District champs: Southlake Carroll 45, V.I. Eaton 0

Over before it began

JUSTIN – The numbers tell the story of how the Southlake Carroll Dragons clinched a 5-6A District title last night after obliterating the V.R. Eaton Eagles of Northwest ISD before a home crowd gathered to celebrate Senior Night.

First downs – Southlake 29, Eaton 3

Total yards – Southlake 565, Eaton 70

Punts – Southlake 0, Eaton 8 (35 avg)

And trust me, as dismal as those statistics appear for the Eagles, they fail to adequately illustrate how thorough the thrashing administered by the Dragons.

The Dragon offense was clicking on the ground and in the air.

McDaniel, who finished the night with 118 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, made more yards on the first play of the game than Eaton did all night.

Quarterback Will Bowers, who entered the game with a 68 percent completion rate, peppered passes all over the field, completing 22 of 30 for 290 yards and 2 TDs.

Eight Dragon receivers caught in double digits, testimony to Carroll’s success in the air. Carson White (4-76-1 TD) led the pack, followed by R.J. Mickens (4-74-1 rushing TD), John Manero (4-48, 1TD), Glenn Mitchell (5-44), Eli Furgal (2-37, 2 rushing TDs), Eric Windham (3-29), Karsen Loveless (1-27) and Greydon Williams (2-23).

Bowers and his receivers need to work on the long ball as the Dragons ready for the playoffs two weeks from now, but the Dragon signal-caller looked sharp, focused and in charge last night.

And what can you say about the Carroll defense? It was simply magnificent, firing on all cylinders and making it impossible for Eaton quarterback Amari Blount to mount any kind of challenge to Dragon dominance.

 Although Eaton entered the game with a mediocre 5-3, 2-3 record, it had been a factor in all the games it played this year, at least in the first half. But it sputtered from the opening TD dash by McDaniel and remained virtually inert from start to finish.

Its two-back rushing attack, which had received some buzz before the game, could manage only a meagre 16 yards all night. That’s no typo. Sixteen yards. The Emerald Belles could have mustered a better performance. Come to think of it, they did.

Offensive highlights for the Eagles were skimpy to say the least. The only one of any note occurred at the beginning of the 2^nd quarter when Blount, playing at full strength after an injury-plagued season, completed a 56-yard pass that carried his team deep into Dragon territory. The drive stalled at the 27, and Eaton attempted a 44-yard field goal. It was unsuccessful, an emblematic moment that reflected Eagle fortunes all night.

All the while, the Dragon offensive never sputtered. Even when the Eagle defense attempted to slow the momentum, Bowers and company overwhelmed it. On four separate occasions, it successfully converted third downs for 10 yards or more, at least two for scores.

On its second possession of the game, Carroll demonstrated the McDaniel strike was no fluke. Bowers crafted a 15-play, 84-yard drive on the ground and through the air. He capped it when he faked a handoff to McDaniel, drifted to the right, then twisted and threw a cross-body pass to White in the left flat.

The Dragons punctuated the 1^st quarter came with an 11-play, 64-play scoring drive. It culminated with a 19-yard Bowers pass to Manero as he crossed in front of the end zone.

With a 3-touchdown lead, and three quarters to play, the evening turned into an offensive showcase of plays the Dragons had been practicing all year in preparation for the playoffs.

Backups played most of the 2^nd half, including quarterback Blake Smith, who completed 4 of 7 for 63 yards and rushed for 41 on 5 carries. He even caught a 2-yard pass.

Smith gets more playing time because the 6-5, 210-pound senior frequently lines up as a tight end.

He was asked after the game how he feels about playing a position other than quarterback.

“That’s what it means to be a Dragon,” Smith said. “You play where the coaches think you are most needed. When Coach Dodge asked me how I felt about playing tight end, I said, ‘Yes, sir, absolutely.’ So they designed some plays for me at that position, and we went from there.”

 Another standout was Furgal, McDaniel’s backup. He rolled up a 100-yard-plus game last week when McDaniel was pulled early after a 2-TD rampage.

Last night, Furgal only managed 18 yards on 9 carries, but he made them count, reaching the end zone twice. As noted above, he also caught a couple of passes for 37 yards.

Riley Dodge noted before the game that his team was plenty motivated for the Eaton matchup. After all, one of its chief goals of the season was to win the district championship, and beating Eaton accomplished that.

Eaton, too, had a stake – its playoff hopes would have been boosted by a win but aren’t completely dashed by its dispiriting loss.

“Our guys just wanted it more,” he said in a interview with Chuck Kelly. “They went out and played hard tonight. Things are coming together.”

Later in that interview, Dodge said something you don’t often hear from a football coach. Perhaps it’s because he’s a rookie head coach, still enjoying the luxury of an unbeaten season. Or perhaps it’s because this batch of Dragons, despite modest expectations before the season, truly are something special.

Asked the traditional question that coaches get as the brink of the playoffs – what does your team need to do to get ready – Dodge chose to answer this way.

“We played a complete game tonight,” he said. “I’m so proud of the way our guys approached this game and played hard for the entire night.

“We’re peaking at the right time. The team is performing at a high level. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing.”

I like the sound of that. But the way of the playoffs is a rocky one, particularly on the D-1 side of the bracket, which is where Carroll almost certainly will land. Before we focus on playoff prospects, and attempt to unravel the byzantine mysteries of how the UIL runs the post season, Senior Night for the Dragons beckons.

Their final regular season opponents are the Keller Timber Creek Falcons, which fell last night to Keller Central. At 2-7, the Falcons should be easy pickings for the fire-breathers from Southlake. Here’s hoping that Carroll backups will have another lengthy opportunity to play under Friday Night lights.

Go Dragons!