Clinching district: Southlake Carroll 45, Keller Timber Creek 16

 

Coming to the end of a crazy regular season

Nothing is normal this year

This will be short and sweet. Nothing is normal in this year of COVID, and that goes for my devotion to the Southlake Carroll Dragons.

For the first time in 16 years, I neither attended nor listened to a Dragon game. With COVID basically out of control across the nation, I didn’t feel comfortable attending today’s game against the Keller Timber Creek Falcons in Keller ISD ramshackle stadium.

And I got so busy with my post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas to-do list, I just couldn’t sit down and listen to a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

COVID has played havoc with virtually every aspect of our lives, and high school sports is no exception. The regular football season for 6A schools was delayed for several weeks, and yesterday’s game was pushed to the day after Thanksgiving by COVID-related problems in Keller.

So I missed the game, which the Dragon won easily, clinching the district title in 4-6A and assuring themselves a relatively easy first-round matchup, probably against the Haltom Buffaloes.

It was another stellar performance by the Dragon offense, still led by backup quarterback Hunter Holden, who was 7 of 14 for 134 yards and 3 TDs. He connected with Landon Samson (4-92, 2 TDs) for a 60-yard TD, and with Brady Boyd (2-42, 1 TD) for a 37-yard scoring scamper. His final TD came on a reception by RJ Maryland (2-20, 1 TD).

Holden, who stepped in for the injured Quinn Ewers, also tossed a couple of interceptions, including on Carroll’s opening drive. But he’ll be forgiven, particularly in light of the 17 unanswered points the Dragons scored in the decisive 2^nd quarter that gave them control of the game.

Sophomore running back Owen Allen was outstanding, rushing 28 times for 279 yards and 2 TDs. He’s a beast and getting better every game.

Dragon fans also got a glimpse of the future today, when sophomore quarterback Kaden Anderson, who has been raising eyebrows on JV, subbed out for Holden. He didn't disappoint and delighted Dragon nation with a 20-yard toss to Samson in the end zone in the 3rd quarter.

The steadily improving Dragon defense, led by defensive back Avyonne Jones, had a solid game, too, limiting the Falcons’ main offensive weapon, running back Kaden Bess, to 84 yards on 24 carries and a single TD. If the Dragons have any hopes of making a deep plunge into the playoffs in this weird, mucked-up season -- and that's not a typo! -- their defense will have to step up in a big way. Duh.

Carroll ends its regular season next Friday in Dragon Stadium. Its Senior Night opponent is Keller Fossil Ridge, which is winless in district play. The Dragons likely will be able to empty the benches and give plenty of  senior backups time under the bright lights.

But nothing is certain in the age of COVID, and student athletes will continue to be impacted along with everyone else.

There are those who question whether high school sports should be taking place at all, given the dangers of COVID. Our priorities should be elsewhere, they argue. After all, it’s only football. Or soccer. Or volleyball, etc.

I can see their point, and I admit I sometimes feel a certain amount of ambiguity about the subject.

But so much has been taken away from these youngsters, their lives turned upside down in so many ways, I would like to see this group of Dragons be granted some degree of normalcy and stability in these crazy times.

For that reason, and not just because I love high school football, I hope Senior Night can go ahead as planned and that the six-game playoffs can proceed uninterrupted. Go Dragons!