When
senior Robert Barnes, Southlake Carroll’s stupendous double-edged threat, went
down last night on the Dragons’ first offensive play of the game, a chill swept
through the visitor’s side of Marauders Stadium in Flower Mound.
Barnes,
an oral commit to OU next year, is the straw that stirs the drink for Carroll
on both sides of the ball. On defense, he’s disruptive and intuitive in the
secondary, using his considerable athleticism to smother receivers and muck up
pass routes. On offense, he’s a sure-handed, hard-running receiver who’s hard
to bring down and serves as the spark that ignites the Dragon passing game.
So
it was no surprise that senior quarterback Mason Holmes turned to his superstar
as the Dragons prepared to answer Flower Mound Marcus’ opening touchdown drive.
Barnes grabbed the ball from Holmes and headed left before being jerked to a
stop for no gain.
His
forward momentum halted, Barnes was struck by a vicious helmet-to-helmet blow
that felled him face down on the turf. As coaches and trainers scurried to his
aid, I had a flashback of another game and another standout Dragon leader
downed at a critical moment.
In
2007, in the second round of the playoffs, the Dragons faced the Abilene Eagles
in old Texas Stadium. As the first half ebbed, the Dragons lined up at the Eagle
2 and prepared to widen their comfortable lead. That’s when an Eagle defender crashed
through and struck star quarterback Riley Dodge, who left the game with a
separated shoulder. The Dragons, led by an inexperienced backup, lost that game
in the final seconds on a botched goal-line snap, thus ending Carroll’s run of
state titles.
That
memory no doubt was sparked by the knowledge that the same Riley Dodge, now
embarked on a coaching career like his dad, legendary coach Todd Dodge, was an
offensive coordinator for the Marauders last night. Lordy, it’s a small world,
ain’t it?
Fortunately
for the present-day Dragons, Barnes’ injury wasn’t as devastating for him or
his team as Riley Dodge’s back in the day. The edge of his opponent’s helmet
sliced his lip and required a trip to the hospital and the attentions of an
oral surgeon. How long he’ll be sidelined is unknown.
But
the injury-plagued Dragons, after posting a lackluster first-half effort, managed
to overcome the absence of their best player and limp to a solid victory
against the upstart Marauders.
For
the second week in a row, Southlake has faced a determined Lewisville ISD foe
in a district road contest. Last week, it smothered an ambitious Lewisville
squad fresh from a win over the Marauders. This week, it was Marcus’ turn to
take a shot at the Dragons, the odds-on favorite to capture the District 5-6A
crown after their inspiring win over Trinity two weeks ago.
Marcus
indicated early it was prepared to assume the role of king killer by staging an
8-play, 75-yard opening drive that gave it a 7-0 lead. That impressive drive
was highlighted by a 50-yard dash up the middle by Marauder running back Justin
Dinka, a scary-good sophomore who can out-maneuver and out-run the field once
he’s unleashed.
Dinka
finished the night with 189 yards on 28 carries and 2 TDs. His yardage is
somewhat misleading, however, since the Dragon defense played lights-out for
most of the game, keeping the Marauders out of the end zone for the remainder
of the half and limiting Dinka and the Marcus offense to relatively short
yardage.
That
success came despite a spat of injuries that has decimated the Dragon
secondary. In addition to Barnes, both starting corners, senior Barrett Buck
and freshman R.J. Mickens, had been sidelined with injuries before the game. Their
backups didn’t miss a beat, however. Marauder quarterback Michael Henry could only
manage 52 yards in the air last night.
Asked
about the impact that Barnes’ injury had on the Dragon game plan, Carroll
players repeated the mantra drilled into them by their coaches.
“We
were let down because he’s our friend, and we didn’t want to see him hurt,” defensive
back Jake Murphy said in a post-game radio interview. “But it didn’t affect the
game plan. The coaches say, ‘The next man up,’ and that’s what we did.”
But
from my spot in the stands, Barnes’ absence did appear to disorient the
Dragons, at least on offense. Holmes struggled in the first half, his timing
off, many of his passes off target. Meanwhile, the Marauders succeeded in bottling
up RB Audrick Gaines, threatening to end his string of 100-yard games.
The
only first-half score the Dragons could manage was a 23-yard field goal by Kole
Ramage, set up by an interception by Zion Sales as the first quarter ended.
The
second half, in which there were five lead changes, was like a different ball
game. Holmes and his offense finally found its mojo, and the defense, with two
notable exceptions, kept the Marauders largely on their heels.
Carroll
began the scoring spree by pinning Marcus to its own 1-yard line with a
beautiful punt by Ramage. After a 3-and-out, the Dragons took over at the
Marcus 44.
Holmes
(10 of 23 for 246, 2 TDs) lofted a 39-yard pass and run to WR Clayton Keyes (3-139),
who drove to the 5. From there, Gaines (21 carries for 126 yards, 1 TD) took it
in to snare the Dragons’ first lead of the night, 10-7.
Marcus
soon responded. Beginning a drive at the Carroll 34, Henry handed the ball to RB
Aaron Kovacevich, who swept past Dragon defenders to regain the lead.
The
Dragons continued the scoring flurry. Beginning at their 25, Holmes connected
with Cade Bell for 52 yards. One play later, he pitched a 20-yard TD pass to
Jackson Davis (5-51, 2 TDs). Score:17-14.
After
the kickoff and a penalty, the Marauders set up shop at their own 19. Three
plays later, Dinka tucked the ball and skittered 81 yards to the end zone, making
a deft deflection at midfield that left befuddled Dragons in his wake.
With
the score 21-17, that set up the decisive 4th quarter, which
belonged entirely to the Dragons.
A
39-yard Ramage field goal brought the Dragons to within 1. The Dragon defense
then dug in and held the Marauders to consecutive 3-and-outs, freeing up the
Dragons to seize the lead for a final time with a 3-yard run by Gaines and then
widen it with a 15-yard toss to Davis.
Dinka’s
heroics aside, the Marauders (4-2, 2-2) could manage only 281 total yards to 512
for Carroll (6-1, 4-0). The Dragons gained 21 first downs to Marcus’ 8.
Next
week is Homecoming, and Southlake’s mum factories have been humming for some
time. Southlake’s young ladies are doing neck exercises in preparation for the
mountains of mums they will reveal to the world under Friday night lights. And
the town is braced for the expected grumbling about excess, waste and uncontrolled
hubris that homecoming here provokes.
To
all of that, I say pish-posh. I like homecoming, I love the glorious abundance
of mums, mini-teddy bears, flashing lights and ribbons, ribbons, ribbons. I can
think of a lot of things more wasteful and less gratifying than the money spent
on mums, homecoming dresses and
limousines.
But
on to more serious topics. I’ll say one thing for District 5-6A. It poses more
of a challenge than the Dragons’ last district home. The Lewisville schools
have proven to be worthy opponents, well-coached and disciplined, full of
determination and dedication. The path to district offers good preparation for
the playoffs, and the Dragons need to stay focused and alert between now and
the end of district play.
A
reminder of what’s to come came last night from the radio commentators, who
observed that DeSoto coaches were in the broadcast booth scouting Southlake. In
all likelihood, Southlake meets the Eagles in the second round of this year’s
playoffs, a prospect that comes with a certain degree of dread. The Dragons don’t
have a good playoff history against DeSoto.
That’s
for the future, however. Now is the time to hope for the quick and sure
recovery of our injured young men and for a successful, injury-free outing against
Trophy Club Byron Nelson next week.
Byron
Nelson, who knocked off the mighty Trinity in this season’s biggest upset,
schooled Lewisville last night, 38-21. They appear unwilling to accept the accustomed
role of homecoming cupcake so Carroll had best be prepared.
Go
Dragons!
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