District opener: Southlake Carroll 56, Keller 14

We need not have worried

At first, I thought the heartburn I felt during the early going of last night’s matchup between the Southlake Carroll Dragons and the Keller Indians might be caused by the Feedstore barbecue sandwich I wolfed down prior to kickoff.

A silly thought since Feedstore fare has never prompted anything more from me than a contented burp. So that must mean the burning sensation in my chest was caused by the stumble-bum performance the Dragons displayed during most of the first half of their district opener against Keller.

No one expected the Indians to give the high-flying Dragons much trouble. But Keller, which hasn’t beaten Southlake in two decades, proved surprisingly stubborn. And when it tied the game 14-14 with less than 5 minutes to play in the first half, an uneasy quiet had settled over the green seats in Dragon Stadium.

Never looked back

We need not have worried, however. The Indians’ second touchdown, a 7-yard dash by Keller quarterback Hayden Anderson, shocked the Dragons from their lethargy, and they quickly scored twice – a 40-yard Quinn Ewers pass to Wills Meyer and a 11-yard toss to John Manero, his second of the night.

Carrying a 28-14 lead into halftime, the Dragons never looked back, crushing the overwhelmed Indians with a dazzling ground and passing game and a smothering defense that kept standout Keller runner Enoch Ntchobo in check.

The first play of the second half set the tone for the rest of the contest. Carroll defender Dylan Thomas intercepted an Anderson pass, setting the Dragons up at the Keller 12.

Three plays later, running back Cade Wood crashed into the end zone from the 2. At that point, the Dragons had scored 3 TDs in less than 4 minutes of game time. By the end, they would score 42 unanswered points against the reeling Indians.

The worthy Wood, stepping in for the injured Kannon Kadi and Jack Abram, played well, rushing for 62 yards on 14 plays and 2 touchdowns.

But he wasn’t the Dragons’ scoring leader. That honor goes to freshman running back Owen Allen, who ran for 90 yards on 14 carries and 1 TD.

That’s right, Allen is a freshman, undoubtedly called up from the freshman squad because of the rash of injuries at RB. What’s this kid gonna be like when he grows up?

Hard charging

Despite his youth, he’s a fearless, hard-charging beast. His 40-yard TD sprint in the 4^th period closed out Dragon scoring for the night and was a delightful reward for those of us who stuck around for an otherwise desultory 4^th quarter.

Carroll missteps contributed significantly to the early Keller success. The sophomore Ewers fumbled on Southlake’s first two possessions, the last of which led to Keller’s first touchdown. That gave the Indians the lead and represented the first time this season that the Dragons have trailed an opponent.

But Ewers shook off the mistakes and eventually redeemed himself – and more. He completed 25 of 39 passes, a 64 percent completion rate, for 251 yards and 5 – count ’em, 5 – TDs. At one point, he completed 15 straight passes.

Carroll’s talented receiving corps controlled the field. Manero, a senior who is considered the leader of Carroll’s receivers, made 8 catches for 71 yards and 3 TDs, his best outing ever. Wills Meyer (5-88) also scored, as did Blake Smith (2-19). Brady Boyd (4-35) and Casey Loveless (3-21) registered in double digits, too.

Ntchobo, a leading rusher in District 5-6A, was supposed to be the biggest worry for the Dragons. But the Carroll defense shut him down all night, limiting him to only 22 yards on 12 carries.

The bigger problem

As it turns out, Anderson was the bigger problem. A big and bruising runner, he’s hard to bring down and rushed for 70 yards on 11 carries. He accounted for both Keller scores, on the ground and in the air.

When Ewers coughed up the ball for the second time after being blindsided as he looked for a receiver, the Indians set up shop at the Dragon 5. Facing 4^th down at the 1, Anderson zipped a pass to receiver Nick Rocha in the end zone.

Keller’s second and final score came in the second after Carroll had regained the lead 14-7. Anderson and the Indians, hampered by penalties, struggled into the Dragon red zone. At one point, a thrilling 64-yard Anderson TD pass was called back because of an illegal receiver downfield. Eventually, Anderson pushed into the end zone from the 7, sparking a roar of approval from the Keller side of Dragon Stadium.

It would be the last thing Indian fans had to cheer about as Ewers and company took control and engineered the most impressive offensive demonstration of the season.

Dragon head coach Riley Dodge acknowledged after the game that it had been an unusual night for Carroll.

“It was a weird game,” he told Dragon Radio. “We were out of rhythm. There were a lot of penalties. A strange night. But I’m proud of the way we came out of halftime.”

‘A good night’

He praised the work of his stand-in running backs, Wood and Allen.

“Both our young guys had a good night,” he said. “We’ll look at film and see if it was what it looked like.”

The biggest test of the season comes next week in Denton when the Dragons face the Guyer Wildcats on their home field at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

Carroll narrowly defeated Guyer last year in a game that relied on some last-second heroics to prevent the Wildcats from becoming the first team to defeat the Dragons at home twice.

If anything, Guyer is stronger this year than last. MaxPreps rates Guyer No. 7 and Southlake No. 8 in the state. Everyone expects next week’s game to decide who will be the eventual District 5-6A champion.

Manero told Dragon Radio that the Dragons know they face a dog fight against the Wildcats.

“This week will be one of the highest preparation weeks that we’ve had,” he said. “But if we go and do our job, the outcome will be what we want it to be.”

Dodge said the Dragons know the stakes involved and the challenge represented by Guyer, singling out the Wildcat offense led by quarterback Eli Stowers, a Texas A&M commit who’s thrown for 942 yards this season and 11 TDs, and running back Kaedric Cobbs, 698 yards and 10 TDs.

“They’re the real deal,” he said.

Final note

A final note about last night that demonstrates once more why I love high school football.

As the lackluster 4^th quarter meandered to an end, a touching moment occurred that probably went unnoticed by most of the scattered Southlake crowd that still lingered in Dragon Stadium.

On one of the last plays of the game, a senior Dragon player was given a brief moment under Friday Night Lights.

Senior wide receiver Jack Crafton has Down syndrome and was sent in for a single play.

When asked about it, Dodge spoke emotionally about his player.

“We all love Jack,” he said. “He comes in every day and gives me a hug. He works hard. He’s here every day. He’s here every game. He’s a member of the team. It’s as simple as that. I’m so excited that he could be on the field tonight.”

No mo’ Mojo: Southlake Carroll 48, Odessa Permian 7

It could have been worse

If the Southlake Carroll Dragons were awed at the prospects of facing the once Mighty Mojo under the original Friday Night Lights of Odessa’s famed Ratliff Stadium, they hid it pretty damned well yesterday.

After enduring a six-hour trek across the barren, arid wastelands of West Texas and then, irony of ironies, sitting through an hour-long lightning delay – all on Friday the 13^th, mind you – the Dragons humbled the now 0-3 Panthers, totally, efficiently, but not without mercy.

Because the thing is, it could have been worse. Without some liberal substitutions beginning in the middle of the 3^rd quarter, the Panthers likely would have been held scoreless – and Lord knows when the last time THAT happened at venerable Ratliff – and the Dragons might have hung 70 or more on the hapless West Texans.

Total domination

As it was, Carroll created considerable havoc before easing its foot off Permian’s neck. As most predicted, the Dragons demonstrated total domination on both sides of the ball. They denied Permian any first downs in the first half, crushing the Panthers’ once tried-and-true power-run offense and unleashing the Dragons’ rapidly developing sophomore quarterback to lay ruin to Permian’s proud football legacy, perhaps forever.

Head Coach Riley Dodge, the 30-year-old wunderkind who has rejuvenated the Carroll program and reintroduced swagger to the Dragon stride, pronounced himself pleased with last night’s outcome.

“I thought we played a four-quarter game,” he told the Odessa American. “We traveled well, and I thought our guys treated it like it was a business trip. They were pretty mature about it. We loved the energy, and we did a good job.”

Speaking of good jobs, Quinn Ewers was superb. And I don’t use that word lightly. But how else do you describe a performance in which the young quarterback completed 30 of 34 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns? And if that weren’t impressive enough, he rushed 6 times for another 51 yards and two more scores.

I may have to ration the adjectives I use to describe this lad, lest I run out of them before his career at Carroll is over. Did I mention that he’s a sophomore?

Another delay

In the beginning, it looked like last night was going to be a repeat of last year’s matchup, which Carroll won 24-20, in more ways than one. Just like last year, last night’s contest was delayed by nearby lightning strikes. And after the hour-long delay, neither team demonstrated much firepower in the first period. Only kicker Joe McFadden managed to get on the scoreboard, booting a 32-yard field goal after a Dragon drive stalled deep in Panther territory.

But the Dragons came alive in the 2^nd quarter, smothering any attempt Permian quarterback Harper Terry made to get Mojo moving while gliding easily up and down the field on a 28-point scoring spree.

That offensive onslaught included a 23-yard TD run by Ewers, a 45-yard TD catch by sophomore Landon Samson (the first of his varsity career), an electrifying 56-yard TD catch-and-run by speedster Brady Boyd and an 18-yard TD catch by Wills Meyer.

With a 31-0 lead at the bell, Carroll spent most of the 2^nd half clearing its benches.

 For much of the game, Ewers operated out of an empty backfield as Southlake sent five receivers to the line. The befuddled Panthers had no answer to the Dragons’ offensive scheme, and Ewers peppered passes to a total of seven separate receivers.

After the game, Ewers told Dragon Radio that he prepared for the Mojo match up by watching a lot of game film.

“You know, being the film room with Coach Dodge and all the guys, it just makes you feel better,” he said, heaping praise on his talented receiving corps and marveling at their commitment to getting better each week.

Feeling better

As for himself, he said he was settling in just fine as the Dragon signal caller.

“It’s feeling better every day,” he said.

Oh, brother, and it’s looking better every day, too. With this kind of trajectory, the sky’s the limit for young Ewers.

For the sturdy Carroll fans who traveled west with the team – full disclosure, I wasn’t among them – the young Ewers strived to make the trip worth it, showering his cadre of experienced receivers with well-timed, well-thrown passes.

John Manero was the leading receiver, with 9 catches for 133 yards and 1 TD. He was followed by Meyer (9-71, 1 TD), Boyd (3-75, 1 TD) and Blake Smith (3-25).

Samson’s TD catch in the second quarter ended a 5-play, 93-yard drive that included a 29-yard run by Jack Abram, who took over rushing duties from the injured Kannon Kadi. Abram, too, was sidelined in the 2^nd half with a shoulder injury, but not before he had rushed 13 times for 110 yards.

Luckily, the Dragons have a bye this week so they’ll have some time to heal before they begin District 5-6A play against the Keller Indians on Sept. 27.

Whatever it takes

Carroll’s beefy offensive line bullied Panther defenders in the trenches, giving Ewers plenty of time to operate. He heaped praise on the Big Guys in a post-game interview.

 “I love these guys,” he told a radio interviewer. “I know they’re going to do whatever it takes to protect me.”

On the other side of the ball, the Dragon defense swatted down the overmatched Panthers, whose first five offensive drives ended in punts. Odessa could manage only 31 yards of total offense in the first half, and only 149 for the entire game, despite playing against substitutes for much of the 2^nd half.

There was a lot of silly hype before the game about the matchup of two of the state’s legendary programs, which together have won14 state championships. But Permian’s best days are a distant memory to the kids who clashed in Ratliff Stadium last night.

Asked before the game whether they were intimidated by the thought of playing the Mojo in Ratliff, made famous by Buzz Bissinger’s best-selling book, Friday Night Lights, the Dragon players dutifully talked about how awesome it all was. But clearly, they had only a faint glimmer about why they should be so impressed with the place.

Still, last night’s contest was not just any other game. It came only two weeks after a gunman killed seven people and injured at least 19 in and around Odessa, shocking that gritty, hardworking oilfield town to its core.

In recognition of the tragedy, Carroll defied Dragon tradition and suited its players in black pants to show solidarity with the Panthers and their city. Black pants are reserved for playoff games only, a rigid dictum that only rarely has never been broken.

Tangible support

Southlake offered even more tangible support at halftime when the Dragon cheerleading squad, which on its own initiative launched a fundraising effort for the families touched by the mass shooting on Aug. 31, presented a check for $21,000 to the Odessa Community Foundation.

The money, which was raised by the sale of “We Are One with Odessa” T-shirts, will help victims’ families pay for funeral and medical expenses.

The Dragons were dealing with a tragedy of their own, deeply personal and close to home. The mother of Dragon backup receiver Gresham Rodie died yesterday, and the entire team was in mourning with their teammate.

Dodge spoke openly to Dragon Radio about the Rodie family’s loss, and the impact on his squad.

“It’s been a rough day,” he admitted. “We’re a family. The guys really love Gresham. He’s an amazing kid. He comes in every day and works hard. He does everything he can to help us get ready.

“When we get home, we’re going to be there for that family.”

Sincere condolences to the Rodie family. May the memories of your loved one give you solace.

Go Dragons!

An old foe falls again: Southlake Carroll 50, Colleyville Heritage 9

Keeping it interesting

GRAPEVINE – The Southlake Carroll Dragons made short work of the Colleyville Heritage Panthers last night. Ho-hum. No news there.

At least the Dragons kept it interesting, for the first half anyway, by staging a trio of disappointing, but not particularly alarming, mistakes that spoiled scoring opportunities but avoided a stadium-emptying exit at half-time.

But why dwell on that, I say, before stating the obvious – Colleyville was overmatched, outplayed and generally outclassed from the opening kickoff.

Southlake’s sophomore quarterback, Quinn Ewers, and his talented receiving corps provided an entertaining offensive demonstration. And the Dragon defense smothered the Panthers, limiting them to only three first downs and 163 total yards, 90 of which came on an electrifying catch and run by receiver Isaac Shabay midway through the second quarter.

Better and better

Ewers looks better with each offensive drive. He threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, completing 23 of 39 passes with a single INT. His completion percentage would have been more impressive but for several dropped passes by his normally soft-handed receivers. Perhaps it was the heat.

Because it was hot, brothers and sisters. Hot. So hot in fact that the game was delayed for 30 minutes in hopes the heat would abate a bit for the participants on the field. That decision was prompted when one of Carroll’s players collapsed after pregame warmups and was taken away in an ambulance. Dragon radio reported later the unnamed player was doing OK.

It was pretty unpleasant in the west-facing visitor stands, too. Radio reported that a Dragon fan also had collapsed in the heat before kickoff. I don’t doubt it. Waiting for the game to start, with the sinking sun shining directly in my face and sweat pooling on the metal bench beneath me, I had a pretty good idea what it feels like to be a slice of bacon sizzling in a frying pan.

But back to the game. If you live in Northeast Tarrant County, you know there’s no love lost between Southlake and Colleyville, two upscale communities who have more in common than either would like to admit. In the past, the Dragons and Panthers have been in the same district and regularly clashed on the gridiron and in the other sports.

Much darker

Unlike the mutual feelings of respect and even affection that define Southlake Carroll’s relationship with its other Northeast Tarrant rival, the Euless Trinity Trojans, the Southlake-Colleyville dynamic is much darker.

Panther football fans have a chip on their shoulders about the Dragons, and the reason seems petty and unnecessary to me. Colleyville has never beaten Southlake in football. Never ever. It’s a failure that rankles, and it has created a brooding resentment that reveals itself in a number of ways.

Like the nasty note some Colleyville fan left on my windshield last night because they were annoyed at the way I parked in their portion of the parking lot. Granted, Dragon fans can be pretty arrogant when Carroll is flying high – and I’d acknowledge the possibility we were relatively insufferable in the early aughts when state championship trophies were raining on Southlake – but Colleyville’s attitude still seems, well, un-neighborly.

The Dragons struck first last night, staging a grinding 14-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 1-yard TD plunge by running back Kannon Kapri. It took up almost half the quarter and was followed by a successful 2-point conversion by Graham Faloona, who took the snap from center and darted easily into the end zone. It was the first of three such conversions by the Dragons.

The Dragon defense stopped the Panthers cold on their first drive, and when the ball was snapped over the punter’s head, he kicked out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

Kapi tacked on another TD on the next drive, followed by a Faloona 2-point plunge, and the Dragons led 18-0 with almost 4 minutes left in the first period.

Dragon misfire

On the next drive, Ewers led the Dragons to the Panther red zone when he misfired, missing his target, receiver supreme Wills Meyer, and getting picked off by a Colleyville defender.

The Panthers could not capitalize on the mistake, however, and turned the ball over on downs. Four plays later, from the Colleyville 40, Ewers zipped a pass to receiver John Manero, who struggled across the 20 and fought for more yards before a swarm of defenders jolted the ball from his hands and recovered it on their own 10.

Two plays later, Panther quarterback A.J. Smith found Shabay, who sped 90 yards down the left sideline to the end zone, fruitlessly pursued by a gaggle of Dragon defenders.

Thus, two promising Dragon drives were short circuited by uncharacteristic miscues. And another flub was looming.

The next Dragon possession started promisingly. From the 20, Ewers carried for 12 yards. But a personal foul by Carroll killed the drive, and the Dragons lined up to punt.

That’s when the ball was snapped over the head of kicker Joe McFadden, who recovered it in the end zone for the second safety of the night. That brought the score to 18-9 with half a quarter to go before the break.

Just when momentum seemed to be seeping toward the Panthers, the Dragons reasserted themselves with a 10-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard Ewers pass to Meyer. At one point in the drive, disaster was averted when Manero fumbled the ball he had just caught before quickly falling on top of it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a few extra ball-protection drills are in store for Carroll this week.

As time expired, a 32-yard field goal attempt by McFadden was blocked, another disappointment for the worthy kicker, who missed two field goals in the season opener, then was left on the sidelines for Carroll’s flurry of 2-point conversions.

The two things probably aren’t related. When asked about his PAT strategy last night, head coach Riley Dodge just shrugged his shoulders and said it was something he wanted to try. OK.

The second half was all Dragons and was highlighted by the extraordinary work of running back Jack Abram. Brought in to relieve Kadi, Abram demonstrated a hard-running style that shredded the tiring Panther line.

Redemption

McFadden soon redeemed his earlier failure, opening second-half scoring by booting a 25-yard field goal. Ewers added to the growing Carroll lead by connecting to receiver Brady Boyd with a beautiful 48-yard pass, then zipped around the right end for the 2-point PAT.

Abrams ended scoring with a pair of rushing TDs, a 26-yard dash at the end of the 3^rd and a 3-yard burst in the final period.

After the game, he still was flushed with the exhilaration of his first outing with the first-team offense.

“I didn’t think I was going to get much playing time tonight,” he admitted in a radio interview. “I figured I’d go in at the end. Then coach told me to be ready and to stand next to him and he’d tell me when to go in…I was so scared. I just prayed.”

In a word, the Dragon defense was superb. Smith, the Panther quarterback, was never able to establish a rhythm, and his offensive brethren struggled all night to combat Carroll’s swarming defensive schemes. Dragon Radio heaped particular praise on the special-team play of Mason Grawe, who made 5 tackles on kickoffs in the first half.

A man of few words, Grawe summed up his efforts this way in a post-game interview: “I just grab ‘em by the throat.”

Presumably, he’s speaking metaphorically. But good on him.

For his part, Dodge expressed satisfaction with his crew, acknowledging the missteps without obsessing about them.

“They got off to a fast start on both sides of the ball,” he told Dragon Radio. “They were doing well, and then we just sort of hit a wall. But they did a good job of shaking it off and resetting at half time. It was a good night for us.”

A good kid

He praised his young quarterback.

“I love him,” Dodge said of Ewers. “He’s a really good kid, and he does a great job. He’s got a lot of good people around him. I’ll have to see the film, but I think he had another good night.”

Next week, the Dragons go west, taking a beeline down Interstate 20 to face Odessa Permian in Ratliff Stadium. Mighty Mojo is off to a slow start this season, falling to DeSoto 35-14 last week and, shockingly, losing 49-28 against El Paso Franklin on Thursday.

The Panthers usually handle Franklin quite easily, so their drubbing raises eyebrows in these parts. But the Panthers always play tough in their house so counting chickens before they hatch often means no Sunday dinner.

After their western adventure, the Dragons will have an open week before beginning district play against the Keller Indians on Sept. 27, followed by the dreaded Denton Guyer Wildcats on Oct. 4.

Stay cool, folks, and I’ll see you at the game.

Go Dragons!