District opener: Southlake Carroll 58, Keller 37

Gut-check time

KELLER – If they were to be honest, I suspect the Carroll Dragons expected their first real test in District 5-6A would come next week, when they welcome Denton Guyer to the comfortable confines of Dragon Stadium.

Despite a rocky start this season, Guyer is always a tough opponent for the Dragons. It’s the only team that has ever beaten Southlake twice on its home field, and Guyer head coach John Walsh always prepares his teams well. The Wildcats’ 2-2 season record so far is not typical.

So when Dragon head coach Riley Dodge and his young charges assessed the red-hot Keller Indians’ 3-0 record coming into last night’s district opener, they comforted themselves with the reassuring words “strength of schedule.”

Yes, the Indians were undefeated. And yes, they had wracked up big scores against their last three opponents, out-pacing them 99-6 in the first half alone, thanks to their towering 6-3 quarterback and a swift and sure-handed receiving corps.

But really, folks, who had Keller beaten? Their victories, while impressive, had come against 5A Abilene Cooper, 41-15; pushover Richardson Berkner, 43-7; and lowly Grand Prairie, 43-0.

Prudence demanded that the Dragons not completely discount the Indians, but I doubt they expected last night’s contest in less-than-luxurious Keller ISD Stadium to be the first-half dogfight it turned out to be.

Their illusions were shattered early. After a 3-and-out on Keller’s first possession, Indian quarterback Sloan Henry unleashed an air and ground attack that initially baffled Dragon defenders.

Carroll was able to keep pace, but barely, falling behind 23-14 at one point. From the stands, Keller’s offense looked more crisp and effective than did the Dragons throughout the first half. Carroll defenders had no answer for RB Enoch Ntchobo, who slithered and snaked his way to good yardage. He finished the night with 26 carries for 126 yards and 1 TD.

Henry was simply superb, completing 18 of 29 passes for 334 yards and four TDs. His favorite receiver, Damon Smith, caught 7 passes for 176 yards and 3 TDs. Three others caught in double figures.

Going into last night’s contest, Southlake had held its previous three opponents scoreless in the first half. It had never trailed in scoring. An unimpressed Henry blithely shattered both records.

Only after a gut-check at halftime did the Dragons manage to take control of the game, unleashing the fury of hard-charging running back T.J. McDaniel and putting the brakes on Henry’s high-flying antics and on Ntchobo’s slippery darts through the Dragon D-line.

But a 16-point scoring spree in the first half demonstrated the effectiveness of the Keller game plan. It was set in motion by a 4-play, 68-yard drive that culminated in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Henry to Colton Nelson (4-69).

Dragon linebacker Michael Parish blocked the extra point, a habit he appears to be refining, allowing Carroll to cling to a 14-13 lead. But not for long.

On the first play of the 2^nd quarter, a bad snap resulted in an Indian recovery at the Dragon 32. Four plays later, Ntchobo dashed 1 yard into the endzone, giving Keller a 20-14 lead.

Bowers and company could do no better than a 3-and-out, and an Indian drive powered by the fleet-footed Ntchobo brought Keller to the Dragon 12, where the Carroll D-line dug in and held. A 29-yard field goal brought the score to 23-14.

That’s when the momentum of the game shifted a bit.

In the resulting Dragon possession, McDaniel, running behind his surging front line, ripped repeatedly through the Keller line to move his team into the red zone. From the 8, he plunged through the reeling Indian defenders and emerged untouched in the endzone, narrowing the Keller lead to 23-21.

Dodge said that score, which left 90 seconds on the clock, was a turning point.

“Oh, yes, that was key,” he said in a post-game radio interview. “Trailing only 2 points going into halftime rather than the alternate, that made a big difference.”

He said no locker-room oratory was necessary to inspire his warriors.

“No one blinked an eye at halftime,” he said of his team. “They knew what they had to do, and they went out and did. I’m very proud of these boys.”

Defensive tackle Quentin Bunten said the most important adjustment came in attitude.

“We knew we needed to focus on our job,” he said. “We were trying to do too much in the first half. We just buckled down and did it.”

The Indians, perhaps sensing a rejuvenated Dragon team would emerge from halftime, attempted to regain its ascendency with an unsuccessful onside kick.

Taking advantage of great field position, Bowers went to work, staging consecutive keepers of 9- and 32-yards respectively. From the 2, McDaniel surged into the endzone, then added a 2-point conversion to give the Dragons back the lead, 29-23. They never trailed again.

After a Keller punt pushed the Dragons to their own 15, Bowers engineered a quick, three-play drive that ended when McDaniel caught the right corner and streaked 73 yards for his fourth TD of the night.

It was a classic McDaniel run. After rounding the right corner, he quickly outpaced the Indian linebackers and sped with focused intensity downfield. At about the 35, he sensed Keller defensive backs nearing him. In response, the quicken his steps and lengthened his stride, beauty in motion as he raced over the line.

He would add a fifth touchdown in the closing seconds and ended the night with 253 yards on 36 carries.

The Indians never gave up, twice narrowing the Dragon lead to 7 in the 2^nd half, but the Dragons always responded.

Although McDaniel was the universally acknowledged star of the night, Bowers played one of the best games of his career, completing 11 of 14 passes for 200 yards. He rushed for another 57 for 2 TDs and a 2-point conversion.

WR Glenn Mitchell was the leading Dragon receiver, thanks to the Dragons’ first play of the game, when he snagged a Bowers pass and raced 73 yards for the night’s first TD. Carson White caught 4 passes for 42 yards and Traynor got 2 for 48. Two others caught in double figures.

Before the game, it was generally acknowledged that a key matchup would be Keller’s passing attack against Southlake’s secondary. Last night’s result held no surprises. When faced with a strong-armed passer like Henry and a corps of talented, fleet-footed receivers, Carroll is going to struggle.

It’ll the interesting to see how far Carroll’s defensive backfield can progress as we continue through the season. A long playoff run, the goal of any Southlake team, may depend on that development.

Next week, the hated Guyer Wildcats come calling. Guyer and Southlake have a troubled history, and Guyer’s fanbase has shown contempt in the past for Carroll and its traditions. As for the players, mutual respect probably is the message of the day.

That said, a third defeat by the Wildcats on Dragon Stadium’s cherished turf is painful to contemplate. And if you don’t think that plays a role in high school football, you’ve never seen many games played under Friday night lights.

Go Dragons!

When legends meet: Southlake Carroll 24, Odessa Permian 20

Worth the wait

For the second straight week, unwelcome Mother Nature made an appearance at Dragon Stadium last night, bringing buckets of rain, thunder and lightning, delaying proceedings and generally making a nuisance of herself.

She showed up about a third of the way into the 3^rd quarter, with Southlake Carroll clinging to a precarious 10-0 lead over the Permian Panthers. But the one-and-a-half-hour weather delay proved worth the wait as it set the stage for a wild and woolly 4^th quarter in which the Panthers made a spirited – and damned near successful – comeback effort.

Last night was only the second meeting of Permian and Carroll, two of most storied high school programs in Texas. Both are helmed by first-year coaches, both are trying to recapture some of their past glories and both have something to prove – to their detractors and to themselves.

“It was a really crazy night,” Dragon head coach Riley Dodge said in a post-game radio interview. “For the second week in a row, we faced some challenges – weather, a delay and so on. I couldn’t be prouder at how these guys handled it. They played well. We knew Permian was going to be tough, and they were. Our guys rose to the challenge.”

Dragon players acknowledged that this was no ordinary game.

“I grew up watching Permian play on ‘Friday Night Lights,’” said star running back T.J. McDaniel, whose rushing heroics sealed the victory for Southlake. “Playing them here is unbelievable. The atmosphere in the stadium tonight was – amazing. I can’t even begin to describe it.”

Linebacker Michael Parrish agreed. “It’s crazy playing Permian,” he said. “I grew up watching them on TV. Playing them here … well …”

For the second consecutive game, Carroll played an opponent who outgained them in first downs and in total yardage. Permian made 19 first downs compared to Carroll’s 14. And it rolled up 411 total yards to Carroll’s 378.

But thanks to McDaniel, who rushed for 233 yards in 15 attempts and three touchdowns, Carroll’s rushing yards outpaced Permian, 276 to 167. On McDaniel’s first run of the night, during Southlake’s second series, he sprinted through the Permian line and roared 56 yards for the first Dragon score.

The only other score of the half came in the closing seconds, when kicker Neal Koskay booted a 27-yard field goal to make it 10-0.

McDaniel also accounted for Carroll’s final TD, a 90-yard bolt in which he outran his blockers and outraced a Panther defensive back 35 yards to the end zone.

The Dragon defense bent but refused to break for three full quarters, keeping Panther quarterback Peyton Powell and his hard-charging offense out of the end zone until the decisive final quarter. And in the closing minute, when momentum had shifted to the Panthers as they attempted to snatch away a 4-point Dragon lead, it stood tall and shut Powell down. On the final down of play, Permian lost 19 yards.

Powell was superb in the losing effort. He completed 13 of 20 passes (65 percent) for 210 yards and rushed 10 times for 65 more and a TD. His offensive weapons included a hard-charging running back, Ed Williams (21 for 57), and receivers Justin Hammond, Mason Sellers and Justin Ramage.

Expect Permian, which is favored in its district, to make some noise come playoff time.

Carroll struck first after play resumed following the rain delay. After a Permian punt, quarterback Will Bowers set up shop at the Panther 33. Three plays later, he handed the ball to McDaniel, who bolted 24 yards for the score.

A quirky 15-yard penalty and a nifty 25-yard kickoff return moved Powell and company to midfield. Seven plays later Powell pitched a 3-yard pass to Tyler Ramage in the end zone, ending the shut out in the early minutes of the 4th.

Later in the period, Powell had moved the Panthers into Dragon territory when his coach, Jeff Ellison, thumbed through his playbook and came up with a dandy.

Facing a 4^th and 5 at the 34, Powell took the snap and immediately threw a lateral pass to Sellers, who appeared to veer left toward the sideline as a clutch of Dragon defenders closed in on him. Instead he lofted the ball to a wide-open Hammond who loped leisurely into the end zone.

Boom. A 3-point ballgame and plenty of time to play. You could almost hear the gulps among the scattered Dragon fans remaining in the stands.

That’s when McDaniel stepped forward to keep it real.

The series didn’t begin well. After a touchback, a penalty started the Dragon drive at their 13. On the first play, Bowers lost 3 yards on a keeper. From the 10, he then handed the ball to McDaniel, who tucked it and followed his blockers through the line.

He said after the game that Dodge had told him the Dragon offensive strategy against Permian would rest largely on his shoulders. So far, he had met Dodge’s wildest expectations. Now, he would exceed them.

By midfield, he had outpaced his blockers and was running alone. At the Permian 35, only one black uniform still pursued him and the Panther was closing fast. McDaniel slipped into another gear and beat him to the end zone.

“I knew No. 33 was coming, but I just kept running,” McDaniel would recall.

At that point, my teeth began chattering. I’m not sure if it was because of the slight breeze on my wet clothes or from pent-up tension. I let out a sigh and hoped a 24-14 lead would end the long night’s drama.

It didn’t.

On the next series, Powell engineered an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with a 23-yard quarterback keeper. The extra point, however, was blocked by Parrish, a critical blunder because it meant the Panthers couldn’t tie the game with a field goal. They would need a touchdown to win.

An onside kick attempt failed and the Dragons got the ball at the Permian 44 but stalled after only a 6-yard gain. Facing a 4^th and 4 at the 38, they burned their last 2 timeouts considering whether to go for it and drain the clock. Dodge admitted he was tempted.

But Carroll punted instead, giving Powell a desperate last chance to trumpet the return of Mojo glory.

He got no closer than the Dragon 33 before time ran out.

Bowers was overshadowed by Powell’s gritty performance, and McDaniel was the offensive showcase, but Carroll's senior quarterback did not have a bad night. To the contrary, he completed 9 of 13 passes for 102 yards (69 percent) and 1 INT. He also ran 14 times for 43.

Carroll players were generous in their praise of their vanquished foes.

“They’re a lot like us,” McDaniel said. “They have a lot of tradition. They’re an awesome team and they played a great game tonight.”

But he saved the highest kudos for the big guys up front.

“I can’t give my O-line enough credit,” McDaniel said. "They created the holes and I ran through them all night. It was like the parting of the Red Sea. They earned a steak dinner tonight.”

For Dodge, the victory against such a legendary program was particularly sweet. His father, Todd Dodge, one of the most successful coaches in Texas football history and the man who carried Southlake to heights of glory, was on the sidelines last night to cheer on his son. His Austin Westlake Chaparrals played Thursday, blasting Akins 67-0. I guess he figured he could afford to slip down I-35 for a few hours to see his son coach.

“He coached in this stadium,” an emotional Riley Dodge told Fox Southwest TV. “He coached me in this stadium. Having him here, it was … special. Very special.”

How does it feel to be 3-0 as a head coach?

“It’s great. It feels good,” Dodge said. “We worked hard to be where we are. It’s a good place to be going into a bye-week. We have some work to do. We have to iron out a few things.”

Mostly, he said the team will focus on fundamentals during the two weeks before they face a rejuvenated Keller on Sept. 28.

The Indians once were just another Keller ISD pushover. Not this year. With a talented quarterback and an explosive offense, Keller is a likely playoff contender in District 5-6A if it continues its winning ways. To do that, it has to get past Carroll.

As mighty Mojo can tell you, that’s a task easier said than done. Go Dragons!

Cross-town rivals: Southlake Carroll 42, Colleyville Heritage 17

A soggy night

It took just 23 seconds to dispel any concerns we may have had about how a two-hour rain delay might affect the Southlake Carroll Dragons’ preparation for their matchup last night with Colleyville Heritage.

As remnants of the storm that disrupted games across the Metroplex drifted northeastward, the Dragons came roaring out of the chute, putting 7 points on the board in two plays, and never looked back. The stunned Panthers could only stand and stare.

And although we didn’t know it yet, Dragon history was about to be made. Here’s the setup.

After an opening kickoff return to the Heritage 43, a personal foul by the Panthers brought Carroll to the 28. From there, quarterback Will Bowers carried Carroll to the 1 with a toss to receiver John Manero, and star rusher T.J. McDaniel then swept into the end zone.

  Making history

Enter senior kicker Madison Martin, the first female ever to play varsity football for Southlake. A standout goalkeeper for the Lady Dragons soccer team, Martin is no stranger to football. She was a Dragon kicker in middle school.

But now she appeared under Friday night lights and lined up for the PAT, booting it squarely through the uprights, the first of five extra points she would make for the night.

After the game, Martin still was overflowing with excitement at being the first female to play varsity for the Dragons.

“It meant the world to me,” she told radio announcer Chuck Kelly. “I’m so excited. It’s unreal. I’m so blessed. To be honest, I’m still in shock.”

How did she feel after making her first kick?

“Oh, my gosh,” she said, “I saw it go through the uprights, and I said, ‘I did that. I’m out here. It’s real.’”

She admitted she worried about how the rest of the team would react to a woman in their midst. But the players and the coaches reacted just fine.

“I’m their teammate,” she said simply. “Family.”

Martin couldn’t have picked a better game to make her debut. After a sloppy season opener against South Grand Prairie, the Dragons put it all together for their 11^th meeting with Heritage.

The Panthers have never beaten the Dragons, but they had high hopes last night, despite the burden of history. With 4-star receiver Kam Brown and a trio of promising quarterbacks, Heritage hoped to lift the Dragon curse.

It never came close.

After its initial scoring drive, the Dragons piled up three more unanswered TDs, ending the half with a commanding – and insurmountable – 28-0 lead.

Looking at the numbers

Bowers, after his disappointing performance last week, showed marked improvement. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 169 yards on 26 attempts and 1 TD. Not only that, he peppered his relatively inexperienced receiving corps with on-target throws, completing passes to seven separate receivers. But for several balls that passed inexplicably through the hands of receivers, his stats would have been more impressive.

The most prolific receivers were Manero with 7 catches for 75, followed by Glenn Mitchell (5 for 45) and Wills Meyer (2 for 39, 1 TD).

Bowers also was good on the ground, piling up 90 rushing yards on 9 attempts and 1 TD. His 11.7-yard average exceeded even the phenomenal McDaniel.

As for McDaniel, who was bottled up by a stubborn South Grand Prairie defense last week, he was more effective against the Panthers D-line. His 63 rushing yards on 13 tries, while modest by his own high standards, came at critical times and his 2 TDs established Dragon dominance.

Meanwhile, the opportunistic defense took no prisoners. The Dragon secondary stymied the notable Brown throughout the decisive first half. Most of his 127 receiving yards, on 9 attempts, came in the second half, when Carroll had matters well in hand. He never reached the end zone.

Trey Flint carried most of the load at quarterback for the Panthers, completing a bit over half of his passes for 247 yards and no TDs. His counterparts A.J. Smith and Colin Losack weren’t factors.

Turnovers plagued the Panthers all night. They lost two fumbles and Flint threw one interception that disrupted promising drives.

One fumble near the end of the 3^rd period resulted in Carroll’s final score. Heritage had smartly marched to the Dragon 25. Flint coughed up the ball as he was hit behind the line.

Junior defensive end Brandon Howell snatched it up and rumbled 79 yards for the touchdown.

Howell described the play in a post-game radio interview.

“As I was running toward the goal, I saw myself in the jumbotron,” he said, referring to the screen on the Dragon Stadium scoreboard. “I saw someone coming up behind me and then (linebacker Graham) Faloona cut him off. Faloona just cut him off, and I sealed the deal.”

Not everything was peaches and cream. Penalties continue to be a problem. The Dragons were flagged 9 times last night for 90 yards, many for unforgiveable false starts.

Practice will iron out such glitches, and Dodge appears to be a firm believer in what he calls “reps and more reps.” Repetition in drills.

In his post-game interview with Dodge, Chuck Kelly was curious about a possible connection between last night and 2011, the last time Carroll won the state title.

“Coach, this is the first 2-0 start of the season for the Dragons since 2011,” he said. “Any significance in that?”

“No,” Dodge replied firmly. “None at all. It was just the guys taking care of business. We’ve got to continue to do that. We’ve got a tough one next week.”

Indeed, they do.

Mojo on the rise?

The legendary Odessa Permian Panthers are next up for the Dragons. The magical allure of Mighty Mojo has dissipated in recent years, but the West Texas ruffians are hungry to regain their former lofty perch in the state football hierarchy.

West Texas once was known as the heart of Texas high school football. The schools in Midland, Odessa, Abilene and San Angelo – with Big Spring being a relatively insignificant member of the club – formed a district known as the Little Southwest Conference. Known for gritty, hard-nosed football, its district winner frequently vied for the state title.

In the 1980s and ’90s, Permian surged from the pack and captured a string of state championships, ending up with a total of six. It was immortalized in Buzz Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights, his epic tale of Permian’s 1988 season.

Over the years, the center of gravity for high school football has shifted from the windswept plains of the west to the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston suburbs. West Texas teams were left in the dust.

Permian dreams of changing that. To raise its state profile, Permian scheduled two highly regarded Metroplex teams this year. In their season opener, the Panthers hosted DeSoto, falling to the Eagles 38-28.

Next Friday, they’ll try to do better in Dragon Stadium. I say bury the past. The future is tinted green.

Go Dragons!