Game Day: Southlake Carroll 42, Euless Trinity 28

No one really expected to see a shootout at Dragon Stadium last night when the Euless Trinity Trojans came calling on Southlake Carroll in a District 5-6A matchup that most expected would decide the eventual district champ.

But as the first half wound to a breathless close, the scoreboard registered a 28-28 tie, and most of us already had concluded that the winner would be the team that forced its opponent to break serve first.

The half had been a wild affair that saw both the Trojans and the Dragons display their offensive weaponry. Carroll scored on four consecutive drives, while the Trinity saw paydirt on four of five possessions.

The Dragons scored at will against Trinity’s vaunted defensive line, led by senior Audricke Gaines’ powerful running and – bless me, look at this – quarterback Mason Holmes, who scampered 76 yards on 12 carries.

Gaines, who just gets better every time he suits up, ran for 170 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns, muscling through the beefy Trojan D-line time after time for good yardage.

Meanwhile, Holmes (14 of 20 for 214 yards and 3 TDs) was superb, in the air and on the ground. During the Dragons’ second TD drive, Holmes faced a 3^rd and 7 at the Trojan 17. Chased out of the pocket, Holmes deftly eluded oncoming Trojans, scurrying back to his own 30 before lofting the ball to senior Jack Johansson as he drifted along the right sideline.

Johansson (2 catches for 39 yards, 1 TD) caught the ball and appeared headed out of bounds. But he stopped dead in his tracks, spun out of the grasp of a Trojan defender and scooted into the end zone.

With the score knotted at 21-21, the first half’s scoring blizzard culminated in a pair of scoring drives.

The Dragons struck first, with a 75-yard drive that featured an18-yard keeper by Holmes and a 29-yard pass to standout receiver Robert Barnes (2 for 94, 1 TD) that brought them to the 9. At that point, senior Jackson Davis (5 for 68, 1 TD) snagged a Holmes thrown and put Carroll in the lead.

It looked for moment that Southlake would carry that momentum into the dressing room, but the Trojans weren’t ready for a break yet. Starting at their own 22, they bullied the ball on the ground to their 40. Then junior RB Courage Keihn (23 carries for 225 yards) took the handoff from QB Malini Maile and sped 60 yards past aghast Dragon defenders to the end zone to bring scoring to a close.

Although no one expected that at the time, it would be the Trojans last score of the night as Dragon defenders dug in and shut down its bruising ground game.

Holmes told the Star Telegraph after the game that his offense delivered a message to the defense at halftime.

“We told them that if they could stop them, we would keep on scoring,” he said.

And the Big Guys made it happen, bless ’em. The defense put on a magnificent show in the second half, holding the Trojans to 100 yards of total offense and intercepting one of Maile’s rare passes. Barnes, who played both sides of the ball last night to brilliant effect, was an offensive standout. OU should be giddy to have him next year.

Holmes, when he wasn’t tucking the ball and sprinting up the airy center of the Trojan line, was spreading the wealth among his receiver corps. He connected at least twice with six different receivers on his way to three passing TDs. Senior Jackson Davis was his favorite target, catches five for 68 yards.

It was the effectiveness of the Dragon ground game that was the subject of conversation after the game. Traditionally, Trinity is a tough nut to crack on the ground. This season is no exception. But Carroll coaches have given Holmes, who was held in rigid check on the ground last year, different marching orders this year, and he followed them last night with excellent results.

“Last year, we had three stud running backs, and the coaches told me not to run, to play it safe,” a delighted Holmes confided to radio interviewers after the game. “But this year they said I should run it when I see an opening so that’s what I’m doing.”

The added dimension of a running quarterback apparently scrambled the Trojan defensive scheme, which never seemed to be able to adjust to the new reality. And the Dragons (239 total rusing yards, 263 passing) capitalized on it all night.

The Trojans got their yardage, of course. They almost always do. They had a total of 408 yards total offense, almost all on the ground. But for the sturdy Dragon defense, this could have been another wild, down-to-the-wire nail-biter instead of the second-half beat-down it turned out to be.

Last night was the fifth time these two friendly rivals have met, the third time as district foes. In the previous two district matchups, which the teams split, the winner of this game went on to become district champions.

Southlake Carroll (4-1, 2-0 in 5-6A) probably will viewed as the favorite to take district, but Lewisville Hebron, which also boasts a 4-1, 2-0 in 5-6A record, will have something to say about that. The Hawks whipped Hurst L.D. Bell last night 21-7. They face the Dragons Nov. 4 in the last game of the regular season. That could be dandy.

Next up for the Dragons is a road trip up SH121 to Lewisville to face the Farmers, who staged an upset win last night over Flower Mound Marcus in the traditional Battle for the Axe.

The Farmers are tough this year so the Dragons must shake off quickly the euphoria of humbling the noble Trojans.

Go Dragons!