A new beginning

My son graduates from college tomorrow, a day that marks the official end of child-rearing for Marice and me.

We surrendered front-line parental duties some time ago when our daughter and son stopped needing our constant attention and began regarding us with the sort of benign neglect in which young folks interact with their parents.

For us, the disengagement process began when my daughter left for college in 2010 and now ends when her younger brother walks across the stage at UNT tomorrow morning.

We’ll still be Rachel and Ethan’s parents, of course, but those are formal titles with no real power and few responsibilities, except those assigned by the kids and carefully regulated to keep our interference at a minimum.

Nothing tragic about any of this, understand. It’s a process that’s been repeated millions of times before and will continue, I suppose, until the sun is a cinder in a barren sky.

It seems only yesterday that I wiped a smear of jelly off Ethan’s face before he toddled off to the first day of kindergarten at Johnson Elementary School. The last 16 years have passed in a blur, as they do for every parent.

There are plenty of moments in Ethan’s life I’d like to replay, if only the world worked that way.

n  Infant Ethan struggling unsuccessfully to crawl and thwarted by his chubby little arms and legs.

n   Ethan, in a makeshift robe made of one of my white shirts worn backwards, sitting proudly with other day-school graduates as an auditorium full of parents snap photos.

n  Ethan, face radiant with triumph, holding up his trophy after his flag-football team won the rec league championship.

n  Ethan speeding down the sideline to a touchdown after intercepting a pass during one of his 7^th-grade games. Later, the game photographer tells me as I walk in his studio, “Yes, I got it!”

n  Ethan at his bar mitzvah party – dressed in boots, cowboy hat and western shirt – riding the mechanical bull he insisted we rent for the occasion.

n  Ethan, with quiet pride, showing me the team video he was commissioned to make of Carroll High’s boys soccer squad, and my astonishment at how good it really was.

n  Ethan meeting me after a blowout his lacrosse team suffered against Dallas Episcopal and displaying the angry black, blue and green bruises he received playing goalie. “They must have been throwing the ball really hard,” he says laconically. “Bruises usually don’t turn this color for a few days.”

n  Ethan informing me that he was moving out of the Denton apartment he shared with a couple of high school friends because he was bored of “just sitting around and getting stoned all day.” One semester later, he makes the Dean’s List.

And so many more. Life with Ethan has been an interesting ride, and now that I’m coming to the end of an important segment of the journey, I think often of how my son developed from the cheery-faced youngster with a mischievous grin to the solemn, thoughtful young man who drifts in and out of my home today.

When I look at him, I’m reminded of the old saying that “still waters run deep.” He is not who he sometimes appears to be – a feckless 20-something more interested in video games than current affairs, a self-centered, self-satisfied member of his generation.

He is a serious person, this handsome, well-mannered son of mine, a fact reaffirmed this summer as I looked through photographs he and his friends took during a trip to Germany and Switzerland.

Yes, there were the expected number of photos of he and his companions mugging for the camera at tables loaded with steins of good German beer – a great deal of bonhomie recorded for posterity.

But the overwhelming majority of the shots were of examples of magnificent medieval architecture and of exhibits in the many art-filled museums Ethan dragged his friends to. Photo after photo of Ethan standing beside paintings, tapestries and sculptures from institutions across the two countries.

And then there were the photos from Dachau. Ethan’s buddies didn’t want to go to the site of the infamous Nazi death camp. They reasoned it would be too sad, too brutal, too much of a downer, better to find a more pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

But Ethan had just taken a class in the political use of genocide throughout history and so understood the true horror of the place. He insisted on the two-hour train ride.

When I looked at the photos these young men took during the tour – of the appalling barracks (mercifully empty now of the shattered men and women who once inhabited them), the horrific ovens (nightmarish even 72 years after the last hellish ember died), all the stark monuments to unimaginable evil, I felt the sting of tears, which mingled with the pride I felt for my son, who demonstrated the substance of his soul and the depth of his character in taking his friends to that dreadful place.

His plans after graduation are fluid. He’d like to live in Israel for a while, the result of a deeply spiritual Birthright trip he took last summer – and perhaps also because of a girl he met there. There’s always a girl, isn’t there?

I’m against the plan, but of what importance is my opinion in the matter? As I said before, my influence in the direction of my son’s life, never terribly strong, is fading, fading fast.

He still yearns to be a filmmaker, although his ardor is moderated by his understanding of financial realities and the uncertainty of creative success. He loves to travel, to drink good wine, to eat fine food and to live the good life, but he knows such things come with a price tag.

Whatever he does, he’ll make out fine. Whether by design or luck, or both, Marice and I have raised a strong and caring man, a person of substance who understands human nature and human frailties, who recognizes artistic beauty and appreciates artistic creativity. He’s the person I wish I had been at his age, filled with the spirit of adventure and a life of possibilities lying before him.

It will not always be easy, with villains and knaves at every bend in the road ready to derail dreams and detour ambitions. But Ethan, in the words of Faulkner, not only will endure, he will prevail.

Congratulations on your wonderful achievement, my son, love of my life, pride of my life, and may you always enjoy fair winds and following seas.

Region I Final: Waco Midway 42, Southlake Carroll 28

I didn’t travel to Baylor’s McLane Stadium yesterday to watch the fourth-round matchup between Southlake Carroll and Waco Midway, wary of a late-night return on traffic-choked Interstate 35. I’m not as young or as adventurous as I used to be.

Shame on me, though, because I missed a real barnburner, one that revealed what a special group of young men this year’s version of the Dragons truly is. Character is revealed both in victory – and in defeat. And the young Dragons now leave the playoffs as winners, heads held high, despite the heartbreaking results displayed above.

In considering this game beforehand – and in contemplating the likely subject matter this report would involve – I thought about Dylan Thomas’ immortal poem – his best – “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night.”

I figured, I hoped, the Dragons would give a good accounting of themselves, that they would “rage, rage against the dying of the light,” in a contest no one believed they could win.

After all, the Panthers were just too strong, too talented, too intensely focused on winning the first state championship in their excellent program’s history. The Dragons, on the other hand, were – in the words of a friend of mine – “playing on house money.” They already had exceeded expectations, performing well beyond the level of their ability just by making the fourth round of the playoffs. Besides, their best player, rusher T.J. McDaniel, was sidelined with a broken collarbone.

In the beginning, things went pretty much as predicted. If you relied on the eye test – or in my particular case the ear test since I was listening to the radio broadcast of the game – you weren’t in much doubt as to who was the better team as the confident Midway sprang to a 21-0 lead over the struggling Dragons.

The Panthers won the contest sure enough. But it wasn’t an easy victory, by any means, and the proud Dragons have nothing to be ashamed of. They fought to the end, and their dramatic 3^rd quarter comeback was a marvelous thing to behold for Dragon fans. They evened a three-TD deficit, and when Midway struck back quickly, they kept the score close until the very end.

The heralded Midway offense, led by quarterback Tanner Mordecai, arrived as advertised at McLane Stadium. Mordecai, who came into the game with 1,000 yards rushing and 3,600 yards passing, is a beast. He’ll do well at the next level, which in his case is Oklahoma.

He and running back James Fulbright (28 carries for 157 yards and 1 TD), performed behind a stout and talented O-line, riddling Dragon defenses for most of the night. Mordecai was equally effective in the air, connecting with receivers Demarcus Degrate (5 for 193, 1 TD) and C.J. Williams (8 for 62) all over the field.

Mordecai, described by his coach as the next Baker Mayfield, “only bigger” – ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third in three of Midway’s first four possessions of the first half. He ended the night with four rushing TDs, completing 18 of 30 passes for 191 yards and rushing for 122.

While the Panthers ripped through the defense, the Dragon offense initially sputtered, going 3-and-out on its first series and watching morosely as Midway surged to a two-score lead. When Carroll finally muscled its way into the Panther red zone late in the first quarter, its drive stalled at the 13. Kicker Neal Koskay then added to Dragon miseries when he muffed a 23-yard field goal.

Carroll managed to hold the Panthers to a 3-and-out on the subsequent series, but despite excellent field position near midfield, it was unable to convert on 4^th down at the Midway 33, setting up the Panthers’ third score.

The radio guys couldn’t remember the last time the Dragons had slipped behind three touchdowns without drawing blood themselves, and neither can I. With 8 long minutes left in the 2^nd period, it looked like a dark, bleak evening stretched before the Dragon Nation – and an even longer drive home.

But instead of surrendering to despair, the young Dragons dug deep and came out swinging. Junior quarterback Will Bowers, who had an excellent night despite the loss, engineered a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive that demonstrated the Dragons had plenty of fight left.

The drive culminated in a bit of Dragon trickery at the Midway 30, when they lined up in the wildcat formation with sophomore  R.J. Mickens behind center. The sophomore then pitched the ball to Bowers (20 of 30 for 288, 3 TDs, 1 INT), who sailed a high arching pass to Bell in the end zone.

On the next Panther drive, the Dragon defense joined the fray, slowing down Mordecai and blanketing his receivers as Midway neared the goal line yet again.

With 27 seconds left in the half, Mordecai tried three times from the Dragon 11 to hit receivers in the end zone, but his passes were batted away each time. Defensive end Jacob Dodderidge capped the defensive stand, leaping up and blocking Midway’s field goal attempt, and the Dragons cruised into halftime with some momentum to ease the pain of a two-score deficit.

The Dragons scored on their first two drives after halftime, both on Bowers passes to Mickens (4 for 69, 2 TDs), a defensive standout who also plays offense and special teams. In between, Carroll’s beleaguered defense disrupted a Mordecai-led march to TD, forcing a 4^th -and-long at the Dragon 27 that failed when he couldn’t connect with a receiver.

Dragon head coach Hal Wasson told The Dallas Morning News that no one should be surprised at the Dragon comeback.

“It’s in our DNA,” Wasson said. “These guys don’t know how to surrender. It comes from great leadership from our seniors.”

Mordecai said his team expected the Dragon rally.

“They have probably the best tradition in the state so we knew it was not over,” he told The News. “Our thought when they tied it was, okay, we’re starting over fresh.”

And indeed, the Dragon celebration was brief.

On the next kickoff, Midway returned the ball to its 43, and Mordecai took less than 2 minutes to stage a 5-play, 57-yard drive that put the Panthers ahead once again, 28-21. That drive ended in dramatic fashion, when Mordecai took the ball from center, burst straight up the middle and sped 45 yards to the end zone.

In many ways, you could capsulize the game in that single play. Wasson summed it up in a post-game radio interview.

“They are a great team, and they’ve got a great triggerman,” he said. “Whenever we got some momentum, they responded. This is the playoffs and that’s what great teams do.”

The killing blow for the Dragons came immediately after Mordecai’s tie-breaking scamper. On the third play from scrimmage, a Bowers pass was intercepted and returned to the Dragon 20. It took the Panthers only three plays to reach the end zone and extend their lead to two touchdowns.

The Dragons responded with a beautiful 6-play, 81-yard scoring drive. It included a 30-yard pass to Cade Bell (8 for 111 yards and 1 TD) and a 26-yard missile to Eli Fergel, only his second reception of the year, ending when Bowers dived desperately for the pylon from the 5.

Carroll would get no closer, however, and Mordecai tacked on an insurance score as the clock drained to zero.

So it ended. Midway plays Longview in the semifinals next week. The Dragons go Christmas shopping.

“You always hate to lose,” Wasson told a radio interviewer. “But we’ve got a great group of young men, and they’ve got a lot of heart. I love this team.”

As well he should. When the Dragons ended the regular season with three losses, no one believed they would progress much beyond the first round of the playoffs.

Instead, they beat an upstart McKinney in the first round, whipped reigning state champion DeSoto in the second and edged past an excellent Arlington High squad in the third.

But without the services of an 1,800-yard running back, the worthy McDaniel, and O-line standout Henry Mossberg, they had little chance of halting Midway’s determined march to state.

The good news – and there's always some good news to soothe an aching heart – is that next year bodes well for Dragon fortunes. This year’s squad was filled with talented juniors and sophomores who will enter 2018 experienced and well-tested.

Bowers really came into his own in the playoffs, becoming the difference-maker that his coaches hoped he would be. He’s poised for a splendid senior season. He and McDaniel, along with receivers Carson White and Wills Meyer, will form an excellent offensive core. Mossberg also will return to anchor an O-line that played lights-out this year.

Mickens will continue his phenomenal career at Carroll. Already a standout on defense, Mickens became the complete player this year, performing well as a go-to receiver and a lethal kickoff return man. Just thinking about how much better he’ll be in only his junior year makes the heart go pitty-pat.

Koskay will be a senior, and freshman Joe McFadden was handed PAT duties last night, an indication that coaches wanted to assess his abilities with an eye to next year. McFadden was flawless.

Defensively, the talented Jake Fex is back, as are Fergal and linebackers Michael Parrish, who  a great game last night, and Preston Forney.

On a sadder note, last night was the final game in Dragon uniform for a number of senior stars, including receivers Bell, Hudson Shrum and Darryl Crockett, defensive backs Hayden Hayes and Joe DeVincenzo, linebackers Ryan Thompson and Matty Werner, and O-lineman Jackson Kimble. And of course, defensive leader Jacob Dodderidge, who also played halfback in key series this year, leaves a huge hole in the lineup for some worthy underclassman to fill.

Wasson praised his departing seniors, calling them the backbone of the Dragons’ winning tradition.

Under their leadership, he said, his team “pushed a great team to the limit. We just didn’t get some of the breaks.”

“I have listened to their hearts,” an emotional Wasson said after the game, “and I know how seriously they took the responsibility of carrying on the great legacy of this program.”

In the bitterness of loss, the young Dragons wept in each other’s arms as they gathered for the last time before the Dragon Marching Band to hear the school alma mater. In years to come, when they are old and gray, as I am now, they will remember this night differently.

The pain of defeat will have long faded, replaced by a faint throb of regret. What still will be powerful and crystal clear will be the memory of when they engaged in a great struggle with their teammates, a time of brotherhood, a time of comradeship, respect and, yes, of love.

Until next season, go Dragons!

Regional Semi-Final Round: Southland Carroll 28, Arlington 24

FRISCO – It’s been many a moon since the Southlake Carroll Dragons experienced such a gut-busting, nerve-wracking, breath-taking contest as the one last night against the talented and under-rated Arlington Colts.

But Carroll survived – barely – by demonstrating character, adaptability and sheer grit before an amazed Dragon Nation at the Star’s Ford Center.

 It’s a game we won’t long forget, and my stomach is still fluttering this morning after being twisted in knots by the roller-coaster, knuckle-biting nature of the matchup.

The diminished Dragons travel to Waco on Saturday to face lethal Waco Midway (13-0) in Region I finals at Baylor’s McLain Stadium. They do so without the services of their stellar running back, the worthy T.J. McDaniel, who went down in the 2^nd quarter with an injury and likely is out for the season.

The nature of injuries in high school football are not widely discussed, but the Fort Worth Star Telegram said McDaniel, who was pursuing a 2,000-yard season for the Dragons, may have broken his right collarbone. He appeared on the sideline after the half wearing his right arm in a sling so that seems a fair assessment.

McDaniel was 15 for 83 yards and 1 TD last night and finishes the season with 1,846 rushing yards. What the Dragons will be able to accomplish without the junior transfer from Coppell, who bedeviled DeSoto last week in Carroll’s signature round-two win over the Eagles, is anyone’s guess. But they’ll face an uphill battle against Midway, who dismantled Mansfield 48-17 on Friday to keep a perfect record.

The key play of the game, and easily one of the most dramatic in Dragon history, occurred early in the 4^th quarter. Trailing 24-21, the Dragons faced a 4^th down at the Arlington 2.

With McDaniel out of the game, quarterback Will Bowers engineered the drive that brought the Dragons to that decisive moment of the game, slipping easily into the role of Dragon playmaker.

His hard running and 26-yard and 21-yard passes to Cade Bell had moved the Dragons into the Colt red zone, but things got sticky inside the 5. Rather than settle for a tying field goal, Carroll head coach Hal Wasson chose to gamble on a go-ahead touchdown.

Bowers dropped back and drifted right as Colt defenders fought to reach him. He spotted Carson White speeding left across the goal line, pivoted and threw across his body. The ball sailed high, and White fought off two defenders to make a diving catch at the far corner of the end zone. The extra point gave the Dragons the 28-24 margin they carried to the closing bell.

“We knew it was going to come down to the wire, and someone was going to have to make a play,” Wasson told The Dallas Morning News. “But I think the difference for us, when they made plays or made a drive, we responded. That's playoff time. You either respond or you go home.”

So the Dragons will go to Waco, and Arlington goes home. The Carroll defense is a big reason why. It’s operating at maximum effectiveness and kept the Dragons in the game last night as they struggled to adjust to McDaniel’s absence. Moreover, the Dragons rediscovered their passing game, thanks to a magnificent effort by Bowers both in the air and on the ground.

Carroll seemed in full control last night before losing its rushing star. It opened with a seemingly effortless 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive powered by McDaniel, who began with a 26-yard run on the first play of the game and ended with a 2-yard plunge into the end zone.

But when he left the game, you could almost hear the air going out of the Dragon offense. Arlington kept McDaniel’s backup, senior Tavian Gould, entirely in check, and Carroll’s drive toward a second TD stalled at the Colt 25.

An errant snap interrupted the timing of the usually reliable Neal Koskay, and his 41-yard field goal sailed wide.

Taking over on the 25, Colt quarterback D’Montae Davis handed off to RB Kenland McCray, who drove through the Dragon line and sprinted 75 yards to the end zone, leaving gaping Dragon defenders in his wake.

Carroll went 3-and-out on the next series, and the Colts were driving for a go-ahead TD when the Carroll defense stepped up big. A Davis pass was picked off by sophomore defensive back R.J. Mickens and returned 68 yards down the right sideline to give Southlake a 14-7 lead.

But the Colts showed their explosive power when Davis took the snap on the third play of the resulting series and charged 59 yards to even the score with 2:26 left in the half.

Another Carroll 3-and-out set up an energized Arlington at its 27, but Dragon defender Joe DeVincenzo intercepted a Davis pass to a receiver in the red zone, thus ending a disappointing half for Southlake.

Even the halftime show was full of dark omens. During the Emerald Belles routine, a Belle dancer tripped and fell. Recovering quickly, she smoothly rejoined the line, and the dance number continued without further mishap. It was the first time I’ve seen such a thing in 10 years of watching Southlake half-time shows. It’s got to mean something, right?

As the Belles foretold, Colt dominance opened the 2^nd half, with Davis and McCray engineering a 79-yard scoring drive to give Arlington its first lead of the night.

And that’s when the tempo of the game shifted. Bowers (10 of 14 for 179 yards and 1 TD, 87 yards on 18 carries) came out passing, sending a 57-yard bomb to Preston Forney and an 8-yard dart to Cade Bell (5 for 73). From the 10, Gould surged across the goal line, and the game was tied again 21-21.

The Dragons blunted the Colt express train on the next series, limiting Arlington to a 36-yard field goal. A definitive Dragon response was essential.

That response ended in the gutsy call to go for it all from the 2. But as incredibly exciting and immensely satisfying as White’s desperate heroics in the left corner of the end zone were, they only presented the Dragons with a 4-point lead. That seemed pretty flimsy with most of the 4^th quarter looming. I said quietly to myself, “Now we’ve got to stop them. Can we?”

The answer was yes, at least on the next Colt possession. But given a chance to score an insurance touchdown, the Dragons stalled, facing 4-3 at the Colt 33.

Bowers’ pass was batted down, and the Colts took over, needing 67 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2 minutes left.

Davis (11 of 17 for 129 yards, 15 for 139 yards and 2 TDs) and McCray (19 for 137, 1 TD) clawed their way to midfield. With 1:15 left, Davis faced 4-5 at the Dragon 49, but his wide-open receiver at the Carroll 30 saw the pass fly over his head. The Dragons took over the ball and ran out the clock.

After the game, Wasson praised his team for its determination in overcoming the loss of McDaniel.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these young men,” he said in a radio interview. “At the beginning of this season, I knew there was something unique and different about this team. They only needed to discover that. I think they did that tonight.”

Bell told a radio interviewer that the team adjusted naturally to the bitter loss of its best player.

“This is what we practice every day,” he said. “We’re all trained that any one of us can make those plays and handle those assignments. We’re Dragons. That’s what we do.”

That’s brave talk, and I’m sure young Bell believes every word of it. And why shouldn’t he? It’s one of the keys to the Dragons’ success over the years – training, discipline and believing in yourself. That has won more games than raw athletic talent any day. You can look it up.

When the game was over, the players converged to the sideline in front of the student section of the Ford Center. As they sang the Carroll alma mater, many waved four fingers over their heads, acknowledgment that they understand the significance of moving to the fourth round of the playoffs for the second time in four years.

This is a team for whom nothing has come easy. So why should facing a potent opponent without one of your chief weapons be any different? We’ll see how far grit and guts can carry these guys. Don’t bet against them.

Go Dragons!

Area Round: Southlake Carroll 33, DeSoto 15

FRISCO – OK, here’s a test. In last night’s game between the Southlake Carroll Dragons and the DeSoto Eagles, reigning 6A Division II state champions, the winners staged a series of quick-strike big offensive plays, interspersed between long, grinding drives that kept their talented opponents cooling their heels on the sidelines.

Now, who won? That’s easy. The Dragons, of course. Who did you pick?

Last night’s victory, which advances the Dragons to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014, was as surprising as it was satisfying.

When the Dragon Nation arrived at the Dallas Cowboys’ impressive Ford Center at The Star, most of us hoped, but didn’t really believe, that Carroll’s young defense had the mojo to stop DeSoto’s swift-footed, hard-charging offense.

The Eagles had run roughshod over opponents all season, led by quarterback Courtney Douglas, a 6-1, 215-pound charger with quick moves and a rifle arm, ably assisted by a platoon of scary-good running backs. They had skill, ability and confidence -- and they were convinced they were cruising to a repeat of their first state championship last year.

The young Dragons, meanwhile, had clawed their way into the playoffs after their first three-loss season in years. They had played unevenly in their last three games, struggling against L.D. Bell, the worst team in District 5-6A, and falling before worthy Hebron in the finale. But they had shut out the McKinney Lions 42-0 in last week’s bi-district round, showing complete dominance on both sides of the ball.

The Dragons appeared to be finally coming into their own, and at just the right time, too. They certainly were capable of pulling off the upset. More realistically, however, most Dragon fans knew the Lions weren’t the offensive powerhouse that DeSoto was, and we figured the Dragons might hang tough through the first half, but finally be overwhelmed by the Eagles in the second.

Brother, did we figure wrong. Ain’t high school football grand?

The stars of the night were the young members of the Dragon defense, who blunted Douglas’ prowess and held the high-flying Eagles scoreless for the two middle quarters, just as their offensive brethren seized control of the game.

As any coach will tell you, timing is everything in football, and Carroll’s defensive unit has picked the opening two contests of the post-season to up its game. Douglas got his yards last night, and the Eagles remained dangerous until the last minutes of the 4^th quarter, but Dragon defenders kept DeSoto on its heels for most of the night and not roaring up and down the field.

The Carroll win had an inauspicious beginning. The Dragons went 3-and-out on their first possession, and the Eagles followed up with a frighteningly efficient 5-play, 66-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead.

Uh-oh, I thought. This could be a long evening. Little did I know it would be the Eagles’ last score until the closing minutes of the 4^th quarter.

 On the next series, the Dragons stalled again, but an outstanding punt by Neal Koskay pinned DeSoto on its own 4-yard line. That marked a quiet turning point in the game.

Led by the inestimable Jacob Dodderidge, the Carroll defense stiffened, and DeSoto could go no farther than the Dragon 45.

The Dragons struggled on the subsequent drive, hampered by highly suspect officiating that failed to flag obvious pass interference on receiver R.J. Mickens, then punished the Dragons for nonexistent offensive interference two plays later.

From his own 22, quarterback Will Bowers connected first with Mickens for a 41-yard catch-and-run, then immediately followed with a 37-yard TD pass to star running back T.J. McDaniel.

Carroll had things in hand from that moment on, completing its next two drives with touchdowns, the first of which was set up when linebacker Matty Werner snagged a Douglas pass around midfield. The Dragons led at half 20-7 and never looked back.

Bowers was superb, completing 8 of 12 passes for 170 yards and 3 TDs, and rushing for 38 and 1 TD. His sole rushing score occurred on the Dragons’ second scoring drive of the first half. Sacked at the DeSoto 33, Bowers ran the ball twice to the 5 and handed off to McDaniel, who was stuffed at the 4. Facing 3^rd down, Bowers faked to McDaniel, who plunged left, fooling most of the DeSoto line, while the quarterback veered right and slipped over the goal line.

It was a beautiful play that handed the Dragons a lead they never surrendered.

McDaniel also gave a good accounting, rushing for 128 yards on 25 carries and 2 TDs. He averaged more than 5 yards per carry and bedeviled the DeSoto line, which never effectively controlled the elusive runner.

The success of its ground attack allowed Southlake to control the tempo of the game and keep the talented Douglas – 23 of 35 passes for 213 yards, and 77 yards rushing on 15 attempts – on the bench. For example, Matt Wixon of The Dallas Morning News reported that one Dragon drive in the scoreless 3^rd took almost 7 minutes off the clock.

The Dragons managed some yardage-gobbling plays, too. In the closing seconds of the 1^st half, Bowers engineered a time-consuming 85-yard drive that ended with a 34-yard TD strike to Mickens, giving the Dragons their two-score lead at the break.

Another big play resulted in their first score of the second half, midway through the 4^th . A DeSoto punt gave Carroll excellent field position on its own 45. McDaniel ran three straight times before capping the effort with a 28-yard sprint to the end zone.

That gave the Dragons an insurmountable 26-7 lead with 5 minutes left. Or so we thought.

The Eagles, to their credit, refused to give up and showed they had the weapons -- and the determination -- to score quickly, perhaps quickly enough to overcome Carroll's hefty 19-point lead. They demonstrated the threat on the next series when Douglas competed two quick passes to bring his team to the Dragon 19. There, he struggled first to the 11, then into the end zone, a 4-play drive that took little more than a minute. A two-point conversion narrowed the Carroll lead to 11.

On the inevitable onside kick, the Dragons bobbled the ball at midfield, and players from both teams converged. A tense stadium waited as officials disentangled the pile.

I was thinking that 11 points might not be enough cushion to prevent DeSoto’s powerful offense, which we’d just witnessed at its breathtakingly efficient  best, from stealing a last-gasp victory.

But fate favored Southlake. It was awarded the ball and marched methodically down the field for its fifth score of the night, a 3-yard Bowers pass to Preston Forney in the back of the end zone.

By halting the Eagles' march to state, Carroll progresses to the regional semi-final round, facing the surprising Arlington Colts (10-2) in the Ford Center next Saturday.

The Colts obliterated El Paso Montwood last night, crushing the Rams 77-42 in a wild affair that saw three Arlington backs run for more than 200 yards. Quarterback D’Montae Davis rushed for 220 yards and 3 TDs, Kenland McCray ran for 223 yards and 2 TDs and Zander Benson made 229 yards and 4 TDs.

That’s scary stuff, and the Dragon defense must step up and be counted for the third straight week. In the third round, nothing comes easy.

Last night was the Dragons’ first trip to the glitzy Star complex in Frisco. The Ford Center is dazzling on the outside. It’s nice inside, too, but at its heart, it has the feel of an indoor practice facility, only with a fancy giant screen, nice seating and expensive concessions. I like it.

I also like that December is near, and the Dragons are still playing. What an unexpected Christmas present for Carroll fans and those who love us.

Go Dragons!

Bi-District Round: Southlake Carroll 42, McKinney 0

It wasn’t supposed to be that easy. The McKinney Lions, Southlake Carroll’s first-round playoff opponent, were supposed to be a tough nut to crack.

Everyone expected the Lions to be full of piss and vinegar after making it into the postseason for the first time since 2009. And what chance did the Dragons have, after struggling to contain lowly L.D. Bell two weeks ago, in stopping McKinney’s leading rusher, the worthy Matt Gadek?

Gadek, it must be remembered, possesses the state’s single-game rushing record for an astounding 599-yard performance earlier in the season against Plano East.

Stopping the hard-charging Gadek, who came into the game with 2,207 rushing yards and 17 TDs, promised to be a tall order. And then there was senior quarterback Damon Witmer, who had thrown for 1,360 yards and 16 TDs in the regular season. Many football wizards predicted the Carroll-McKinney contest would be an “entertaining” affair sure to the get the playoffs off to a rousing start.

Such talk filled many Dragon fans with a grim foreboding and raised a couple of haunting questions. Was Carroll’s 18^th consecutive playoff appearance doomed to be a short-lived affair? Would the struggling Dragons fail to make it out of the first round for the first time in almost two decades?

The Dragons answered at least one of those questions in a decisive manner last night, holding McKinney scoreless and limiting Gadek to a mere 61 rushing yards on 21 carries. Thus ended McKinney hopes for its first playoff victory since 1994.

For their trouble, the Dragons won the right to face the DeSoto Eagles, who destroyed the Copperas Cove Bulldogs last night to make it to the area round. Last year, the Eagles, helmed by the remarkable Shawn Robinson, eliminated Southlake in the second round of the playoffs on their way to the 6A Division II state championship.

Robinson, recruited by TCU, will be starting today for the injured Kenny Hill, a former Dragon signal caller, in a crucial game against Texas Tech. It’s a small world, ain’t it?

And in a new wrinkle for Dragon fans, the DeSoto game will be played next Saturday at The Star in Frisco. It’s a new venue, at least for Southlake denizens, but an old foe in what promises to be a classic matchup.

The Dragons would like a little payback for the results of their last two encounters with the high-flying Eagles. In addition to last year’s early exit at the hands of DeSoto, the Dragons fell before the Eagles in the fourth round in 2012.

That game was Kenny Hill’s last for the Dragons, and it ended in heartbreaking fashion for Carroll, at the time the defending Divison II state champion. In the closing seconds of that game, the Eagles staged a brilliant goal line defense, barring a desperate Hill from the end zone on three consecutive plays and ensuring their 49-45 victory.

Even now, the memory brings a flush of frustration to many of the Dragon faithful.

To put it mildly, the teams have history, and the next chapter will be written on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

DeSoto head coach Todd Peterman summed it nicely for The Dallas Morning News. “Who doesn’t want to play Southlake Carroll? Who doesn’t want to play DeSoto? Two great teams are going to go after it.”

Indeed.

As for last night, it was billed as a battle of running backs – the heralded Gadek versus the Dragons’ brilliant rusher, junior T.J. McDaniel.

In the event, it wasn’t much of a battle. Not even a skirmish. More of a dispute, really, quickly settled.

While Gadek was getting stuffed by an inspired Dragon defense, McDaniel was leading the Dragon charge, literally. He staged back-to-back runs of 70 and 72 yards in a rip-snorting 2^nd period, rushed for a season-record 311 yards, and scored 5 – count ’em, 5 – touchdowns.

McDaniel, who missed the last two games of the regular season because of injury, said in a post-game radio interview that he had something to prove last night.

“I really wanted a big game to make up for the two games I missed,” he said. “I just did what I do. I run physical and I run tough. I see green grass and I run.”

Senior defensive lineman Ryan Thompson, asked to compare Gadek and McDaniel, dismissed the opinion of many before the game that the Lions had the better runner.

“In my opinion, T.J. is the best running back in the state,” he stated flatly. “He does amazing things on the field. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Carroll controlled things from the opening kickoff, scoring on five consecutive possessions in the decisive 1^st half. It rolled up 541 total yards, compared to the Lions’ meager146.

McDaniel accounted for most of the Dragons’ 399 rushing yards, of course. Backup Tavian Gould, who performed admirably during McDaniel’s two-game absence, got 27 yards on 8 carries after the starter was pulled in the middle of the 3^rd.

Quarterback Will Bowers, who has played hot and cold in the regular season, was red-hot in the playoff opener. He peppered his receiving corps with sharply thrown passes, completing 13 of 15 (an 86 percent completion rate) for 142 yards and 1 TD.

Cade Bell, 3 catches for 54 yards, was the leading receiver, followed by Hudson Shrum, 4 of 32, and Eli Fergal, 1 for 26.  Defensive standout R.J. Mickens, who also plays on offense and special teams, snagged 2 for 14, including a TD.

But the real heroes of the night were the Dragon defenders who smothered one of the state’s premier running backs and pitched a perfect game.

McDaniel acknowledged as much when he described his phenomenal 72-yard scamper in the 2^nd, after the defense forced a Lion punt. On the first play from scrimmage at the Dragon 9, McDaniel plunged through the center of the McKinney line, veered to the right, then crossed the entire field and continued his run along the left sideline before finally being downed at the Lion 19.

That run was all the more amazing because the previous Dragon drive had ended with a 70-yard McDaniel dash down the left to the end zone. Two consecutive plays, 142 yards.

All in a day’s work for McDaniel, who said he and his offensive line work hard to get the timing right.

“When they’re clicking, I’m clicking,” he said.

Jacob Dodderidge, one of the most athletically talented players on the Dragon bench, accompanied McDaniel on his 72-yard race. Dodderidge plays everywhere, occasionally lining up as fullback in the Dragon backfield.

“I was running behind Jake,” McDaniel explained. “I don’t know how many people he blocked. He was just hammering people.”

Thompson, the Dragon defensive lineman, admitted that injuries to McKinney’s two leading rushers – one in last week’s game against McKinney Boyd and the other on the first series against the Dragons last night – forced the Lions into a one-dimensional game and allowed him and his teammates to “focus on the running backs.”

A pleased Hal Wasson, Carroll head coach, praised his defense’s success in shutting down Gadek.

“They came in snarly today,” he said in a postgame radio interview. “And I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

After a lackluster performance against Bell two weeks ago and a losing effort against Hebron last week, Wasson said he noticed a difference in his players now that the playoffs are here.

 “I saw a new attitude tonight,” he said. “I’m excited about it.”

Thompson said the Dragons will be ready for some payback against the Eagles.

“We’re going to come out with a passion,” he said. “We’re going to be ready to fight.”

Sounds good to me. Go Dragons!

Game Day: Hebron 36, Southlake Carroll 31

CARROLLTON – The Hebron Hawks, propelled by a double-threat quarterback and a host of fleet-footed receivers, finally overwhelmed a stubborn Southlake Carroll team last night, saddling the unhappy Dragons with their first three-loss regular season in many a moon.

Radio statisticians said it was the first three-loss season for Carroll since 2010, a year – it must be remembered – when the Dragons made it into the fourth-round of the playoffs, which begin next week.

A comparable finish for the 2017 squad would be a lofty accomplishment, considering its youth and athletic prowess. But such a feat, at least from where I sit, seems unlikely – although hope springs eternal, etc., etc.

I suspect head coach Hal Wasson thinks so, too. In his post-game comments with radio commentator Kelly Milligan, he cited his team’s lack of focus and shoddy tackling as a top reason for the evening’s failing effort.

“We have to be consistent in our discipline. We have to be consistent in our execution,” he said grimly. But he sounded like a man who knows that those are problems that should be ironed out by the last game of the regular season.

They were on full display last week during Carroll’s much-criticized performance against hapless L.D. Bell, turning what should have been a cakewalk into a thrilling stroll down terror lane.

Wasson, a man prone to seek euphemisms for unpleasant truths, blamed the desultory play on a “mindset issue,” meaning I suppose that his players mistakenly thought they could coast against the unworthy Blue Raiders.

They certainly couldn’t have labored under that impression last night when they lined up against the high-flying Hawks. Hebron has been a beast this season, cruising past all its District 5-6A foes, save for Euless Trinity, which clinched sole possession of the 5-6A crown last night by downing Flower Mound Marcus 21-16.

And yet, breakdowns in assignments led to at least three Hebron scores and spelled the difference in a hard-fought, back-and-forth contest that was both entertaining and infuriating – at least for the Dragon faithful who drove across the Metroplex to see the game.

Despite their lack of focus at critical moments, these young Dragons gave a good accounting of themselves against the skilled and disciplined Hawks. In the decisive 4^th quarter, with the Hawks in control, the Dragons dug deep and clawed their way from a two-score deficit twice to keep the game close.

In the end, however, after running back Tavian Gould capped a desperate 11-play, 75-yard, clock-draining drive with a 2-yard TD plunge, the Dragons lined up for an onside kick with 2:12 left.

Kicker Clayton Webb booted a perfect blooper that Hebron bobbled, resulting in a thrashing free-for-all at midfield. It took the refs a while to untangle the melee, but when they did, Hawk receiver Trejan Bridges had the ball. A relieved Hebron then ran out the clock.

Stellar Hawk quarterback Clayton Tune, fleet-footed and rocket-armed, set up the exciting climax with a 3-play, 65-yard TD drive that ended in a perfect pass to Jaren Mitchell (9 catches for 130 yards and 2 TDs). In an eyeblink, the speedy Mitchell raced 57 yards down the right sideline to his second TD of the night.

Tune was phenomenal, completing 24 of 36 passes for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns. He only managed 31 rushing yards, but that’s deceptive since he made them at critical times, including a 2-yard TD lunge in the 2^nd after Carroll had scored twice in 41seconds and led 14-3.

He was particularly effective on 3^rd-down plays, repeatedly defeating efforts by the scrappy Dragon defense to get off the field.

Deadly in his own right, Tune had some potent offensive weapons in his arsenal. RB Jatyn Taylor scampered 118 yards on 11 carries, including a dramatic 55-yard TD run.

And the aforementioned Mitchell preceded his dagger-to-the-heart TD catch in the 4^th with a 28-yard catch-and-run in which he fought his way inside the 10, outmuscled the defender and plunged across the goal line.

In many ways, that play epitomized the winning Hawk strategy against Carroll – using Tune’s pinpoint accuracy and smash-mouth football to beat down the Dragons.

Perhaps the most painful thorn in the Dragon side was Bridges, who dashed their desperate hopes with his onside kick recovery. His jaw-dropping 70-yard punt return in the 2^nd, aided by shoddy execution along the length of the field, served notice to Carroll that it might be a long night.

To their credit, the Dragons were never out of it. They led, in fact, 17-15 at the half. And when the Hawks slipped into the lead and kept it, they fought to the end. Their epic 4^th-quarter struggle to overtake the Hawks is a worthy entry in the Carroll football archives.

For the second straight week, they were hampered by the absence of standout running back T.J. McDaniel. Losing a difference maker like McDaniel had an impact on the results, no doubt. But a trio of Dragons – Gould, quarterback Will Bowers and defensive back Jacob Doddridge – stepped into McDaniel’s role and performed outstandingly.

Yes, you heard that right, Doddridge, a mainstay on Dragon defense, was moved to running back for several crucial plays, and he was a charging bull, carrying 7 times for 47 yards.

On a series in the 3^rd quarter, after the Hawks seized the lead 22-17, he plunged three straight times through the Hawk front line, dragging multiple tacklers, to make 21 precious yards and keep the drive alive.

The single proudest moment of the game for me came later in that series.

The Dragons faced a 4-4 at the Hawk 39. Doddridge took the handoff from Bowers and powered his way forward. Three Hawks met him at the line of scrimmage, and soon the entire defensive line converged on the struggling Doddridge.

But he refused to go down and continued to push, inch-by-inch, yard-by-yard, forward. Finally, inevitably, he was forced to the turf, first to his knees and then on his face. A measurement revealed he was inches short, and Hebron took control of the ball.

Gould led in rushing for the Dragons, showing a graceful power as he carried 18 times for 108 yards and 1 TD. He will be a solid asset for the Dragons when McDaniel returns for the playoffs next week. The tandem of McDaniel and a confident, hard-charging Gould should give the Dragons a formidable ground game in post-season play.

They’ll need it, I’m afraid. The Carroll aerial attack still leaves much to be desired. Bowers performed well last night, rushing 93 yards on 14 carries. In the air, he was less successful, completing 12 of 21 for only 134 yards, most of those in the 4^th.

Cade Bell (5-49) was his favorite receiver, but they had trouble connecting all night. Some of Bowers passes sailed over the worthy Bell’s head. Other catchable balls weren’t.

On the other hand, five of Bowers’ receivers compiled double-digit yardage, and two – Preston Forney (1-18) and Hudson Shrum (3-24) – scored TDs. Moreover, in the desperate 4^th quarter, Bowers kept the Dragons alive, completing 6 of 9 passes for 84 yards.

So the regular season ends on a down note. Lacking the momentum they had hoped, the Dragons must shake off their disappointment quickly. They host the McKinney Lions from District 6-6A at Dragon Stadium next Friday in the bi-district round.

At least, I think they do. Confusion reigned supreme last night about whether the Dragons will get a home game in the first round, as I so confidently stated last week.

I could go through the convoluted calculations that caused the knowledgeable hosts of Dragon Radio to report that Dragon Stadium would, then wouldn’t, then would, then wouldn’t, and finally, just as the radio show was signing off, yes, would indeed be the site of the Dragons’ first-round game.

But I’m not going to. In addition to the labyrinth mysteries of UIL playoff rules, each district has its own set of confounding regulations governing post-season play. Chuck Kelly and company were almost in tears by evening’s end. If they’re confused, what chance do the rest of us have?

Suffice to say, I’m assuming nothing until game time.

McKinney lost to cross-town rival McKinney Boyd last night, 20-17. It will be no first-round patsy for the Dragons, compiling a similar season record (4-3, 7-3) as the Dragons (5-2, 7-3).

The Lions’ fearsome running back, Matt Gadek is the area’s leading rusher, piling up 279 yards in the losing effort to Boyd. Simply put, Gadek is a nightmare.

He holds the Texas UIL rushing record for an unbelievable feat he achieved against Plano East earlier in the season. In McKinney’s 63-50 victory over East, he ran for 599 yards. Oh, dear.

But time to worry later. It’s the high school football playoffs. There a zip in the air, the holidays beckon and everything starts on Friday. See you in Dragon Stadium. I think.

Go Dragons!