Game Day: Tulsa Union 21, Southlake Carroll 10

By the middle of the third quarter last night, when Tulsa Union extended its lead over Southlake Carroll to 14-3, it became clear that the sputtering Dragon offense wasn’t going to shake off first-game jitters and give the Redskins a run for their money.

Senior quarterback Mason Holmes had scrambled all night, as Union’s D-line behemoths batted aside his protectors and zeroed in on his breastbone. His inexperienced receiving corps had failed to elude Redskin defensive backs. And even when the harried Holmes found a target, his passes sailed over the receiver’s head.

And the Dragons’ ground game, in the post-Lil’ Jordan Humphrey era? Fuhgeddaboudit.

It’s cold comfort that the Dragons fell in their season opener to the top-rated football program in Oklahoma. After all, this is Texas, and the natural order of things decrees that premier Texas programs, of which Southlake is one, always triumph over premier programs from any other state.

Trouble is, someone failed to tell Tulsa Union.

 And the Redskins arrived at Dragon Stadium last night hungry for payback. In the teams’ last two encounters, the Dragons engineered last-gasp wins in contests Union arguably should have won.

The Redskins had every reason to feel good about their chances of extracting revenge. Rated by most either No. 1 or No. 2 in Oklahoma, they brought a high-powered offense, led by two dual-threat quarterbacks and a sure-handed receiving corps, and a defensive wall of beef.

But the Dragons had little reason to quake in their cleats. After all, they were playing at home, in a venue where they had only lost three games since the facility opened in 2001. And they had a talented and experienced quarterback in Holmes, who completed 68 percent of his passes last year and scored 38 touchdowns. True, they had no returning receivers, but this is Southlake, where quarterbacks and receivers are as plentiful as Cadillac Esplanades and Rolex watches. Even the defensive unit, perennially undersized, had mass and talent in equal measures this season.

 So it was a pleasant, but not completely unexpected, surprise when the Redskins went 3-and-out on their first possession and turned the ball over to Holmes and company. We all settled in for the offensive display we already had played out in our heads.

The Dragons called a quarterback draw, and we held our breaths as Holmes – not known for his running prowess – hit the line. The ball popped out, and the Redskins covered it. Rut-roh.

What followed was a defensive clash in which both teams struggled to ignite any sort of offensive spark.

The Dragons’ single sustained drive of the first half stalled inside the Union 5-yard line. Faced with a 4^th-and-goal, Southlake attempted the unthinkable – at least in Dragon country – a fake field goal. Holder Hudson Taylor pitched the ball to Ryan Thompson, who only managed to claw to the 1. Southlake has a new offensive coordinator this year, can’t-cha tell?

A field goal by senior kicker Kole Rampage marked the Dragons’ only score of the half. But it was a dandy – a 55-yarder that most agreed is a school record.

Southlake defenders blunted Union’s highly regarded offense, led by quarterbacks Peyton Morrison and Grady Davenport, at least until the draining seconds of the half.

That’s when Davenport, the hero of the night, put together a 13-play drive that ended with a 7-yard pass to C.J. Moore with 13 seconds left.

Davenport passed for 139 yards and two TDs, rushing for 98 more. Most of those came on a 77-yard sprint to the end zone in the third quarter that effectively spelled the doom of the Dragons by extending the Redskin lead to 14-3.

Southlake edged to within four points in the fourth quarter, on a muddled drive aided by three pass interference calls against Union, two inside the 10. The Redskins did all they could to help the faltering Dragons, committing two more penalties inside the 5, effectively giving Carroll three sets of downs to reach the end zone.

Mercifully, the Dragons finally scored on a 1-yard run from Audricke Gaines, a transfer running back from Mansfield Timberview who was nursing a sore knee.

With most of the fourth quarter before us, many nursed hopes that Southlake might stage yet another last-minute victory from a discombobulated Union squad.

Davenport and his receivers would have none of it, slamming the door on such foolishness with a 72-yard scoring drive.

In the end, Southlake fans pinned too many hopes on the talented Holmes, who threw 13 of 27 passes for 176 yards, a lackluster performance for him. He and his receivers, who failed to get open with any regularity last night, have much work to do. As does the O-line, which must shelter Holmes long enough for his inexperienced receivers to learn their trade.

Additionally, the Dragons need a ground game. Badly. Clearly, Holmes can’t be depended on for that. In his few forays into the maelstrom, he looked tentative. Best to let him stick to what he does best. Meanwhile, is Gaines, who comes highly recommended, the answer? Not last night. But with a little time to heal,  perhaps.

I heard much grousing about the quality of the Dragon defense last night. Not enough pressure on Davenport and Morrison. Too many open receivers. Yes and yes. But given a little offensive Dragon firepower, which might have spelled a different outcome, such criticism would seem churlish today.

Job No. 1 for the Dragons – fix the offense. So says me.

And the Dragons must fix it fast. They host Arlington Martin next week, the same team that destroyed Dallas Skyline 55-7 last night. You read that right – 55-7. Dear God.

Two consecutive defeats in Dragon Stadium? Unthinkable.

Go Dragons!