They should have stayed home
SOUTHLAKE – A trio of Southlake Carroll’s talented
sophomores – the game against the Haltom Buffaloes placed in their tender hands
– took a firm grip on things last night and made the hapless Buffs wish they’d
saved themselves the trip to Dragon Stadium’s hostile environs.
Davis Penn, who has been mighty impressive thus far this
season, came into his own against the Buffs, crashing into the endzone three
times while amassing 210 rushing yards on only six carries. I’ll save you doing
the math in your head. That’s an average of 35 yards a carry.
Penn scored on the second Dragon drive of the night, running
three straight plays after the Carroll secured great field position following a
3-and-out by the Buffaloes. From Haltom’s 44, the sophomore pushed first to the
34, then to the 11 and finally into pay dirt.
Quick scores
His score, which sent the Dragon ahead 14-7, came on only
the Dragons’ fifth play from scrimmage. Their initial score came on the second
play of the game when senior Caden Jackson scampered 56 yards through stunned Buffalo
defenders into the end zone.
Penn’s heroics were just beginning, however. After Haltom
failed to convert on a 4-and-6 in the second period, the Dragons set up shop on
the Buff 44. On the first play of the drive, Penn broke through the line and
sped untouched to score. Four minutes later, after the Dragons forced another
Haltom punt, Penn electrified the Dragons’ Homecoming crowd by sprinting 76
yards to the goal, leaving Buff defenders staring mutely in his wake.
Less flashy, but no less impactful, was the sturdy play of
Angelo Renda. Renda has gotten playing time in most of the Carroll games this
season, but it’s been long after those contests have been decided and the
starters retired to their rest.
Last night, however, Renda started the game for the ailing
Graham Knowles, who was banged up during practice this week – if the online
streaming commentators are to be believed.
Knowles reportedly suited up last night and was prepared to
play in case of an emergency – Renda suffering an injury, let’s say. But he was
benched against Haltom out of an excess of caution and – I strongly suspect –
because head coach Riley Dodge wanted to see how the soph handled himself in a
low-stakes game against an overmatched opponent.
Happy news
The happy news is that Renda did just fine, completing 80
percent of his passes (16 of 20, if you’re keeping count) for 217 yards and 2
passing TDs. There were a few opening-night jitters that a more talented
opponent might have been able to capitalize on. But the young Renda has nothing
to be ashamed of in his starting debut.
Both of his scoring strikes went to the night’s third
sophomore star – receiver Brock Boyd, who snagged 7 passes for 100 yards. His
first TD came after a 38-yard reception near the end of the first quarter which
gave the Dragons a 21-7 lead. Boyd’s second closed out scoring in the first
half when he caught a 16-yard pass to extend Carroll’s cushion to 45-7.
Carroll’s mastery over the Buffs wasn’t unexpected. But it
was brutal in execution. The Dragons scored on all but two of their possessions.
And their dominance presented Carroll coaches with an opportunity to give
quality playing time to their backup players, those splendid kids who dwell
largely out of the limelight, but whose role in helping the starting players prepare
each week is invaluable. Invaluable and a key to Dragon success.
It’s a fact that Riley Dodge learned at the knee of his
father, the legendary Todd Dodge. The senior Dodge never missed an opportunity
to direct attention to the backups and to publicly acknowledge the vital role
they play getting the Dragons ready for their next opponent.
He gets it
Not every coach understands that, choosing to devote time
and energy to his elite players. But Riley Dodge gets it, bless ’im. And I
think that understanding is one of the things that has made him such a rousing
success in this, his very first, head-coaching job. Who knows? Before all’s
said and done, he could be even greater than his dad. Wouldn’t that be
something?
As for last night, it was satisfying to watch players we
don’t see very much make a big impact on the field. Junior rusher Christian
Glenn (11 attempts for 87 yards) accounted for 2 Dragon touchdowns last night
on runs 18 yards and 12 yards.
He and senior Jake Erwin (13-62) carried the ground game for
most of the second half.
Third-string quarterback Carter Lind (5-5, 71) saw
significant playing time, and he secured the Dragons’ final score with a
27-yard dart at midpoint in the final quarter to senior Erik Bussman.
The Dragon defense kept Haltom’s low-wattage offense dim and
flickering all night, limiting the Buffs to 267 total yards compared to the
Dragons’ 721.
Quarterback Ashton Moore could complete only 6 of 14 pass
attempts for a puny 104 yards. He rushed 14 times for only 27 yards. Success
for Moore was largely confined to a connection with receiver Ishmeah Jalloh
(4-93), who darted 28 yards for a meaningless TD late in the slaughter.
The only other bright spot for Haltom came early, when RB
Devan Ramirez Powell raced 40 yards down the right sideline to bring the score
to 14-7. That run momentarily pumped life into the sagging Buffaloes, who had
just watched the Dragons effortlessly score back-to-back TDs in a handful of plays.
The ensuing onslaught
Dreams of making a fight of it died quickly, however, in the
ensuing onslaught of Carroll scores.
Next week is a bye week for the Dragons. It comes at an
opportune time, considering the absence tonight of the worthy Graham Knowles.
It gives him another week to heal and to return energized and ready for the
rest of the season.
Because while Angelo Renda epitomized the “next man up”
philosophy that governs the Southlake program – and while he proved equal to
the challenge – I think all Dragonheads would feel better with Knowles under
center as Carroll plunges into the middle of a district race that’s heating up
nicely.
Carroll faces the Keller Indians on Oct. 5, and the Byron
Nelson Bobcats await on Oct. 27. Both are road games against the programs that
appear to pose the most serious threats to Dragon hopes of repeating as District
4-6A champion.
Keller and Byron Nelson are both 5-0 for the season and 2-0
in 4-6A play. Keller destroyed Keller Central last night 35-8, and the Bobcats
demolished Timber Creek 63-26.
Fall's here (hooray!) and high school football is in full swing. Strap yourselves in tight, boys and girls. From here, the
road gets a little bumpier. But that just makes the ride more exciting, don't it?
Go Dragons!
The speed on SLC is simply amazing.
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