doubt will muscle their way to
the forefront.
This
is Southlake Carroll, after all, where the program reloads rather than
rebuilds. Go Dragons!
