The Dragons are headed for the playoffs!
No surprises here
KELLER – To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Southlake
Carroll Dragons officially were crowned the champions of District 4-6A last
night after a brutal and methodical destruction of the Keller Fossil Ridge
Panthers.
For most of this season, the Dragons were the prohibitive
favorites to repeat as champions of 4-6A, particularly after they handily
vanquished Keller High and Haslet Eaton, aspiring rivals for the title.
Last night made it official, thus handing Carroll the first
of its three objectives for this – and every – season: Win district. Play until
after Thanksgiving. Win state.
One down, two to go. And they don’t appear to be that
far-fetched a pair of objectives. The Dragon defense already is a
championship-caliber unit, and the nicely balanced offense is showing
unstoppable power both on the ground and in the air.
Any nervous doubts about the offense – raised after its
disturbing first-half play against Keller Timber Creek last week – were put
back on the shelf after its impressive 62-point scoring spree against the
reeling Panthers, whose feeble hopes of a playoff berth were snuffed out by the
onslaught.
That scoring surge was interrupted only once by Ridge, when
its beleaguered sophomore quarterback, Logan Cundiff, launched a 66-yard pass
to Daniel Cobb that landed his team on the Dragon doorstep. Three plays later,
Panther rushing star Landen Chambers pushed the ball over the goal line to tie
things up early 7-7.
The gifted Chambers was the only bright spot for the hapless
Panthers. He rushed for 179 yards – setting a single-season rushing record for
Ridge – but Carroll’s swarming defense kept him out of the end zone for the rest
of the night. A second, meaningless Ridge TD came in the closing minutes of the
game, long after Carroll had emptied its benches.
For his part, Cundiff would leave the game on a stretcher
after leading the Panthers – behind the hard-charging Chambers – to the Dragon
2. There, facing 4th down, Cundiff attempted to barge over the goal
line, but was stopped cold by Dragon linebacker Benny Porras.
Play was halted for almost 30 minutes while Cundiff was
attended to. Dragon Radio reported later that he had been taken to a local
hospital, but had feeling in “his fingers and toes.” Best wishes to the young
man and his family.
Meaningless
Unhappily, Cundiff’s sacrifice was meaningless. The Dragons,
already leading 35-7 at that point, took over. One play later, running back
Owen Allen – in pursuit of his own rushing record – plunged through the Ridge
line and scooted 55 yards into Panther territory with 43 seconds left in the
half.
From there, Dragon signal caller Kaden Anderson, 14 of 16
for 196 yards and 3 TDs, connected with receiver R.J. Maryland at the 32. On
the next play, Maryland snared an Anderson pitch, shook off a tackler at the goal
line to score. At midpoint, Southlake held an unassailable 42-7 lead.
While the Carroll offense scored at will, the defense
stymied several Panther threats. After Anderson and company jumped to a 21-7
lead, the Panthers struggled to get back into the game, but found themselves
facing a 3rd-and-long at their 36.
Cundiff dropped back,
only to find himself surrounded by a platoon of Dragon defenders.
In desperation, he unloaded
the ball, inadvertently pitching it behind him. That kept the ball in play as a
lateral, and Dragon linebacker Aaron Scherp alertly scooped it up and ran to
the end zone.
Scherp had an outstanding night. Late in the 3rd quarter, with Carroll holding a 55-7 lead and backups in charge, he nabbed an errant throw from Cundiff’s replacement, sophomore Cooper Leonard, setting up Carroll’s final score, a 15-yard scamper by backup runner Austin Page.
Dragon backups offered the Dragon faithful who stuck around
plenty of action. They scored two TDs and forced a fumble late in the affair. Backup
QB Caden Jackson, who rushed for 38 yards, scored one TD, Page the other.
Battle of running backs
In some ways, last night could be viewed as the battle of
running backs – the Panthers’ formidable Chambers versus the Dragons’
phenomenal Allen.
Allen, 12 carries for 169 yards and 2 TDs, came within a
handful of yards in seizing the Carroll record for all-time rushing yards from
former Dragon great Tre Newton. He only played the first half and could easily
have shattered the record.
Presumably, the decision was made to allow him to break the
record in Dragon Stadium next Friday, during the first round of the playoffs. I’ll
be shocked if Newton isn’t there to help him celebrate. It’s a family, y’all.
Allen ripped through Panther defenses all night.
And he was almost unstoppable. During the Dragons’ first
drive, he carried an overcoat of Panther defenders from the 17-yard line to the
6, setting up a TD dash by Anderson.
On one 20-yard run following Ridge’s responding TD, Allen broke
at least four tackles. Two plays later, he darted 31 yards for Carroll’s second
score. And after the Carroll D forced a 3-and-out by Ridge, he darted 14 yards
for its third TD.
And if that weren’t enough, Allen scored his first passing
TD of the season, a 24-yarder from Anderson that sent the Dragon lead to 35-7.
You run out of adjectives fast when you’re talking about this kid.
Standout night
Meanwhile, Maryland (9 catches for 154 yards and 2 TDs), a
Boston College commit, also had a standout night. With leading receiver Landon
Samson still out with an injury he received in the Eaton game, Maryland has developed
a solid on-field rapport with Anderson.
His second TD came on the Dragons’ opening drive of the 2nd
half when Anderson found him drifting toward the end zone and hit him in
stride. The only Panther within 20 yards of him fell down, and Maryland
virtually sauntered into the end zone.
Anderson is settling comfortably into the role thrust upon
him at the beginning of the season when Quinn Ewers, the best high school
quarterback in the nation, decided to forego his senior year at Carroll to
attend Ohio State and cash in on his celebrity.
That's notwithstanding last week’s offensive performance during the first half of
the Keller Timber Creek game. The Dragon offense sputtered and
stalled against an inferior team and raised a few worried eyebrows across
Dragon Nation.
When asked about the matter before last night’s game, head
coach Riley Dodge dismissed the problem as a collection of little things that
eventually were corrected. But his uncharacteristically curt and vague response
spoke volumes.
In fact, the Dragons came roaring back in the decisive 3rd
quarter of the Timber Creek game, scoring 29 unanswered points. Allen ended up
with 247 yards and 3 TDs, Anderson with 163 yards and 2 TDs. The 42-7 final
score was about what we all expected.
Momentary letdown
Taken together with last night’s massacre of the innocents,
I think we can chalk up last week to a momentary letdown that superior teams experience
from time to time against substantially weaker opponents.
With Samson’s expected return, Maryland’s continued
brilliant play and a confident and poised Anderson at the helm, the Dragons
appear ready for the rigors of the post-season. Oh, and let’s not forget the
defense, which to most observers already has established itself as one of the state’s
best.
As a reward for its district win and first seed in Division I, Carroll will host the first round of the playoffs in Dragon Stadium
next Friday. Its opponent will be another set of Panthers – Fort Worth’s 6-3 North
Crowley High.
North Crowley, which is 4-2 in District 3-6A, lost a 43-42 squeaker
last week to Weatherford. They face the Haltom Buffaloes tonight. As far as anyone
knows, the Dragons have never played North Crowley. It should be a lively
contest.
Go Dragons!
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