Game Day: Southlake Carroll 45, L.D. Bell 7

When a football coach starts talking about his progress in instilling a “culture of winning” in his players, dollars to donuts he’s presiding over a lackluster program with a dismal record and lowly prospects.

So it was with Hurst L.D. Bell head coach Mike Glaze last night in his pre-game radio interview.

His team was playing hard, learning from its mistakes and executing better every week – all part of the process of learning to win,  he said earnestly. Perhaps he even believes it.

But when his Blue Raiders took the field at venerable Pennington Field, they ran into a Southlake Carroll train that blew them off the winning track and left them dazed and bleeding in the ditch.

In doing so, the Dragons clinched at least a share of the District 5-6A title. They play Lewisville Hebron next week in a game that could assign them sole possession of the championship.

And they did it with a depleted roster. Senior safety/wide receiver Robert Barnes, the Dragons best player, watched the game on crutches. He suffered a broken leg in last week’s matchup with Byron Nelson, thus ending his high school career. The next uniform he’ll wear will be Oklahoma’s red and white.

His teammate, junior wide receiver Cade Bell, one of senior quarterback Mason Holmes’ favorite targets, also watched from the sideline last night. Bell could return to the field if Southlake can mount a lengthy playoff run.

Stellar running back Audrick Gaines saw his seven-game streak of 100-plus-yard games end when back spasms forced him out of the game after only a couple of series. Even so, he gained 65 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. He was ably replaced by backup Tre Sledge, who had the best night of his career, gaining 108 yards on 10 carries and 2 TDs.

As for Holmes, he’s still a little gimpy from a lingering leg injury, although he played for a full half last night before handing the ball to backup Will Bowers, a sophomore who shows great promise. Before departing, Holmes completed 8 of 13 passes for 88 yards and 1 TD.

Bowers made his presence known immediately. Leading 24-0, Carroll opened the second half by holding the Blue Raiders to a 3-and-out. Then Bowers took over at his own 38, driving the Dragons to the Bell 27 with a single pass and then hitting Sledge with a 27-yard TD throw.

After another 3-and-out by the overwhelmed Raiders, Bowers (a perfect 4-4, 83 yards) engineered an 8-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with him scoring from the 5 on a keeper. He also guided the Dragons to their final score of the night before Carroll coaches started emptying the benches in the fourth to give backups a chance to shine briefly under Friday night lights. In all four quarterbacks took snaps for the Dragons last night.

After the game, Bowers reflected on the events of Friday, his 16^th (!) birthday. He’s now eligible to drive, he’s playing varsity for one of the premier high school teams in Texas, and he just had the game of his young career.

“It’s been a pretty great day,” he admitted.

The starting Dragon defense held the Raiders in complete check last night, limiting them to a total of 172 yards. Bell’s lone score came late in last quarter, long after the starters had surrendered their duties to backups.

That score was set up by a muffed 52-yard field goal by standout kicker Kole Ramage, whose timing was marred by a bad snap. He got Dragon scoring off to the good start in the first quarter by booming a perfect 47-yarder through the still evening air.

Bell promised to make a game of it early, marching downfield 63 yards in 16 plays on its first drive. But freshman Dragon safety R.J. Mickens snuffed out the threat when he stepped in front of an Austin Brougham pass in the end zone.

The Raiders made five first downs in that first drive. They could manage only five more for the rest of the game.

The next three Raider possessions ended in another interception and two 3-and-outs. By that time, Carroll held an unassailable 17-point lead.

Mickens, at the tender age of 15, was the defensive standout. The freshman phenom one year out of middle school snagged his second AND third interceptions of the year to end two promising Bell drives.

Mickens, whose father Ray played in the NFL, was a beast, coming up on several plays to stuff Raider runners at the line of scrimmage. Asked after the game what he likes best, hitting people or making INTs, Mickens didn’t hesitate.

“Honestly, I like to hit because I don’t get to do it much,” he said, his voice squeaky with nervousness. “But interceptions are fun, too.”

As for his youth, Mickens said, “I don’t think too much about it. I just come out here and play. I don’t take anything for granted.”

I love this kid.

Even when things went wrong for the Dragons, the Raiders were ill-equipped to benefit from them. Leading 17-0, the Dragons sent set up shop at their 36 after yet another Bell punt. Holmes led the Dragons downfield to the Bell 28, setting up the wildest play of the night.

The play began with Holmes handing the ball off to junior Darryl Crockett, who usually plays in the secondary. Crockett pitched the ball to a second back heading left who hesitated and then pitched the ball back to Crockett. As Raiders descended upon him, Crockett turned and quickly tossed the ball to Holmes, standing alone in the back field. Holmes immediately hoisted the ball to a sprinting Sledge, who glided into the end zone for the score.

Was the play designed as a double reverse or a flea-flicker or both? Or was it just an improvised broken play? Damned if any of us in the stands could figure it out, but it propelled Southlake to a 24-0 lead at half.

So Carroll, 6-0 in district, sits alone atop 5-6A. Next week, it will host Hebron (5-1), who smashed Lewisville 51-27 last night, for sole possession of the district crown. If Hebron slips past the Dragons, Carroll can end no worse that sharing the crown.

But district championships are made to be won, not shared, so Carroll coaches will seek to keep the Dragons tightly focused on the dangerous Hawks, despite the almost irresistible lure of the playoffs.

In District 6-6A, with which 5-6A schools will be paired in the opening bi-district round, Wylie clinched a playoff berth, beating McKinney 28-21. Playing in its first season in 6A, it is Carroll’s likely first-round opponent in 6A's Division II.

Meanwhile, Southlake’s football mothers are checking their peroxide supplies to prepare for the traditional dye jobs ahead, and Dragon equipment managers are laundering the black pants of the playoffs. But first, the dreaded Hawks of Hebron.

Go Dragons!