Game Day: Southlake Carroll 59, Haltom 0

    I first noticed The Reader about 4 minutes into the second quarter of last night’s massacre of Haltom by Southlake Carroll, just a few minutes after the Dragons pulled ahead of the Buffaloes, 35-0.

   There he was, sitting a couple of rows in front me, dressed in shorts and a green hoodie and surrounded by the parents of Emerald Belle drill team members. His nose buried in the open book on his lap, he was oblivious to the events on the field.

   Granted, the outcome of the night’s District 7-6A contest was never in doubt, and the harassed and harried Buffaloes didn’t put up much of a struggle as the Dragons trampled over, through and around them.

    But for the football fans present, Carroll offered up a pretty impressive offensive show, with junior quarterback Mason Holmes (8 of 10 for 199 yards and five TDs) peppering his receivers with well-aimed passes and with running back Shemar Coleman twisting and twirling through the Haltom D-line like he was at the Spring Prom.

   The Reader missed all that. Head down, eyes focused on the page, he never looked up when Coleman staged an electrifying 62-yard touchdown run in which he broke at least four tackles on his way to the end zone to extend Carroll’s dominance to 42-0.

   Coleman’s feat ended Dragon scoring for the first half and heralded the departure of Carroll starters. Everyone in a Dragon uniform got some playing time last night.

   Here’s the kind of game it was. Backup quarterback Montana Murphy relieved Holmes well before half and posted impressive numbers, completing 10 of 12 passes for 165 yards and two TDs.

Backup WR Blake Berwick caught two Murphy passes for 120 yards and two TDs, more than varsity star Zach Farrar, who had an excellent night in his own right, catching three passes for 78 yards and two TDs.

   Holmes shredded Haltom’s overwhelmed secondary. When he left the game two-thirds of the way into the second quarter, six of his last eight passes had resulted in touchdowns. He engineered two consecutive two-play TD drives, the first ending in a 36-yard toss to Kam Duhon and the second in a 29-yard throw to Farrar. 

   The junior, who also scored with TD passes to Lil’ Jordan Humphrey and Jack Johansson, showed his athleticism at one point during a scoring drive that strandled the 1^st and 2^nd quarters.

   Dropping back for a pass, Holmes turned left, saw an approaching Buffalo, then pirouetted like a ballerina and threw right to Farrar. Three plays later, he connected again with Farrar for a 44-yard TD.

   At times, last night seemed like a practice session for the playoffs, which begin week after next. Although the Dragons were unstoppable on the ground, Holmes and Murphy staged an aerial display, sending their receivers to all corners of the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex. They misfired only once, when Murphy’s slightly under-thrown pass in the end zone landed in a Haltom defender’s arms.

   Meanwhile, Carroll’s recently acquired taste for misdirection and deception was on full display. Leading 7-0 early in the first, it ran back-to-back trick plays, the first a double reverse that saw Farrar scamper 29 yards into the end zone, only to have the ball called back on a penalty.

   On the next play, Coleman received the ball from the wildcat formation and lateralled it to Holmes, who then hefted it to Johansson across the goal line.

   None of this razzle-dazzle was needed to subdue the overmatched Buffaloes, but that and more will be necessary for the Dragons to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

   Two weeks from now, they meet reigning state champ Cedar Hill, who lost a barnburner last night to Mansfield. By nature of their first seed in Division II (small school), they’ll play in the warm confines of Dragon Stadium, but the Longhorns will be an extremely tough nut to crack.

   First things first, however. Carroll ends the regular season next week at home against the L.D. Bell Blue Raiders, who are tied for last place with Haltom in 7-6A. That should be another slaughter of the innocents and offer yet another chance for reserves, who labor in obscurity through most of the season, to shine once more. What could be more appropriate on Senior Night?

   Perhaps The Reader will have a chance to finish his book. Go Dragons!