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.”