Game Day: Arlington Martin 50, Southlake Carroll 33

ARLINGTON – Even during the entertaining first half – as the Southlake Carroll Dragons and Arlington Martin Warriors traded touchdowns and presented impressive offensive displays to each other, I had the unpleasant feeling that Martin was toying with us.

It was paranoia based on solid evidence.

For instance, the Warriors’ second score came on a 99-yard kickoff return by senior Juma Otoviano, the Warriors’ one-man wrecking crew, who fielded the ball at the 1 and looked like a man among boys as he darted straight for the end zone, leaving dazed Dragons in his wake.

Then, to add insult to injury, the Warriors quickly lined up for a 2-point conversion, and Otoviano, who by the way is also their quarterback, effortlessly plunged forward to give Martin a 15-14 lead.

As it turns out, he was just getting started. And just as he did in Martin’s season opener with Dallas Skyline last week, Otoviano sliced and diced the hapless Dragons and turned the decisive third quarter into a personal recruiting reel.

He ended the night with 182 rushing yards and three TDs, and 160 passing yards and another score. Here’s the backstory: Martin head coach Bob Wager convinced Otoviano in the offseason to switch from running back to QB. And now the punchline: He doesn't particularly like the job.

“I’d still rather be a running back in college, but this is the way I can help my team the most,” Otoviano told The Dallas Morning News’ Randy Jennings after the game. Lordy.

Otoviano wasn’t the Warriors’ only offensive star of the night, dang it. Running back Montrell Smith rolled up 116 yards on 13 carries and scored twice in the second half. Receiver Brayden Willis snagged four receptions for 140 and 1 TD. By the second half, this abundance of riches finally overwhelmed a tiring Dragon defense.

The Warriors trailed 27-22 at half, but by then Dragon fans already knew that narrow lead would not be enough, not nearly enough. And it wasn’t. Martin came roaring out of halftime, scoring 21 unanswered points and limiting Carroll to a paltry single score in the 4^th period.

 The Dragon scoring drought in the 3^rd had radio commentators searching the records for the last time Southlake scored no points in the second half. They came up with a 2013 blowout against Midland Lee in which the Dragons scored 51 points in the first half and coasted in the second.

Southlake’s young defense, which played admirably against Broken Arrow in the season opener, succeeded in putting the brakes on Martin’s high-powered offense in the first half, with the exception of the heroics engineered by the Warriors’ one-man-band.

In addition to the 99-yard kickoff return, Otoviano was part of the Warriors' other big play of the half.

Dragon quarterback Will Powers had capped a 53-yard drive by finding two-way standout R.J. Mickens in the left corner of the end zone. Mickens, a sophomore phenom with an NFL pedigree who already has more than a dozen D1 offers, snagged the missile with a defender draped over him to take back the lead, 21-15.

Otoviano responded immediately. Evading a blitzing Dragon D on the second play of the drive, he flipped a pass to an uncovered Willis, who trotted 80 yards to score.

Things came unglued in the 3rd, propelled in part by a couple of Dragon injuries. When defensive end Jacob Doddridge left the game, perhaps to undergo a concussion protocol, the air seemed to leave Carroll's Big Guys. A shudder went through my part of the stadium when the radio guys announced Doddridge, a junior, had returned from the locker room wearing a T-shirt, finished for the night.

In the ensuing drive, the Warriors smartly marched 68 yards behind the running of Otoviano and Smith, before the quarterback bolted into the end zone from the 7, ending the 3^rd with a 36-27 Martin lead.

The key play for the Dragons came in the opening minutes of the 4^th. Trailing by 9, Carroll had put together a decent drive, with a Powers toss to WR Cade Bell and a couple of solid runs by RB T.J. McDaniel.

The drive, however, stalled near midfield. On a 4^th and 1 at the Dragon 43, Southlake fumbled, ending the drive and its fading hopes for a dramatic comeback.

For the Dragons, it was a bitter lesson in humility. They had never lost to the Warriors in four matchups. Last year, they defeated Martin decisively at Dragon Stadium, 36-14.

But this is a different year and a different team, with problems that need to be solved quickly. Next week, the Dragons host a tough Rockwall squad who upset state champion Highland Park last week only to fall to Rowlett last night.

Powers, who ended the night 12 of 16 for 168 yards and 2 TDs, had a respectable game. But he must protect the ball better, and he needs to master the long ball. His third interception of the season came on a long floater along the right sideline that had time to spread alarm throughout the Southlake section of Maverick Stadium before it landed in a Warrior defender’s arms.

Southlake’s defense is talented, but young, peppered throughout with sophomores. It has the potential to develop into something special as the season progresses, although the injury bug bit deeply last night. A serious injury to Doddridge would be near catastrophic.

On the bright side, the Dragons have found a running back, and he’s a good ’un. McDaniel carried 25 times for 221 yards and accounted for three Carroll scores. A Coppell transfer, he’s got the speed and he’s got the moves to make a lot of noise as Southlake dives into district play in two weeks.

Likewise, senior Cade Bell continues to develop into the Dragons’ premier receiver. He caught 6 Bowers passes for 69 yards against Martin. It wasn’t the attention-getting performance he gave in Oklahoma, which earned him the nickname “Big Game,” but it was good enough to spark hopes of more Bowers-Bell connections to come.

The Dragons aren’t used to having 50 points hung on them. For that matter, they’re not used to getting beat. The defeat at the hands of Otoviano and the Warriors stings like the dickens.

That’s good enough motivation for a productive week of practice to gain redemption next Friday against Rockwall in the welcoming confines of Dragon Stadium.

Go Dragons!