Game Day: Euless Trinity 21, Southlake Carroll 20

BEDFORD – Ho-hum. Another classic Carroll-Trinity match up, another gut-wrenching, down-to-the-wire, last-gasp finale that had both sides gulping for breath and thankful that it was over.

One side won, the other side lost, but no one can say they didn’t get their money’s worth, even the losers who are licking their wounds today. Slurp, slurp.

I don’t know why this particular neighborhood rivalry produces such entertaining, close-fought games. But it does. And Dallas-Fort Worth high school football fans ought to be grateful, I suppose, even those of us who did a fair amount of tossing and turning last night as the game’s critical moments replayed in our aching heads.

The Dragons had their chances, God knows. They led at half 17-0 and outpaced the Trojans in first downs and total yardage. But a different team showed up at Pennington Field for the second half, utterly unable to blunt a determined Trojan offense -- helmed by quarterback Esteban Larranaga and fueled by hard-charging running back Courage Keihn -- and incapable of mounting any effective offense of its own.

The Trojan O-line won the battle of the trenches in the second half, particularly in the crucial third quarter, insuring Keihn that he had four or five yards by the time he even touched the ball. And when he hit the line, he shed tacklers as if he was playing against children as he bulldozed his way to 213 rushing yards on 27 carries for two touchdowns.

The Trojans staged their impressive comeback entirely on the ground. Larranaga threw only 6 passes all night, none in the second half.

After the game, head coach Hal Wasson stated the obvious when he blamed the defeat on two things: the Dragons’ inability to score touchdowns on their trips into the Trojan red zone and Carroll defenders’ ineptitude (my word, not his) in making tackles.

What made last night’s defeat particularly unpleasant was the stark distinction between the first and second halves. It was as if the Dragons were channeling the Dallas Cowboys’ “tale of two halves” against the LA Rams last Sunday. Talk about choosing the wrong heroes to emulate!

In the first half, they kept the Trojans out of the end zone, while they capitalized on Trinity mistakes and employed an effective ground game behind the hard running of RB T.J. McDaniel, who rushed for 157 yards on 29 carries for two TDs.

The Dragons first two scores gave many of us hope that we were in store for a replay of last year’s Trinity game, when the Dragons whupped up on the Trojans 42-28 and effectively secured the District 5-6A title.

In the first quarter, they sacked Larranaga on Trinity’s first possession – set up by quarterback Will Bowers’ interception – and forced the Trojan signal caller to cough up the ball. Carroll then marched 47 yards in 7 plays to set up McDaniel’s 12-yard sprint to the end zone.

Later, they sacked Larranaga again, forcing a 4^th-and-long that Trinity couldn’t convert. In the ensuing 10-play, 66-yard drive, powerful running by Bowers and McDaniel set up McDanel’s 1-yard plunge though the pile for Carroll’s second score.

The Dragons’ final score of the first half came after they recovered a fumbled kickoff reception inside the Trinity 10, offering the promise of a three-score lead. Overcoming a 21-point deficit would have been difficult for a team like Trinity, which relies on a grinding ground attack. And such a lead might have given the Dragons a sufficient cushion to smother the Trojan comeback.

But, alas, Carroll’s drive stalled,  forcing it to settle for a 28-yard Neal Koskay field goal.

Trinity successfully bottled up the Carroll offense during its second-half scoring spree, limiting McDaniel to only 49 yards and only allowing Carroll a solitary field goal for the entire half.

The game ended, as so many of us knew it would, in highly dramatic fashion. With Carroll leading 20-14, Larranaga, the Trojan QB, engineered a soul-killing, clock-draining drive down field that arrived at the Carroll 10-yard line with 3 minutes left in the game.

Keihn took it to the 3, where Carroll used its first timeout. He then drove to the 1, where Carroll took its second timeout. On the next play, he was stopped by the desperate Dragons inches from the goal line, and Carroll took its final timeout.

Then, inevitably, inexorably, Larranaga crashed into the end zone, and Trinity’s extra point gave it the lead for the first time with 2:44 left on the clock.

At that point, all was not lost. Victory, sweet, glorious, last-minute victory still was within reach. All the Dragons had to do was drive to within field goal range, where Koskay could put a satisfying cap on another classic encounter between two programs that have won a total of 11 state championships.

The Dragon drive started out promisingly. Starting at its own 25, Bowers connected with WR Cade Bell for a 24-yard reception. On the next play, he connected with Hudson Shrum for another 10.

Then disaster. With 1:40 left, he hefted a high arching long ball for the end zone. But Trojan cornerback Nigel Blount grabbed it at the 5, and there hope died.

Bowers had a up and down night. He threw two interceptions, and narrowly missed making at least two more. His difficulty in connecting down field continues to haunt the Dragon offense. But he completed 8 of 14 passes for 98 yards and two TDs, rushing for 70 more. He and McDaniels were lethal in the first half, but a point-barren second dulled their accomplishment.

So at mid-season, Carroll’s record stands at 3-2, 1-1 in District 5-6A. That’s unusual for a proud program like Southlake, whose sights are always on a district championship, followed by a long run in the playoffs.

But it’s not terribly surprising. Pre-season predictions were that the Dragons would struggle this year. Question marks abounded about Bowers and his inexperienced receiver corps. And there were deep concerns about Carroll’s young defense.

Turns out those concerns were justified. It’s too early to give up on these Dragons, of course. It’s a young squad, filled with talented sophomores on both sides of the ball who are learning their trade in the rough-and-tumble of Friday Night Lights. They still are capable of achieving great things.

As you’ve heard me say repeatedly, anything is possible in high school football. That’s what makes it fun – and infuriating, all at once. At the end of the day, however, it’s best to be realistic. Although the Dragons almost certainly will make the playoffs, how long they hang around is sure to be debated hotly around Southlake patios in coming weeks. Upcoming contests with district foes Marcus and Hebron, who both won handily last night, take on a different tenor.

One casualty of the loss to Trinity is the district championship. The Trojans (3-2, 2-0) are odds-on favorites to capture that honor.

So best not to look too far into the future. It’s time to concentrate on the next game on the schedule. The Lewisville Fighting Farmers are winless in district play, falling to Marcus last night 18-7. They’ll get a special treat when they arrive at Dragon Stadium on Friday night.

It’s Homecoming, y’all, and mum’s the word. Literally. After all, this is Southlake, where Carroll’s female students risk neck sprains every year to support the state’s largest, fanciest and most expensive Homecoming mums.

Critics say they’re a colossal waste of time and money, and perhaps they are. But the world needs a little innocent craziness now and then, particularly in this, our season of political and social discontent. And a long life observing human nature tells me that money spent on mums will never go to more worthwhile projects. It’ll just be directed at something equally silly and useless. So why not mums?

 Here’s to happier days for us all. Go Dragons!