Wake-up call
DENTON – First impressions can be misleading. And that was
never truer than the one formed in the opening seconds of yesterday’s quarter-finals
playoff match between Southlake Carroll and Allen.
On the first play of the game, Allen quarterback Mike
Hawkins took the ball from center and plunged through the line on a 75-yard
footrace to the end zone while Dragon defenders gaped in astonishment.
Many fans hadn’t even settled into their seats yet. A guy to
my right almost spilled his soft drink on both of us as the Allen side of UNT’s
Apogee Stadium exploded in joy at Hawkins’ exploit. A mere 13 ticks off the
clock and the Carroll Dragons were trailing for the first time in the playoffs.
That harbinger of doom was followed by a quick 3-and-out by
the Dragon offense and a punt that set up the Eagles with great field position at
their 48.
An uneasy flutter ruffled through the Carroll side of Apogee,
and I couldn’t tell whether the sweat beading up on my forehead was caused by
the afternoon sun playing hide-and-seek in the clouds or a rising sense of
concern, if not yet panic.
Righting the ship
But at that point, Carroll’s defense, which has been winning
games and asserting its will on opponents all season, shrugged off its shock
and awe and put the brakes on the Eagle express threatening to gather steam and
run amok.
The Dragon offense, led by junior quarterback Kaden Anderson
and powered by rusher supreme Owen Allen, then proceeded to score 34 unanswered
points before the end of the first half.
Allen explained the reaction on the Dragon sideline to the
way the game began.
“We weren’t shocked, we stayed level headed and calm and
responded,” Allen told the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Brian Gosset. “And our
defense shaped up after that first play and kept them to little or no yards.”
Well, not exactly. But the defense did stage a classic
bend-but-don’t-break game plan that allowed Allen to amass 505 total yards of
offense (compared to Carroll’s 444) – but only two scores against Dragon
starters, both the results of big plays. The Carroll D also blocked a punt and forced
two turnovers that translated into points that shifted the momentum of the
game.
Its workmanlike performance yesterday prompted radio color
analyst Justin Padron to repeat his season-long assertion that this is the best
defensive unit ever fielded by Southlake.
“It’s like they come to work with their lunchpails and just
get the job done,” he said.
Race to the end zone
After Carroll tied things up with its first TD – an 18-yard
Anderson pass to receiver Landon Samson (5 for 54) – the Eagles set up shop on their
25. On the second play of that drive, Dragon corner Avyonne Jones snatched a
tipped Hawkins pass and raced 74 yards to the end zone, handing the Dragons a
14-7 lead they would only expand.
Carroll’s fourth TD also came as the result of a
defense-influenced Allen miscue. A Hawkins pass was caught, then fumbled near
midfield. Dragon defensive back Logan Anderson fell on it, setting up a methodical, time-eating
march downfield.
As a historical sidenote, for the first time all season, kicker
Tyler White failed to make the extra-point kick on that score and the following one.
Radio commentators speculated it was because his regular holder – stalwart
defensive back Josh Spaeth – was nursing a sore hand on the sideline.
Owen Allen, who finished the night with 144 yards on 30
carries, scored a trio of 2-yard TD dives in the ensuing Dragon onslaught. He
left the game late in the fourth to the cheers of the Dragon faithful.
Anderson had a great night, completing 12 of 23 passes for
156 yards and one passing TD. He ran for another, ending a 64-yard drive that
began after Allen failed to convert on 4-4, with an 8-yard skip (literally)
across the goal line.
His rival, Hawkins, the third sophomore quarterback the
Dragons have faced in as many weeks, racked up impressive numbers. He gained
315 yards in the air, completing 20 of 33 attempts. An effective and elusive
runner, he rushed for another 142 yards and the Eagles’ last trash-time TD.
Both of Allen’s first-half scores came as a result of big
plays by Hawkins. By far the most spectacular was his TD dash to open
proceedings. Later, in the closing seconds of the half, he sent a 54-yard
spiral downfield that brought the Eagles to the edge of the Dragon red zone.
Several plays later, Hawkins connected with receiver Jacob Brasher for Allen’s
2nd score.
Numbers that count
But while he looked good on paper, Hawkins failed to
translate those numbers into the ones that count – scores to challenge and
subdue the rampaging Dragons. His leading receiver, Jordyn Tyson had 6
receptions for 158 yards, but no TDs.
“That’s a proud program, a historic program, and you play
anyone late in the season, in this division, they’re going to bring their
game,” Allen told the S-T’s Gosset. “They’re a talented program, but like I
said, we stayed level headed and kept pushing and pushing.”
Indeed, they did. Carroll coaches kept their starters in the
trenches until almost the very end, a recognition of the explosive nature of
the Allen offense that the Dragons managed to keep in check for most of the
afternoon.
The Dragons’ seventh – and final score – came after the
defense stopped Allen from yet another fourth-down conversion. Behind the
running of Allen – aided by sophomore James Lehman -- Anderson put together a, 85-yard drive that ate almost 7 minutes off the clock. Lehman ended the series
with a 6-yard scamper to the end zone.
Only then did backups flood the field, which allowed Hawkins
to move his team quickly into Carroll’s red zone and dart 4 yards for Allen’s
final score. Instead of saving face, it only highlighted the Eagles’
helplessness again the sturdy Dragon best.
Now, it’s on to the semifinal round of the UIL 6A Division I
playoffs to face the mighty Duncanville Panthers.
The Panthers dispatched a solid DeSoto squad last night, 38-20, behind the powerful running of RB Malachi Medlock, who rushed for 252
yards and 3 TDs.
That sets up a replay of last year’s semifinal match between
the Dragons and Panthers. The Dragons won that one, 34-27, to earn the right for Dragon coach Riley Dodge to face his father, the legendary Todd Dodge, coach of the Austin Westlake Chaparrals, in the famous
Dodge Bowl at Cowboys Stadium.
Medlock says his team, which hungers for its first state
title since 1998, wants revenge for last year’s defeat. Good luck with that.
Duncanville will be a tough nut to crack, but crackable it
is. Carroll’s defense is significantly stronger than last year, a fact Medlock
will discover come next Saturday.
A worthy successor
As for the offense, it may lack some of the luster that it
did with the inestimable Quinn Ewers at the helm. But junior Kaden Anderson,
who stepped in when Ewers skipped his senior year to pursue fame and riches at
Ohio State, has worked hard to prove he’s a worthy successor.
Ewers now says he’s leaving Ohio State and is looking for a
spot with several Texas schools. I’m not certain what all that means. But it
raises certain disquieting questions, doesn’t it?
The important thing for Dragon fans is that thanks to
Anderson, his teammates and his coaches, Ewers didn’t leave the Carroll program
a smoking ruin by his abrupt departure.
Instead, Carroll’s TD-producing machine is playing in the semifinals
for the second year in a row. Radio commentators said yesterday that the
Dragons have never lost a semifinal playoff game in the entire history of their
storied program. Is that a comfort – or a dare to the disinterested gods of
chance to take notice and adjust the scales?
Of course, Riley Dodge and his young charges don’t
ponder such cosmic mysteries. For the moment at least, they choose to bask in
the glow of well-earned victory and don't worry – yet – about who comes next.
“It will be amazing whoever it is, and we’re fully aware
of that,” Dodge told the S-T before his next opponent had been decided. “We’re
not really going to think about it too much this evening. We’ll enjoy it, and
we’ll get back to work.”
Go Dragons!
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