A decidedly emphatic win
SOUTHLAKE – Southlake Carroll entered the District 4-6A race
with a bang last night. Make that several bangs. A plethora of bangs, in fact.
The overmatched Keller Timber Creek Falcons fled Dragon
Stadium with shredded wings and tails full of buckshot, administered –
figuratively speaking, of course – with the remorseless precision of a hunter
on the first day of dove season.
How bad was the slaughter? Bad. Plenty bad.
Timber Creek managed only 29 yards of total offense. The two
quarterbacks it sent into the grinder combined to lose a total of 70 yards on
the ground, mostly by being dragged down behind the line as they pursued errant
snaps. In the air, their feeble attempts
to reach their bedraggled receiving corps were batted disdainfully away.
The Dragon defense – which has been scary good in the first
four games of the season – revealed itself last night as a steely-eyed, black-souled
pack of assassins who very well could help carry Carroll to its much-desired and
long-delayed ninth state championship.
Carroll defenders harassed Falcon quarterbacks Lior-jire
Mendji and Anderson Lewis all night, forcing two fumbles by Mendji in the first
three minutes of the game. Later came a Mendji interception and a couple of
blocked punts. Folks, the Big Guys put on quite a show.
Fumbling around
Disaster unfolded early and progressed quickly for the
Falcons. The first fumble, recovered by senior linebacker Jack Petkus, set up a
7-yard TD sprint by runner extraordinaire Owen Allen that initiated Dragon
scoring.
Mendji managed to fall on the second – which occurred after a bad snap on the second play of the very next drive. Unfortunately, he was in his own endzone when he did it.
Before you knew it, as Dragon fans settled into their seats
after tearing themselves away from their Homecoming tailgating, Carroll led
9-0.
Senior lineman Cade Parks was his usual disruptive self, a
danger to Falcon runners and blockers alike. Linebackers Aaron Scherp and Logan
Lewandowski covered Timber Creek receivers like custom-made suits.
Even when things looked up for Timber Creek, the Dragons
quickly snuffed out hope.
After the Falcons blocked a Carroll punt and set up shop on
the Dragon 21, Scherp was the one who spoiled the party. The junior snagged a
Mendji pass and bullied his way to the 31. Quarterback Kaden Anderson flipped a
9-yard pass to Caden Jackson and then handed the ball to Allen.
Allen charged through the line and shook off several
tacklers. He looked certain to fall, but nimble as a cat, he recovered at
last moment. He sprang into the secondary and turned on the speed. At the 20,
he was met by 2 – or perhaps it was 3 – Falcon defenders. He wouldn’t get away
this time. Or would he? Allen staggered, started to tilt and then pulled a spin
move as slick as any Olympic skater. He sped unchallenged to the endzone.
Like most Dragon starters, Allen only played the first half. He still managed to gain 80 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 5 carries. I’ve
said it before, but it bears repeating. It’s a privilege to watch this young
man play football.
Turning over the shop
Anderson completed 11 of 14 passes for 149 yards and 2 TDs
before he turned the shop over to junior Graham Knowles. Knowles played for most
of the 2nd half, completing 9 of 14 passes for 136 yards, including a
16-yard pass at the end of the 3rd quarter to junior receiver Trey Ferri (6-52)
to ring up Carroll’s final score.
Knowles and Ferri could get plenty of playing time this season,
particularly if the Dragons continue to bash opponents in the same fashion
they blew up the hapless Falcons. That could translate into another solid
offensive core next season.
As usual, Anderson’s favorite
receiver was junior receiver Jacob Jordan, who caught four passes for 81 yards and 2 TDs.
His first came in the initial period when he snatched a
42-yard Anderson pass. He set up the second when he fielded a
Falcon punt and carried it to the Timber Creek 14. A procedure penalty sent the
Dragons back to the 19, and a pass to Ferri cost Carroll another yard. Undaunted,
Anderson found Jordan at the 1, and the receiver bulldozed his way over the
line.
Now leading 16-0, the Dragons saw nothing but clear skies free of Falcons for the rest of the contest.
Three important things happened last night.
First, Carroll won its opening district game, staging
the kind of soul-ripping, spirit-draining, brain-freezing takedown that should send
shivers up the spines of its District 4-6A brethren.
Right now, the second-best teams in 4-6A appear to be the
Keller Indians, 4-0 for the season and 1-0 in district, and the Byron Nelson Bobcats, also 4-0, 1-0. Keller defeated Haslet Eaton 35-28 last night, and the Bobcats smashed Keller Fossil Ridge 55-15.
The Dragons play the Indians on Oct. 7 in Dragon Stadium,
but they’ll have a bye week to prepare for the upstarts. They face Byron Nelson on Oct. 28, also at home. If Carroll continues
on its current trajectory, it could be a truly fearsome obstacle for both teams.
Second, the Dragons officially were presented with their
8th Lone Star Cup, the award given by the University Interscholastic
League to the most successful program across all UIL competitive events.
In many ways, winning the cup is the ultimate honor for a
school. It represents the comprehensive success of a school and its devotion to
academic and athletic excellence, not just proficiency in any given event or
sport.
It was an inspiring and emotional sight at halftime to see the
hundreds of Carroll students who competed in UIL events gather to be recognized
in the center of the outline of Texas formed by the Dragon Marching Band.
And third, it was Homecoming for the Dragons, and
they observed it in the time-honored way by thrashing their opponent.
Homecoming games often are blowouts. Although coaches deny
it, everyone knows they schedule patsies for Homecoming to make sure an untimely
defeat doesn’t spoil the celebration.
Last night was no
exception. The mismatch eventually became tedious to watch, particularly during
the hard slog through the final period. Even the Timber Creek band appeared ready
to call it a day when it launched into “Hey, Baby” late in the 4th.
Considering the number of times these teams have played each
other, it’s hard to imagine Timber Creek’s band director doesn’t know that Carroll
always plays that tune in the waning moments of a Dragon victory. It’s one of
the traditions we’re so insistent on protecting.
Rude and tasteless
For the Falcon musicians to play it – in Dragon Stadium no
less – at that point in the game seemed rude and tasteless. But I won't launch into another band rant lest you think I’ve got a complex or
something.
Besides, no harm done. Timber Creek’s
presumptions didn’t deter the Carroll band one iota. While its
rival’s version still was echoing around the stadium, it provided the authentic
article for the die-hard Dragon fans who still languished in the stands.
Homecoming means mums, of course, and in Southlake they frequently
are big (very) and ostentatious (wildly).
At halftime, one young woman visited her parents sitting a
couple of rows below me. She was hot and sweaty and had long since shed her mum
– seven large white mums and a teddy bear mounted on stiff cardboard the size
of a trashcan lid. It now was slung over her shoulder like a knapsack -- a
classic example that there can be too much of a good thing.
Speaking of Homecoming, Carroll head coach Riley Dodge told a
funny story on himself on Dragon Radio last night. Play-by-play man Chuck Kelly
asked Dodge if he had given his wife a mum for the occasion.
Dodge laughed and said no, and then related his first
encounter with the mum tradition as a youngster at Carroll High.
“I didn’t know anything about it, really,” he said. “In
fact, I was so clueless that I got my freshman girlfriend a boutonniere instead
of a real mum.
“That didn’t go over well, at all. Not at all. It wasn’t a
great move by the young Riley. I never did that again. Lesson learned.”
What’s next
On Thursday, the 4-0 Dragons meet the Haltom Buffalos at the
Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex in North Richland Hills, which despite its
name is a good venue for football. Alas, it could be a long night for the
winless Buffalos.
Perhaps it’s a good thing that buffalos are no longer an
endangered species because I fear more than a few hides could be decorating the
stadium by game’s end. (I know. It’s a graceless allusion, but I just couldn’t
help myself.)
Go Dragons!
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