Area Round: DeSoto 48, Southlake Carroll 30

For a half, it looked like last night’s meeting of Southlake Carroll and DeSoto might be a replay of their thrilling 2012 playoff battle, a hard-fought, well-played game in which the Eagles successfully defended their tight 49-45 lead with a classic goal-line defense as the clock wound down.

Throughout the first half last night, the two teams jockeyed for advantage, the lead changing with each possession. But there were signs of the stormy seas ahead for Carroll for those who chose to see them.

On its first possession, Carroll moved effectively to the DeSoto 4, thanks to a 66-yard toss by senior quarterback Mason Holmes to junior receiver Jacob Doddridge. But the stingy Eagle defense broke up two pass plays and kept star running back Audie Gaines corralled, forcing Carroll to settle for a 21-yard Kole Ramage field goal to seize the first lead of the game.

Later, trailing 7-3, Holmes found senior receiver Clayton Keyes on a 23-yard pass that brought the Dragons to the Eagle 21. Two plays later, Holmes connected with senior receiver Jackson Davis in the end zone, but the TD was negated by a procedural call. Once again, the Dragons had to settle for a Ramage field goal, this time a 38-yarder into a stiff north wind. Later, he boomed a 47-yarder.

That series was unsettling on several fronts. First, silly mistakes that cost you TDs can be fatal against a determined and talented team like DeSoto, as can trading field goals for TDs. Finally, the pass to Keyes, while a beautiful play, was costly. Keyes, one of the few remaining playmakers in the Dragon receiving corps, injured his shoulder and never came back.

Injuries are part of the game, of course. But this seemed like a particularly bad harbinger for what was to come. The Dragons have been plagued by injuries all season, particularly among their receivers. Keyes was only the latest on a casualty list that included junior Cade Bell and the Dragons’ true superstar, senior Robert Barnes.

Premonitions aside, there was plenty to like in that first half.

When Holmes connected with senior receiver Jackson Davis (2-84, 2 TDs) on a 60-yard touchdown catch and run with about 2 minutes left, it looked like the Dragons would take a 23-21 lead into halftime.

That’s when DeSoto’s peerless senior quarterback, the remarkable Shawn Robinson, staged a textbook 75-yard touchdown march that shifted momentum permanently to the Eagles and sank the spirits of shivering Dragon fans, who sensed in their hearts that DeSoto was finally asserting itself once and for all.

That smoothly operating drive threatened to sputter at the Dragon 34 when Carroll’s never-say-die defense sacked Robinson with 11 second left.  Even then, more than a few of us were thinking: Here It Comes.

On the next play, Robinson calmly dropped back and tossed the ball to his favorite target, receiver KD Nixon (11 receptions for 163 yards), who loped into the end zone. Robinson then added insult to injury by slipping through the Carroll D-line for a 2-point conversion. The Eagles took a 29-23 lead into the locker room and never looked back.

The tale of the tape in the decisive third quarter was brutal. DeSoto outgained Carroll 174-16, scoring on three of its first four possessions and holding the Dragons scoreless until the final seconds of the fourth quarter, long, long after the end had been determined.

It was a thorough beatdown for a proud team like Carroll. But in keeping with the traditions of the program, the kids never stopped fighting.

Holmes (6-20-1 INT, 158), denied most of his best receivers, kept scrambling, pursued by DeSoto’s swarming defense, trying to find someone to throw to. Audie Gaines (22 carries for 104 yards, 1 TD) kept trying, mostly in vain, to pierce the Eagle D-line, settling instead for more modest gains, if any.

Dragon defenders didn’t quit either, but they had no answer for Robinson, who dismantled Carroll’s D for the second year in a row. Last year, he guided Denton Guyer to a similar dominating performance against the Dragons in the second round. He followed his parents, who are both coaches, to DeSoto, where he encountered the welcoming embrace of coaches and players alike.

DeSoto has struggled to escape the second round of the playoffs for the past two years, falling in 2014 and 2015 to the Allen Eagles. Robinson and realignment allowed it to avoid Allen AND an early exit this year. It is well poised to make a deep plunge.

In DeSoto green and gold, Robinson was magnificent, leading the Eagles to 621 total yards. Of that, he accounted for an astounding 454, completing 18 of 30 throws for 245 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for 209 more and three scores. You can’t get much better than that.

As I’ve stated before, the goal of the Dragon football program is to play until Thanksgiving. In other words, to make it into at least the fourth round of the playoffs each year. That’s a tall order in Texas, where there are no easy routes to a state championship. But goals should be aspirational and difficult, or else what’s the point.

Alas, Dragon players won’t be distracted from their Thanksgiving dinners by a Turkey Day practice – another unshakeable Dragon tradition when Carroll makes a deep playoff run. Given the choice, I’m pretty sure the Dragons, to a man, would prefer the chilly practice field to the delights of a family holiday meal.

Disappointment reigns today in the toney confines of the Southlake Bubble, but it should be tempered with an appreciation of what this team has accomplished. It started the season with a desultory performance against Oklahoma powerhouse Tulsa Union, a performance shaped, it is fair to say, by the somber fact that eight starters were sidelined with injuries.

Carroll coaches overcame that, however, by moving their best player, the inestimable Barnes, from the defensive secondary, where he could play any position with skill and grace, to wide receiver. That was just the spark needed to energize the offense, and Carroll began a 10-game winning streak and a triumphant march through District 5-6A.

Injuries and more injuries continued to define the season, however, culminating in Barnes breaking his right leg last month in the Bryon Nelson game. Still, the Dragons surmounted the disruptions and continued to win.

With much of their receiving corps on crutches or in arm slings, coaches were forced to shift the focus of their offense from Carroll’s heralded vertical attack to a ground game centered around three talented runners.

The lead dog, as it were, clearly was Gaines, a Mansfield Timberview transfer who found his place and made his name in playing for Southlake.

Gaines ends the season with 1,523 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. He rushed for 100 or more yards in nine games and scored a touchdown in every game. I’m not certain yet where he goes next year, but it’s a safe bet he’ll find a college playing home somewhere.

Filling out the Dragon running trio were seniors Tre Sledge, who ended up with 501 yards and four TDs, and Jack Johansson, who gained 436 and eight TDs.

Barnes, who has spent the last four games on the Dragon sideline in crutches, had successful surgery on his broken leg and will next be seen playing in Norman with the Sooners.

As for the future, sophomore quarterback Will Bowers, Holmes’ heir apparent, got valuable playing time in each of the last two playoff games. Last night, he guided a 90-yard TD drive in the closing minutes of the game, culminated by a 23-yard pass to Davis.

Bell, the junior receiver, will be back to form the core of the receiving unit, as will junior Hudson Shrum.

Two stalwarts on the Dragons' worthy O-line, juniors Matthew Leehan and Jackson Kimble, will be back. And on defense, freshman corner R.J. Mickens, who was called upon to step into Barnes’ very big shoes when he went down, played far above expectations, snagging multiple interceptions and shutting off passing routes like no other 15-year-old you’re likely to see. It’ll be fun to see how he develops in the next three years.

Meanwhile, the DeSoto Eagles travel to Wichita Falls next week to meet birds of another feather, the Abilene Eagles, in the Regional Round. Abilene dismantled El Paso Americas 55-0 last night, but it will face an opponent playing an entirely different game when it lines up against DeSoto.

West Texas teams once boasted about the hard-nosed brand of football they played, but the high school game has largely passed them by. They don’t fare well once they leave the dusty stadiums of the West. Next week, my money’s riding on Shawn Robinson and his shattering offensive line.

The state championships are back in Jerry’s World the weekend before Christmas. Perhaps I’ll see you there. Until next year, Go Dragons!

Area Round Preview: Southlake Carroll vs. DeSoto

Talk about a bargain. I bought tickets today for the Southlake Carroll-DeSoto playoff game on Friday. They were $6 apiece.

For that pittance, I’ll get to experience some of the best high school football in Texas, which is to say in the nation. The Dragons-Eagles matchup at Murphy’s Kimbrough Stadium will be the showcase game of the second round of this year’s football playoffs.

Mighty DeSoto, rated by The Associated Press as No. 2 in Texas, is undefeated this season, thanks to an explosive offense and stingy defense. Carroll, ranked No. 8, has lost only one game, its first, and roared into the post-season last week with a convincing win against Wylie.

 The Dragons normally potent air attack has been hampered by injuries to their receiving corps. But operating behind a quick-footed, muscular offensive line, a trio of bruising rushers, led by senior Audie Gaines, has picked up the slack admirably. Meanwhile, the Carroll defense has effectively smothered offenses and kept opposing quarterbacks scrambling.

The Dragon D will have all it can handle against the Eagles, who are led by well-traveled senior quarterback Shawn Robinson. That name is a familiar one for Carroll fans. Last year, Robinson, playing for Denton Guyer, dismantled the Dragons in the second round of the playoffs.

In the off season, both of Robinson’s parents were hired as coaches at DeSoto. By UIL rules, their son was immediately eligible to play for the Eagles. He’s a genuine double-threat, speedy and agile on his feet with a rifle for an arm. DeSoto is the third high school for whom he’s played, and he’s been a superstar at each one.

So for the second year in a row, the Dragons must figure out how to stop Robinson in order to escape the second round. It’s hard to imagine them being able to corral him with any degree of success. He will get his yardage – on the ground or in the air, or both.

The key to a Dragon victory will be whether it can match the Eagles in scoring. So far, no one has been able to stop the Dragon runners, but DeSoto certainly will try. Can the injury-plagued Carroll receiving corps rise to the challenge and mount a good-enough vertical attack to open up the run? Only time will tell.

All I can say is that for six bucks, it will be quite a show. Go Dragons!

Bi-District Round: Southlake Carroll 28, Wylie 3

Southlake Carroll’s convincing win over the Wylie Pirates in the first round of the playoffs last night was deeply satisfying, but a nagging question followed fans out of Dragon Stadium.

What the hell does AHMO mean?

After the outmatched Pirates put their first and only points on the board – a 20-yard field goal by kicker Wariebi Jitaboh as the first half ended – Wylie’s spirit squad ran flags across the field bearing the letters A, H, M and O. The same letters are emblazoned across Pirate jerseys.

The answer to the question is too convoluted to relay here (Google it if you’re interested). Suffice to say, it’s a nod to Wylie’s glory years as a state title contender in the 1970s.

Last night, the mojo it represented was no match for the Dragon defense, which held Wylie to only 71 rushing yards, 280 total. The Dragon D harassed and harried highly regarded Pirate quarterback Emilio Ames (19-41, 210 yards) all night, intercepting two of his passes and damned near snaring a couple more.

For its part, the Dragon offense, led by senior quarterback Mason Holmes (9-20, 195, 1 INT and 2 TDs) and powered by senior running back Audie Gaines (26 carries, 156 yards, 1 TD), brushed past the Pirates during a decisive 21-point second quarter.

It took Holmes and company a full quarter to shake off the cobwebs, but once they did so, the Dragon ground game and an effective aerial attack left the Pirates sputtering.

Wylie’s only sustained drive of the night came in the final moments of the first half. After marching his team from its own 16 to the Dragon 2, Ames ran the ball twice up the middle and tried a pass into the end zone, all to no result. Finally, after taking a time out to contemplate a risky fourth-down TD attempt, Jitaboh booted a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 14-3 with 54 seconds left.

Carroll quickly snatched momentum back, however, and killed any sprouting Pirate hopes. Holmes quickly moved the Dragons into Pirate territory with a couple of sharp passes to senior receiver Clayton Keyes (6-130, 1 TD). From the 39, he found senior receiver Jackson Davis (2-64, 1 TD), who made a diving catch in the end zone with 23 seconds on the clock.

On their first possession of the second half, the Dragons made it clear there would be no change in fortunes, methodically stitching together an 80-yard scoring drive that showcased powerful running by Gaines and senior running back Jack Johansson (9-97, 1 TD), who carried it in from the 1.

At that point, Carroll took its foot off the gas, and the rest of the half was a wash.

The Dragons won’t have that luxury next Friday, when they meet the DeSoto Eagles in Plano’s Kimbrough Stadium. The Eagles, who destroyed Killeen 51-7 last night, have been unstoppable this season, and next week’s game is shaping up to be another classic between the No. 2-ranked Eagles and No. 8 Dragons.

The last time the two teams met was in the fourth round of the 2012 playoffs. The Dragons were returning state champs, with Kenny Hill under center and all the talent necessary to win back-to-back titles again.

That game, a well-played, hard-fought affair judged by many to be one of the best of the year, came down to a heroic goal-line stand by the Eagles, with seconds left and the Dragons only two yards away from taking away DeSoto’s fragile 49-45 lead.

On three consecutive quarterback keepers, the Eagles barred Hill from the end zone and emerged exhausted winners. One week later, they were bounced by Allen.

For the last two years, DeSoto has been booted from the second round of the playoffs by undefeated Allen teams. This year, they’re playing in Division II and yearn to escape the second round to make a deep run.

To do that, they’ll have to get past the Dragons, who would dearly love to avenge the heartbreaking 2012 loss. That won’t be easy. The Eagles’ potent offense, led by star quarterback Shawn Robinson, will be a tough nut to crack for the Dragon D, which in five of its last six games has held opponents to 7 or fewer points in the first half.

Asked last night about the prospects of being the underdog in a DeSoto-Carroll matchup, Audie Gaines dismissed the idea.

“I don’t think we consider ourselves underdogs,” he said in a post-game radio interview. “Teams that think like that don’t win games. We’re the Dragons. We’ll fight hard.”

They’ll have to, sure enough. And while the smart money has to be on the Eagles, there’s more to Texas high school football that sheer athletic talent and smart coaching. Heart, desire and disciple play important roles, too, and the Dragons are well stocked in both tangibles and intangibles. It would be foolish to count them out entirely.

So come Friday, I’ll make the long northeast trek to Kimbrough. You’d be well advised to get your tickets early for this one. Word is that it’ll be a quick sellout. Go Dragons!

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 52, Lewisville Hebron 34

When the time came to seize sole ownership of the District 5-6A championship, Southlake Carroll’s senior playmakers stepped forward last night and grabbed it, leaving in their wake the bruised and sullen Hebron Hawks.

And it happened on Senior Night at Dragon Stadium. Perfect. Just perfect.

The Hawks (7-3) will enter the playoffs as 5-6A first seed in Division I (big school). But they harbored loftier ambitions, hoping to steal a share of the district championship by whipping Carroll.

The Dragons, however, motivated by little else than pride and competitive drive, would have none of that, employing a crushing ground game to overwhelm the ambitious Hawks.

Carroll, the district crown poised jauntily across its sweaty brow, will host District 6-6A’s Wylie next Friday at Dragon Stadium in the Division II (small school) bi-district playoff round. The Pirates fell hard last night to mighty Allen, 49-0, as they finished up their first regular season in the 6A classification. They face Plano East in the first round.

While it isn’t unusual to see the Dragon O-line control the line of scrimmage and score at will against an opponent on its home turf, last night was a bit different. Known traditionally for its high-flying aerial prowess, Carroll pummeled the Hawks on the ground, gaining 409 rushing yards and employing a trio of senior runners to eviscerate the Hebron D-line.

Audrick Gaines led the way, gaining 237 yards on 28 carries and four touchdowns. In his best outing of the year by far, Gaines closed in on Carroll rushing records and almost achieved five rushing TDs, a feat never accomplished by a Dragon runner.

Gaines scored first for the Dragons, capping an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a 21-yard sprint to paydirt on a 3-and-7. And he helped set up the Dragons’ last TD in the fourth period, taking the ball on another third down at the Hebron 29 and barreling his way to what would have been his fifth TD. When Gaines crashed to the turf at the 1, a faint sigh escaped my lips as he narrowly missed making Dragon history.

 In the early minutes of the first quarter, it looked like the Hawks would be easy pickings for the local heroes. After Carroll’s quick first score, the Hawks coughed up the ball at their own 16 on their first offensive play of the game. Four plays later, senior quarterback Mason Williams (9 for 11, 89 yards, 1 TD) pitched the ball to senior receiver Jackson Davis (3-24, 1 TD) who took it in from the 5.

On their next possession, the Hawks once again fumbled on their first play, this time giving the ball up at their 29.  The Dragons then drove to the 9, where senior halfback Tre Sledge took the ball from Holmes and it into double coverage in the end zone, connecting with a  receiver wearing the wrong uniform.

Two plays later, Hawk runner Evan Powell bullied through Dragon defenders and raced 74 yards to the end zone to make it a one-score game.

From that point until the half, the Dragons and the Hawks traded TDs. Dragon defenders were unable to put pressure on strong-armed Hebron quarterback Clayton Tune, who peppered his receivers at will, completing 20 of 28 for 210 yards and 1 TD. Trejan Bridges caught11 for 106 yards and 1 TD, Jaren Mitchell got 8 for 72 and Powell snagged 3 for 49 and 1 TD.  Powell also led in rushing for Hebron, carrying 6 times for 87 yards and 2 TDs.

Hebron’s beleaguered defense had no answer for the Dragon ground assault. Carroll’s O-line blasted holes in the Hawk front line, and Dragon runners had a field day all night.

In addition to the formidable Gaines and Sledge (11 carries for 80 yards), senior Jack Johansson was a beast, running 8 times for 58 yards and 2 TDs. He also nabbed two Holmes passes for 24 yards.

In the decisive third period, Dragon defenders implemented halftime adjustments and managed to hold Hebron to consecutive 3-and-outs and a single first down on its third drive. That allowed Holmes and company to jump to a three-score lead they never relinquished, including an impressive 50-yard field goal by kicker supreme Kole Ramage. He’s already booted 3-pointers of 55 and 47 yards this season.

After the game, an ebullient Johansson said in a post-game radio interview that the Dragons took to heart head coach Hal Wasson’s verdict that the Hawks had the best offense the Dragons would face all year, including that of Tulsa Union, which handed Carroll its only loss this season.

“We knew they thought they could hang with us,” Johansson said. “We had to stop them and we did.”

For the seniors on the Dragon squad, last night was their last regular season game at Dragon stadium. They’ll play there at least once more, when they meet Wylie next week.

But the realization is beginning to hit home for many that their football playing days soon will be over.

Senior defensive lineman Luke Jeter, asked after the game about the significance of Senior Night, grew solemn.

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said. “Then it hit me like a truck. This is coming to an end. This is our last regular season game.”

The interviewer waited for Jeter to go on, but the senior had nothing left to say.

Next week, a playoff game at home. I can’t wait. Go Dragons!