Game Day: Austin Westlake 20, Southlake Carroll 14

For a moment last night, as the final seconds ticked inexorably toward zero, it appeared that the football gods would look down favorably on the Southlake Carroll Dragons as they struggled and strived to wrest victory from the jaws of defeat.

But alas, that didn’t happen, and when Dragon quarterback Montana Murphy, desperately eluding tacklers in his backfield, finally found RB Lil’ Jordan Humphrey in the end zone, his hurried pass was batted dismissively away, and it was over.

Austin Westlake 20, Southlake Carroll 14.

The Dragons had their chances, plenty of them. They held the Chaparrals scoreless in the second half, their young defensive line finally settling down and stopping Westlake’s talented signal caller, Sam Ehlinger (18-29, 236 yards; 72 rushing), who had ripped them handily on the ground and in the air in the first half.

But mental mistakes in the form of two costly turnovers, a flurry of needless penalties and, most particularly, an embarrassing series of downs in the shadow of the Chaps’ end zone with less than 5 minutes to play doomed the Dragons.

Rule of thumb: If you can’t convert on a 1^st and goal at your opponents’ 1-yard line, you probably don’t deserve to win.

That was the situation facing Carroll as game momentum shifted its way in the closing minutes of the game. Trailing by six points, it had slashed its way to the Westlake 1 and had a fresh set of downs to ice the game.

But then a combination of on-field jitters and unforgivable sideline confusion created a Keystone Cops scene that left Dragon fans weak with despair.

Humphrey, who ended a frustrating night with less than 100 yards rushing, was called upon to seal the deal, but he was stopped for a 2-yard loss. Carroll then was called for a false start and subsequently had to burn a timeout to prevent another penalty.

From there, things only got worse, and when the kids on the field needed them most, the coaches failed them. First, Carroll was penalized for illegal substitution and, in the ensuing confusion, was called for delay of game. Now facing second down on the 13-yard-line, it was unable to convert, setting up a normally routine 27-yard field goal.

But nothing was normal about this series, and kicking ace Jake Oldroyd, normally an iron-clad cinch at this distance, implausibly sliced it wide left.

The agony wasn’t over yet. Westlake milked the clock on the next series, but the Dragons finally forced the Chaps to punt with less than 3 minutes left.

They clawed their way into Westlake territory, and Murphy (13-28-1 for 201 yards) hefted a last-hope long pass to Humphrey that landed the Dragons on the 9-yard line with 5 seconds on the clock and no timeouts.

But there would be no Hollywood ending for the Dragons on this night. Humphrey was unable to pull in Murphy’s throw, and Chaps head coach Todd Dodge ended up with the victory over his old team that he so coveted.

Many observers will be tempted to credit the Chaps’ victory to Dodge’s sideline leadership, contrasting it with reigning chaos on the Dragon sideline as its offense sputtered and stalled inches from victory.

There’s some truth in that assessment, I think. But the Chaps are not a perfect team. They played a very sloppy game. Their O-line is highly questionable, and their running game, as demonstrated last night, amounts to the sturdy Ehlinger and little more.

As for their defense, its success in shutting down the Dragons had more to do with Southlake missteps than skill and expertise on Westlake’s part.

Murphy didn’t have a terrible game, but he threw a momentum-draining interception in the first half and had trouble making connections with his receiving corps in the crucial 4^th period. The radio commentators thought he needed to complete his progressions and not focus so intently on his favorite target, senior Zach Farrar, who only caught two passes for 27 yards.

That’s something that will come with experience for Murphy, who was playing his first game as starter, despite getting significant experience last season behind Ryan Agnew.

Head coach Hal Wasson’s threat to split QB duties between Murphy and junior Mason Holmes was a bluff, and the senior played the entire game. The question is whether Murphy showed Wasson enough promise to keep him behind center next week when the Dragons face another fearsome opponent, the Tulsa Union Redskins, on their Oklahoma turf.

This isn’t how the Dragons wanted to begin their 2015 season, but it’s not exactly a shocker, either. Westlake is a quality program, and Dodge is a great coach. There’s no shame in falling before that combination.

It was the manner in which they lost that leaves an unpleasant taste. Truth be told, Carroll should have pulled out a win last night and very well might have with a little more coherent leadership from the sidelines. The good news is that the kids never gave up and got better as the night wore on. That’s the right direction to be traveling.

Another tough road trip faces the Dragons next week. Tulsa Union wants a little payback after its 42-41 overtime loss in the Death Star last year.

Stopping the Redskins won’t be easy, but the prospect of two straight losses is too terrible to contemplate. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Go Dragons!