Irresistible, immovable
JUSTIN – The Haslet Eaton crowd was primed for an upset last
night. The Eagles’ student section was crammed full early and proved loud and
boisterous, confident and bold. They were even presumptuous enough to boo the
Southlake Carroll Dragons when they first appeared on the field during warm
ups.
It’s nice they got an opportunity to yell about something.
Because once the game started, they had precious little to cheer about. Their
cherished Eagles, undefeated in District 4-6A and cruising to what they hoped
would be a district championship, were hopelessly mauled instead by the
Dragons’ thus-far irresistible offense and immovable defense.
The 47-24 score might indicate the Eagles at least put up a
fight. I’ll give them this: They never gave up. But truth be told, 14 of those
points came after Carroll – with an unassailable 47-10 lead – had begun
substituting freely.
In the event, Eaton was swept aside early. Leaping with ease
to a 21-0 lead, Carroll serenely proceeded to seize a commanding lead in the 4-6A
district race.
Spectacular return
On the opening kickoff, the shifty Eagles attempted an
onside kick, which Carroll nimbly recovered at midfield. A Kaden Anderson pass
to R.J. Maryland brought the ball to the 8. From there, junior Owen Allen –
staging a spectacular return after a one-game absence because of a sprained
ankle – carried it over in two plays.
The junior phenom ran with overwhelming power and attitude
all night, plunging relentlessly through defenders on his way to three
touchdowns. He had expressed frustration at missing Carroll’s 63-7 demolition
of Keller Central two weeks ago and finished the night with 163 yards on 22
carries.
The Dallas Morning
News reported Allen passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season last
night and for the sixth game this year ran for more than 100 yards.
“After an ankle sprain, you never know how you will play,
but it was important to me not to tip toe in this game,” Allen told the DMN’s
Rick Kretzschmar. “I was going with confidence and trusting in my O-line. I
think I rely more on my strength than my speed. When I get compliments about my
speed, it makes me feel good.”
On the following kickoff, Eaton’s drive stalled at its 44
when it failed to convert on 4th down. That puzzling decision – a bit
of hubris on the part of the over-confident Eagles? – cost them. The Dragons, behind
the powerful running of Allen, drove the ball to the 1. He then muscled past
Eagle defenders unable to stop his churning, churning legs to expand the lead
to 14-0.
Costly score
It was a costly score, however. Leading receiver Landon
Samson was injured when an Eagle fell on him awkwardly. He was taken to the
locker room after the play with what was described as an upper-body injury. Dragon head coach Riley Dodge said somberly after the
game that the seriousness of Samson's injury was unknown. That doesn't sound good.
With the playoffs only three weeks away, Samson’s loss for any length
of time will be a blow to Carroll’s high-flying offense. The most important consideration, of course, is the health of young Samson. The
South Carolina commit is a great kid and has a bright future at the next level.
On its very next possession, Eaton quarterback Tyler Fussell
(21 of 39 for 218 yards) was flushed from the pocket and scrambled for a
receiver. Dragon defender Max Reyes intercepted his hurried pass at the Eagle
25. Allen bullied to the 2, where Anderson (15 of 23 for 184 yards and 2 passing
TDs) swung around the left end, shed a Eagle tackler at the goal line and
soared over for the Dragons’ third unanswered score.
Dodge talks frequently about the importance of a fast start,
and his young charges appear to be taking it to heart. Last night was the
fourth straight game that the Dragons have scored 21 points in the first
quarter.
To their credit, the Eagles – recognizing the game was spiraling
out of control – responded with a drive that culminated in a 5-yard TD sprint
by J.D. Brown.
The next Dragon drive stalled, and kicker supreme Tyler
White (more about him later) punted to the Eagle 23. A methodical march
downfield followed, propelled by Brown on the ground and receiver Charles
Whitebear in the air. It ate up almost half of the second quarter before running
out of steam at the Dragon 9. After all that time and effort, the stubborn Dragon
D forced Eaton to settle for a 26-yard field goal that cut the Dragon lead to 11.
Carroll quickly extinguished Eaton’s flicker of hope for a rebound. It called on the redoubtable Allen to march the Dragons to the Eagle 2. Anderson then flipped a pass to sophomore Jacob Jordan, who scored his first touchdown as a varsity starter.
With Samson injured, more responsibility likely will fall on
the shoulders of the talented Jordan, who had an impressive debut against Central
and has the sure hands and cunning instincts to be a playmaker.
He got his yards
The Dragon defense played superbly, as expected, harassing
Fussell in the pocket and effectively limiting the potent Eagle offense to a
single TD against its starting line. Brown, who ran for 135 yards on 24 carries
and scored 2 TDs, enjoyed the most success. That’s not surprising. Last night was
the eighth time he’s rushed for 100 yards or more this season.
An interesting anomaly in the game statistics serves as a
testament to the effectiveness of the Carroll defense in preventing big plays.
Eaton outscored Carroll in almost every category, compiling
more total yards (368-352), more passing yards (218-184) and more first downs
(20-16).
But Eaton was unable to convert those statistics into
scores, and the Dragons scored virtually at will.
Carroll also enjoyed marvelous field position all night, thanks
to the lights-out play of its defense. Six Dragon drives started in Eagle territory
and resulted in 37 points.
Sacks of Fussell resulted in two scores. The first came in
the opening series of the 2nd half, when Fussell attempted to convert a 4-1 at
his own 20, but got stuffed for no gain. That ultimately resulted in a 30-yard field goal
by the dependable-as-the-rising-sun White, whose real heroics were still to
come.
The second Fussell sack was even more costly, occurring on a 3-10 from the Eagle 12, when Dragon defensive back Avyonne Jones, who had a standout night, slipped into the Eagle backfield and downed the QB at the 3. The ensuing punt only traveled to the 35, from where the Dragons set up a 6-yard dash by Allen that gave him his third score of the night and widened their lead to 38-10.
A big snooze?
In the next series, the Dragons forced Eaton to turn over the ball on downs – after yet another unsuccessful 4th down attempt. From the Eaton 45, Anderson dropped back and found R.J. Maryland at the goal line. Maryland, a Boston College commit, tucked the ball, pushed off one tackler, used a deft spin move to evade another, then rolled into the end zone.
In most games, the 4th quarter of a blowout is an awful bore, of interest only to parents with kids playing under the lights. Last night was a little different.
With backups at virtually every position, the Dragons had
slugged their way against Eaton’s weary starters to the Eagle 38 before the
drive petered out. Then, as we die-hard Dragon fans sat in amazement, Dodge sent out White and the field
goal team for a 55-yard attempt. That’s quite a challenge at the collegiate and
professional level, much less under Friday Night Lights.
But White, a preseason MaxPreps All-American, was undaunted
and booted a perfect ball that sailed straight through the uprights with yards to
spare. Radio commentators scrambled to determine if the amazing feat was a
Dragon record. It appears to have tied the record set by Kole Rampage in 2016 against Tulsa Union. But
then again, maybe not.
Regardless, it was a helluva kick, and White immediately was
surrounded by cheering teammates, who recognized a remarkable achievement when
they saw one.
Dismal outing
Unfortunately for everyone, 8½ minutes still remained on the
clock. The Eagles decided to make good use of it. Following White’s boomer, Eaton
quickly pushed to the Dragon 49, where Brown took it to the house for his
second score of the night. On the very next series, backup Carroll quarterback
Caden Jackson and Maddux Reid miscommunicated on a handoff, resulting in a
fumble and recovery by Eaton at the 39. Fussell then hit Whitebear, who scored
easily to close a dismal outing for the proud Eagles.
The Dragons, now in comfortable
control of District 4-6A for the second year in a row, will face Keller Timber
Creek in Dragon Stadium for Senior Night next Friday, then finish the season on
Nov. 8 against Keller Fossil Ridge in KISD Stadium. Neither should pose much of
a problem.
The playoffs are approaching, fall is definitely in the evening
air and the boys are 8-0.
Go Dragons!
The Dragons are 8-0 and the odds-on favorite to win District 4-6A.
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