Mission accomplished!
SOUTHLAKE – Dustan
Mark, a 6-4, 235-pound behemoth who provides the muscle, gristle and fury
of Southlake Carroll’s perennially undersized defense, confided to a pre-season
interviewer that he had set a special goal for his final year as a Carroll
Dragon.
“I kinda
said to myself that my senior year, I’m gonna get a touchdown,” he told 76092
Magazine’s Carlos Mendez. “I don’t know how that’s going to happen – a
fumble recovery, an interception – but I’m going to get a touchdown. That’s my
goal this season.”
Well, Mr.
Mark, you can check that box: Mission accomplished.
For the
Dragons, Mark's endzone scamper occurred at just the right moment, jolting
awake a dozing Carroll team that had allowed Flower Mound Marcus to hang around
long after the Marauders should have been rounded up and corralled.
More than
half-way through the 3rd period, the Dragons led by only 21-12 and
had committed a series of missteps rarely seen in Carroll’s disciplined
program.
A blocked Kyle
Lemmerman punt and a James Lehman fumble in the end zone had caused
a restless stir to waft through the home side of Dragon Stadium.
Carroll fans
then watched in frustration as another Dragon drive stalled at the Marcus 39
and Lemmerman took his place for another punt attempt.
Booting the ball
A delay-of-game
call – another rarity in these parts – pushed the ball back to the 44, and
that’s where Lemmerman – perhaps still smarting from his earlier blocked
attempt – booted the ball inside the Marauder 5, where the Dragons pounced on
it at the 2.
Marcus
clawed its way to the 9, where disaster struck. As Marcus quarterback Dane
Parlin hopelessly juggled a snap over his head, the ball bounced free.
Mark – who
had spent a good part of the night harassing Parlin – scooped it up and threw
himself over the goal line with the desperation and exuberance of a man leaping
on the last train from a doomed city.
I don’t know
about you, but it does my heart good when one of the Big Guys, who perform most
of their game-saving heroics in the shadows cast by the offensive stars,
finally gets his closeup – in the full glare of Friday Night Lights.
After Mark’s
triumph, the Marauders would manage only a 34-yard Owen Gall field goal for the
rest of the game, while the Dragons swept the sleep from their eyes and scored
on their next four consecutive drives.
Long-ball struggles
Just as he
did last week, Dragon quarterback Graham Knowles struggled with the long
ball, overthrowing at least two of his receivers as they sped through the
endzone.
But he
completed 15 of 23 throws (65%) for 203 yards and one TD, a 15-yard toss to
tight end Jack Van Dorselaer, before handing the reins to sophomore Angelo
Renda.
Knowles also
ran for another two scores, zipping 9 yards before diving into the endzone with
12 seconds left in the first half, and later jogging undisturbed 5 yards across the
line.
It was Carroll’s ground game that racked up
the points last night. Sophomore Davis Penn was spectacular, rushing for
123 yards on 19 carries and scoring twice. His first TD came late in the 1st
quarter on a 2-yard plunge, and his second was a 17-yard sprint at the
beginning of the 3rd..
By then, Carroll’s 43-15 lead had the marching
band kids reaching for the sheet music to “Hey, Baby,” as if they hadn’t long
since memorized the song that declares a Dragon victory.
Lehman, 9
carries for 56 yards, began scoring for the Dragons. Marcus’ first drive of the
night was slowed, then stopped, first by a Parlin sack by Mark (he would have
three by night’s end) and by a wild snap by the Marauder center that sent Parlin
scrambling into his own red zone. Alas for Marcus, it would be the first of
many.
Waltzing in for the score
Now set up
on the Marcus 21, the Dragons quickly glided to the 8, from where Lehman
waltzed into the endzone. Knowles and Penn would each add their pair, and
backup Christian Glenn wrapped things up with a 7-yarder as Dragon Stadium
began to empty.
Parlin would end the night with respectable
passing numbers, considering his troubles with his center. He completed 15 of
21 passes for 203 yards and one score. But he was intercepted twice, once by senior
Trey Feri to set up Davis Penn’s first score, and again by sophomore Austin
Bussman, who prevented a Marcus touchdown in the final period when he snared a
Parlin pass in the endzone.
The two Marauder
TDs came within 4 minutes of each other in the 2nd quarter. The first
was set up by Lemmerman’s blocked punt, which handed Marcus a short field. Parlin
took full advantage, scoring on a 4-yard run five plays later.
During the
next series, the Dragons turned the ball over on downs, and Parlin immediately
connected with receiver Karic Grennan, who raced 67 yards to bring the Marauders
to within 2 – 14-12.
But they
missed both extra-point tries, tangible evidence of their struggles and of the
effectiveness of a swarming Dragon D. In fact, it obliterated the Marauder ground
game, limiting it to a laughable 18 yards in the second half.
The
beleaguered Parlin’s rushing stats were appalling. He lost 110 yards on seven
carries, most of which he spent chasing errant snaps.
Be a Belle!
A special
moment occurred during half-time last night. The Emerald Belles, perhaps the
state’s best high school drill team (no brag, just fact), were celebrating their 60th
anniversary. More than 400 former Belles joined their contemporaries on the
field for a dance routine to the music of “We Are Family.”
The Belles,
who have appeared on national TV and performed for most of the area’s
professional sports teams, are a special bunch. Their group motto is “Be Kind,
Be a Belle,” and these young women, from all accounts, take it seriously.
They work long hours to perfect their routines, and it shows with every
performance. They are adored by young and old alike.
After the Belles' halftime extravaganza,
one squad member visited her family sitting directly behind me. As she sat serenely on the
steps beside her parents’ seats, she immediately was surrounded by a crowd of
excited young girls eager to bask in her reflected glory, a mob scene she endured with admirable grace.
Hurrah to
the Belles, young and old. Long may they rule!
Road trip, anyone?
Next week,
the Dragons travel to Cedar Hill for the beginning of a two-game road trip. The
Longhorns aren’t the terrifying ogres of years past, but they still will
present a better pre-season test of how good this team is.
I don’t
expect Carroll to roll up the numbers in Cedar Hill that it has enjoyed the
last couple of weeks again El Paso Eastwood and the Marauders.
True, the
Dragons whipped the Longhorns 38-7 last year. But the up-and-down cycles of
high school football aside, Carroll still must face the hallmark of the Cedar
Hill program – talented, well-coached athletes.
Cooler temps
are on the way! Aren’t they? Surely, surely they are.
Go Dragons!
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