District opener: Southlake Carroll 57, Trophy Club Byron Nelson 21

No-contest contest

Like almost every corner of our lives in the time of corona, Texas high school football has been impacted greatly by the safety measures enacted to lessen the deadly impact of the virus.

And as cases of COVID-19 spiral upward throughout the country, the effects of the pandemic will only get worse.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not equating the cancellation of a few high school football games with the rising death toll, the ravaged economy and the massive disruptions that have up-ended our society in so many dreadful ways. The inconveniences and disappointments created by the pandemic on high school athletics are minor by comparison.

There are those out there who don’t understand and get riled at the very ideal of complaining about such minor disruptions in routine when so much more serious tragedies harken around every corner.

I get it. But for those of us who love high school football, and recognize the importance with which it is held in high schools and communities across Texas, it’s worth noting when another one of our diversions, one more of our distractions from life’s chaotic barrage, gets battered and kicked around by COVID.

So far, the Southlake Carroll Dragons have been forced to cancel their two most anticipated regular-season games this year. First, the season opener against Austin Westlake, the so-called Dodge Bowl, was wiped out as school districts and the UIL struggled to figure out whether there was going to be a football season at all.

Then, only last week, the non-district game against hated rival Denton Guyer had to be canceled when cases of COVID were reported on the Dragon squad.

Since both the Westlake and the Guyer games were non-conference, their disappearance from the Dragon schedule won’t have any impact on District 4-6A, for which the Dragons are the prohibitive favorite to emerge as district champs.

But with COVID cases rising, and little prospects of a national, state or local response to confront them, the likelihood of Carroll and its 4-6A brethren being able to finish the district race unmolested by the coronavirus seems doubtful at best.

Carroll opened its pursuit of the 4-6A title last night, when it traveled to Trophy Club Byron Nelson to face the Bobcats. Frankly, it wasn’t much of a contest, with the Dragons spanking Nelson, 57-21. Prior commitments forced me to miss the game.

The outcome was no surprise. Five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers led the offense, passing for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns, two of which went to Landon Samson, who caught 5 passes for 136 yards. He is helping fill the gap in the receiving corps left by the injured Brady Boyd.

On the ground, sophomore phenom Owen Allen continued to look impressive, compiling 156 yards on 25 carries for 2 TDs.

The march through District 4-6A begins. 

The Dragons jumped to a 15-0 lead early in the game and threatened to ice it with a third TD before the young Allen coughed up the ball. The Bobcats capitalized on the error and scored, but they couldn’t sustain any momentum against the hard-charging and high-flying Carroll onslaught.

The Dragons return home next week to confront district opponent Keller in the friendly confines of Dragon Stadium. I’ll miss that one, too, dammit. It’s been THAT kind of year.

Stay safe and go Dragons!