Undefeated season: Southlake Carroll 49, Keller Timber Creek 8

Warming things up

KELLER – I-I-I-It was a miserable 41 degrees at kickoff last night, with a stiff 20-mph wind whipping out of the north to make life wretched for the hardy few of us who showed up to see Southlake Carroll and Keller Timber Creek wrap up their regular seasons.

But once the game started and Carroll exerted its will upon the beleaguered Falcons, things warmed up a bit – at least on the Carroll side of the house.

Both coaches downplayed the weather as a factor. Indeed, with the exception of a couple of miscues that might be blamed on the cold, the Dragons quickly asserted themselves, leaving the Falcons to twist helplessly in the not-unsubstantial breeze.

The Dragons finish the 2019 season with a perfect 10-0 record, the second consecutive year they have done so. That hasn’t happened since 2005-2006, during Carroll’s heralded – and hallowed – Run of state titles.

Is it a coincidence that head coach Riley Dodge played on both those championship teams, carrying the Dragons in 2006 to their fourth state trophy in five years?

Perhaps. But what can’t be questioned is that the 31-year-old Dodge enjoys the best start of any head coach in Southlake Carroll history, crafting back-to-back undefeated seasons in his first two years as a head coach.

As usual, Dodge was low key about his stunning accomplishment, keeping the focus on his players and praising their hard work and dedication.

“It’s a great way to end the regular season,” he said simply in a Dragon Radio post-game interview. “They worked hard for this, and they can enjoy being district champions.”

The playoffs!

The focus for the Dragons turns immediately to the playoffs. By virtue of their first-seed finish in District 5-6A, they will host the second-seed Lewisville Fighting Farmers of District 6-6A in the bi-district round at 7 p.m. Friday.

Carroll players clearly had their eyes on a bigger prize than their unsullied regular-season record.

“We had three goals at the beginning of the season,” said Cade Wood, who staged a stunning 67-yard TD run in the 4^th quarter to finish scoring for the Dragons. “To win district, play after Thanksgiving and win state. We accomplished the first of those goals tonight. It’s feels great to achieve something that you’ve worked all season for.”

The Dragon defense shined brightly last night, crushing any attempt by Timber Creek to get something started. It held the Falcons to minus-10 total yards during a first half that saw Carroll roar to a 35-0 lead.

Timber Creek could manage only a paltry 17 rushing yards the entire night and fared only a little better in the air. Quarterback Jason Akers completed 12 of 26 passes for 110 yards, most on Creek’s only scoring drive that ended in a 37-yard pass from Akers to Jefferson Hutchinson midway through the 4th.

Timber Creek failed to make a first down until the third quarter, and only after the Dragons started wholesale substitutions on both sides of the ball.

Run for his life

Akers ran for his life all night, his timing disrupted and unable to establish any semblance of rhythm. He threw three interceptions, and backup Colt Gayor threw one.

Dragon corner Dylan Thomas seemed to be everywhere, snagging two Akers throws and taking both to the house, the second on an electrifying 67-scamper that rewarded Dragon fans who remained after a sizeable half-time exodus.

Dodge showcased the play of his defense in evaluating the Dragons’ lopsided victory.

“The defense played lights out,” he said. “We got, what, four interceptions? And we ran two of them back for touchdowns? That’s great execution.”

The Dragons’ balanced offense was on full display last night. On the initial Dragon drive, the Falcons managed to bottle up Owen Allen, Carroll’s freshman phenom running back, so quarterback Quinn Ewers switched to the air, eventually connecting with Wills Meyer on a 19-yard TD pass. He tossed a second TD pass for 16 yards to John Manero in the 2^nd period.

But Carroll never gave up on the run, and Allen, a tough, dogged runner, finally got on track, finishing the night with 25 carries for 125 yards and 2 scores. On the Dragons' first scoring drive in the second quarter, he carried the ball 10 straight times to move Carroll almost the length of the field.

Ewers completed 6 of 12 passes for 89 yards, a bit below his usual output. He fumbled the ball on the goal line at the end of one 1^st-quarter drive, ruining a scoring opportunity set up by a Brandon Howell interception of an errant Akers pass. However, Thomas’ 30-yard pick-6 on the subsequent Falcon drive helped redeem the sophomore’s mistake.

Good news

There also was good news on the injury front. Nose guard Quinten Bunten returned to the lineup, where his disruptive presence contributed to Dragon defensive dominance all night.

And just in time for the playoffs, junior running back junior Kannon Kadi, out with a leg injury since the Odessa Permian game, was back, running 11 times for 28 yards.

Carroll now has a trio of sturdy rushers – Allen, Wood and Kadi – to bolster an offensive arsenal that features a talented and experienced receiving corps. To survive in the tough and deadly Division I playoff race, it’ll need all the firepower it can muster.

If Carroll survives its first-round matchup with Lewisville, which it should, its route through the playoffs from there could look very similar to its passage last year.

Likely second-round opponent would be DeSoto, which fell to Cedar Hill last night in a 28-27 heartbreaker that decided the District 7-6A championship. If it defeats the Eagles, Carroll could then face Euless Trinity in the third round and mighty Duncanville in the fourth.

Those were, in fact, the Dragons’ second-, third- and fourth-round opponents in 2018. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Time will tell

My meager prognostication abilities take me no further than the fourth round. Can the Dragons equal their phenomenal first season under Riley Dodge’s leadership? Can they go all the way?

I dunno. But consider this. By most accounts, this Dragon squad is more talented than last year’s team. It’s disciplined and focused, and many of these kids have been playing together since grade school. They are a family in almost every sense of the word, and they don’t want the trip to end.

The same can be said, of course, for other Dragon teams over the years, perhaps for most of them. But these kids seem different. More committed to each other. More mature. More confident. Is that what Dodge and his staff have contributed to the program? Has the Dragon mystique returned after years in hibernation or exile?

Time will tell. Meanwhile, glory be, it’s the PLAYOFFS!

Go Dragons!