Easy cruising: Southlake Carroll 41, Byron Nelson 17

A welcome respite

JUSTIN – Winless Trophy Club Byron Nelson, trapped in the cellar of District 5-6A, perhaps for the season, announced early last night that it wasn’t going to make it easy for visiting Southlake Carroll.

For the high-flying Dragons, 5-0 at the top of district standings, the bout with the Bobcats seemed a welcome respite from the trifecta of tough opponents they’ve overcome of late, including last week’s donnybrook against the Denton Guyer Wildcats.

In truth, the Bobcats eventually submitted rather meekly to the Carroll onslaught. But not in the beginning.

 During the first possession of the night, Byron Nelson managed to bottle up the Dragons’ hard-charging running back, SMU commit T.J. McDaniel, and forced Carroll into two 4^th-down situations and an apparent punt as it fought for every yard.

The few of us who braved the threat of rain to witness what we assumed would be a slaughter of the innocents shifted uncomfortably on our benches and pondered the possibilities of big-game let-down, over-confidence and excessive hubris.

But under Riley Dodge, who celebrated his 30^th birthday yesterday with his sixth-straight win as a freshly minted head coach, the Dragons responded to the Byron Nelson challenge with an aggressive display of offensive might.

Carroll went for it on both 4^th-down attempts, making both, and faked the punt to keep the drive alive, eventually setting up a 4-yard TD surge by McDaniel.

They scored on their next two possessions, the first a 19-yard dash by McDaniel and the second a 19-yard pass from quarterback Will Bowers to receiver Glenn Mitchell, his first of three TD receptions last night. That opened up a three-score chasm between the teams that the Bobcats never came near to closing.

Interestingly, the Dragons went for 2 after McDaniel’s second TD, an unsuccessful effort that signaled nonetheless that a new sheriff is roaming the Southlake sidelines.

I concluded from that decision that Dodge subscribes to his father’s philosophy of “killing the will,” an approach to winning that the elder Dodge used to devastating effect during his years as Dragon head coach. As the name suggests, it calls for complete domination of your opponent until they mentally surrender to the inevitable.

It was an alien concept to Dodge’s predecessor, Hal Wasson, who liked to gain the lead and then protect it, playing to not lose rather than to win. That outlook cost the Dragons a few ballgames and drove many Carroll fans nuts, me included.

Despite Byron Nelson’s success in keying on the worthy McDaniel, he still managed to gain 111 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns, including a 59-yard bolt down the right sideline near the end of the 3^rd that put the Dragons ahead by four scores.

That run came after Byron Nelson had scored on the previous drive, an effort made easier by a bobbled snap by punter Joe McFadden. Taking over on the Carroll 48, Bobcat quarterback Hudson White, with the help of a roughing the passer penalty, ran consecutive keepers of 22 and 16 yards to give Byron Nelson its first TD.

Carroll responded with a 3-play, 49-second drive capped by McDaniel’s electrifying run. Taking the ball from Powers, he burst through Byron Nelson’s front line, broke a tackle in the backfield and then veered right, outrunning a cluster of Bobcat defenders.

The Dragon passing game, relatively nascent thus far this season, made a dramatic entrance last night. Bowers, 20 of 30 for 207 yards, threw in double digits to four receivers.

Mitchell caught 6 passes for 107 yards and 3 TDs. His 2^nd-quarter TD catch was only the fourth passing TD for Carroll thus far this season.

He credited his success to film work and good preparation.

“We studied tape all week,” he said in a radio interview after the game. “We knew that the middle was going to be wide open so we exploited it.”

Meanwhile, John Manero caught 2 for 44, R.J. Mickens snagged 6 for 35 and Eric Windham got 5 for 17.

Carroll’s success in the air was all the more remarkable because of its injury-depleted receiving corps. Some of its best and most experienced receivers are hurt. Patrick Trainer is out for the season and Wills Meyer remains sidelined. Alarmingly, Carson White was seen limping near the Dragon bench. His status is unclear.

The Dragon defense performed well, dousing the expected offensive fireworks by White and receiver Calvin Wiggins, who managed only 3 catches for 31 yards.

Byron Nelson managed only two sustained drives all night. The first came at the end of the first half. The Bobcats drove to the Carroll 7, where the Dragon D kept them out of the end zone on six consecutive plays and forced them to settle for a 22-yard field goal as time expired.

After the game, Dodge praised his defense’s inspiring goal line stand.

“They stepped up in a big way,” he told radio announcer Chuck Kelly. “They made the stop, and we kept the momentum.”

The Dragons also were playing without the services of talented linebacker Connor Patterson, who is hurt. Dragon players said his absence was felt, but adjustments were made during practice this week.

“We worked through it,” linebacker Sam Matin said. “We had confidence in the people we had out there. If we didn’t have confidence in them, they wouldn’t be there.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is as succinct and cogent an expression of the “next man up” mindset as you can find.

Byron Nelson’s sophomore signal-caller provided Bobcat fans with the only bright spot of the night. He was almost totally responsible for the Bobcats’ only legitimate TD, his 3^rd quarter 16-yard sprint. He threw 13 of 23 for 100 yards, and ran 12 times for another 78.

The Bobcats added a final score in the closing seconds of the game, long after Carroll had cleared the benches and given its attack squad stalwarts a few moments under Friday Night Lights.

For Dodge, this has to be an immensely satisfying beginning to his head-coaching career. At 6-0, he’s already had the best start of any head coach in Southlake history. He turned 30 yesterday, a milestone that had particular significance for the guy who many believed was simply too young and too inexperienced to lead a premier program like Carroll.

“Well, I’ve turned 30,” he told radio announcer Chuck Kelly. “I guess I’m old enough to coach now.”

Kelly then asked him about his decision, with the game well in hand, to give back-up players a chance to perform before their fans, friends and family. His answer speaks volumes to me and offers compelling evidence that Carroll trustees made the right decision in choosing the young Dodge to lead the Dragons.

“That was the best part of the night,” Dodge said. “These guys play hard all week on the attack squad helping us prepare for the game. They earned their time on the field tonight. “I hope we can do this again.”

Hal Wasson's failure to show the love for his back-up players, those who labor in practice to prepare the starters, represented a significant failure in his leadership. Wasson lavished all his attention and affection on his starters, and he and his staff never attempted to make the back-ups feel part of something bigger, never made them feel their hard work and sacrifices were appreciated or acknowledged.

Todd Dodge, Riley Dodge’s dad, understood the importance of making every one of his players believe their contributions were vital to Dragon success. Which, of course, they were and are.

That kind of thinking – along with football savvy, good instincts and an ability to connect with kids – will go a long way to keeping the Carroll Dragons at or near the top of the Texas high school football pyramid.

Next up, the Dragons host Keller Fossil Ridge in Dragon Stadium next Friday. It's Homecoming, and mum’s the word. Fossil Ridge is no simple pushover. It beat Keller Central 38-21 last night, giving it a 4-2 season record, 2-1 in District 5-6A.

 It’s a trap game, and let’s hope Sam Matin, the Dragon linebacker, was right when he said that Carroll prepares for each game like it’s facing Allen. If it does that this week, all will be well.

 Go Dragons!