Game Day: Southlake Carroll 42, Abilene 17

The brutal truth is the proud Abilene Eagles never had a chance of whipping the Southlake Carroll Dragons last night as the Dragons ended their challenging pre-district march before a hostile West Texas crowd at Abilene’s venerable Shotwell Stadium.

A potent combination of Dragon offensive firepower and a fumbled Eagle kickoff reception gave Southlake a 14-0 lead before the Eagles could run a single offensive play. Abilene, which is expected to challenge strongly for the District 3-6A title, could never overcome that poor beginning.

True, its feisty offense kept it within striking distance in an entertaining first half that ended with the Dragons leading 28-17. But the Southlake defense shut it out in the second half, while the Mason Holmes-led offense tacked on a couple of cushion TDs to seal the deal.

That’s the pattern set by the Dragons this season, with their young, under-sized defense getting shoved around in the beginning, but making the necessary halftime adjustments to dramatically reduce their opponents’ trips to the end zone, thus clearing the way for its offense to control events.

Southlake scored briskly on the opening drive of the game, with Holmes connecting with Zach Farrar for a 25-yard TD. The senior wide receiver played an economical game last night, making four catches for 92 yards. But three of those catches resulted in touchdowns.

Holmes, playing in his third varsity game, was his usual superb self, shredding the Abilene secondary and ending the night with 256 passing yards, four TDs and one interception.

Double-threat running back/wide receiver Lil’ Jordan Humphrey owned the Shotwell field. For the second straight game, he rolled up more than 100 yards rushing AND 100 yards receiving, a feat never before accomplished in Dragon football history.

The 6-foot-5 Humphrey ran for 113 yards and had 10 receptions for 166 yards and two TDs. On the Dragons’ last scoring drive – a 20-play marathon in which Southlake had to overcome three 15-yard penalties, including one that denied Farrar his fourth TD – Humphrey accounted for 95 yards. Mere mortals would be applauded for such a performance over an entire game.

So ends the Dragons’ tough pre-district schedule. But for a deflected pass in the end zone in last seconds of the season opener against Austin Westlake, Southlake could be entering District 7-6A play undefeated.

But at 3-1, it’s tested and ready for the 7-6A run, having survived a road scare against Tulsa Union, one of Oklahoma’s best squads, and running away with an overmatched Midland Lee team at home. Added to the momentum gained last night, the Dragon pre-district accomplishments position them nicely for the road ahead.

But the rest of the way won’t be easy. Next up are the hated Coppell Cowboys, who will be playing at home at Buddy Echols Field, where their fans can be expected to heap venom and vitriol on their Southlake neighbors.

As I’ve noted before, these communities don’t like each other, animosity that dates back decades to when the two high schools were 3A rivals and the Dragons dominated the series. In recent years, Coppell has proven it can bloody Southlake’s nose, and its fans delight at the prospect of knocking the Dragons out of the 7-6A race.

So the Cowboys will be tough as old saddle leather, make no mistake. And so will Euless Trinity, which the Dragons face at Pennington Field on Oct. 16. Most prognosticators are picking the Trojans to win the 7-6A title, and the Carroll-Trinity contest could be the decisive one.

 Some very good football lies ahead as the fall weather cools the sweat of Friday night lights. It’s time for our players to put on their big-boy pants and take care of business. Go Dragons!