No dragon-killers in sight
KELLER – The
undefeated Keller Indians had every reason to believe they could be
dragon-killers last night, and the home side of Keller ISD Athletic Complex was
nearly filled with Indian fans who came to see the butchery.
And why not?
The Indians were playing on their home field and thus far had dispatched their
foes with relative ease.
More than
anything, they had last year’s Keller-Southlake donnybrook to boost their
confidence. That unbeaten Indian squad came within a hair’s breadth of
defeating the Dragons on their hallowed home turf.
Only a
last-minute interception by senior defensive back Logan Lowandowski ended a
Keller threat to erase the Dragons’ slender 38-35 lead.
Desperate encounter
Most
Dragonheads, looking at the evidence, surmised that this year’s Keller squad
was even more talented than last year’s. Ergo, we expected another desperate, hair-raising
encounter.
Brother,
were we wrong, wrong wrong.
Carroll roared
into Keller, seized control early and laid waste to the upstarts, scoring TDs
on 8 of its next 9 possessions. The sole exception to the Dragons’ march of destruction
occurred when a Keller defender managed to intercept a Graham Knowles pass
after his receiver tripped and fell.
Redemption
came quickly, however. Only two plays later, Dragon defensive back Zach
Engelhardt returned the favor and grabbed an errant pass by Keller QB Beckham
Robinson. Knowles and company quickly converted the interception into the 5th
Dragon score.
Lights out
While the
Dragon offense was ravaging Keller’s wilting D-line and overwhelmed secondary,
the Carroll defense was playing “lights out.”
That’s how Carroll
head coach Riley Dodge described his defense’s effort against Keller to The
Dallas Morning News.
An apt description
if ever there was one for the smothering blanket the Dragon D threw over the
hapless Indians. It held Keller scoreless until well into the 4th
quarter after most Carroll starters had retired for the night.
It snared
two Robinson interceptions and ended Keller’s only real scoring threat of the
night by forcing a fumble at the Dragon 1 while sullen Indian fans watched in
silence.
Robinson,
who has feasted off opponent defenses all season, threw for 215 yards. But
Keller’s only TD came when Robinson flipped a pass to wide receiver Tre’
Griffiths (6-179), who evaded backups and raced 89 yards to the end zone.
Face of catastrophe
Kicker
Gabriel Ogura added to Keller’s paltry total with a 35-yard field goal booted with
less than a minute left. Frankly, it seemed rather pathetic, and not the noble attempt
to retain some pride in the face of catastrophe that Keller intended it to be.
Once again, the
Dragons’ leading scorer was young Davis Penn, a sophomore standout whose audacity,
slippery speed and hard-nosed running style remind a lot of us of rusher
supremo Owen Allen, now attending the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Penn, who
rushed 10 times for 62 yards, scored three touchdowns last night, demonstrating
once again he’s the go-to guy when yards get hard to come by inside the 5 and
when a sprint up the middle for a first down is needed to keep the drive alive.
But his
stellar performance was overshadowed by the debut of junior Riley Wormsley, who
ran for 109 yards on 15 carries and scored his first TD as a Dragon.
Wormsley was
forced to sit out the first five games of the season when the UIL state
executive committee decreed back in August that his transfer to Southlake from
Colleyville Heritage was done purely for athletic reasons. That’s a major UIL
sin, and it ordered him to sit out the season.
Fair is fair
Here's my
trouble with the UIL action. While it voted to bench Wormsley, the UIL’s governing
body approved at the same time the transfers of several other talented athletes
in cases that closely mirrored that of Wormsley. Fair is fair, ain’t it?
But would
you believe it? Fair play prevailed in the end – at least for Wormsley. Because
last week, the SEC reconsidered its original decision and decreed he can play.
“I’m just glad I’m going to be able to be with the team,”
Wormsley told The Dallas Morning News’ Myah Taylor after the game. “It’s been a struggle going through the process of not
playing. Being a kid again, it feels great.”
Riley Dodge
said the youngster – a three-star recruit who’s attracted the interest of TCU,
Texas and Oklahoma – started his Dragon career in fine style.
“He did good,” Dodge told Taylor. “It was his first football
game, so it was like a scrimmage for him. Practice is a little bit different
than the game, so he’s just going to get better and better.”
That’s great news because Wormsley looked pretty special last
night.
He proved to be an elusive runner, unafraid of contact but
often quick enough to evade it.
Looking dazed
His best moments came after a Keller punt. Wormsley took the
handoff at his own 27 and headed for the barn, leaving Indian defenders looking
dazed. He finally was tackled at the 9, 64 yards from where the play started.
Two plays later, he got the payoff, carrying the rock into
the end zone to make the score a ridiculous 49-0.
Wormsley’s addition to the lineup gives Carroll’s running
game real depth to its running game. Senior James Lehman, who showed great
promise last season before getting in mid-season, didn’t get playing time last
night, but he’s a real threat going forward.
By adding a potent ground attack to its offensive arsenal –
which already features the dependable Knowles and an experienced and talented
receiving corps – Carroll stands poised to make this a season to remember.
Knowles performed superbly last night, completing more than
70 percent of his passes (10 of 14). He rushed 21 yards for one TD and threw
two others, a 91-yard strike to tight end Jack Van Dorselaer and a 22-yard toss
to Jacob Jordan (5 catches for 62 yards).
Van Dorselaer’s TD thrilled Dragonheads. An Indian punt had
pinned Carroll at its 7-yard line. Wormsley ground out two yards, then Knowles
found Van Dorselaer coming across the flat, connecting with him near the left
sideline. Seizing the ball greedily, the junior tight end raced untouched the
length of the field.
Added dimension
Van Dorselaer brings an added dimension to the Dragon passing
attack, a fact Dodge acknowledged in a post-game interview with Fort Worth
Star-Telegram writer Charles Baggarly.
“I’m so happy we were finally able to get him free,” Dodge
said. “When he gets a head of steam, he can run with the best of them.”
Backup QB Angelo Renda ended scoring for the Dragons in grand
fashion. Coming into the game after the Indians failed to make a 43-yard field
goal, he handed the ball off to Christian Glenn for a short gain, then hefted a
27-yard TD pass to senior Clayton Wayland, giving the Dragons a 56-0 lead with
most of the 4th quarter to play.
Last night’s win reduces the number of unbeatens in District
4-6A to two, the Dragons and the Byron Nelson Bobcats, who Carroll faces Oct.
27 in Trophy Club in the most anticipated District 4-6A matchup of the year.
The Bobcats take on Haltom tonight. They are heavily favored.
In point of fact, it’ll be a bloodbath.
So it’s entirely possible, probable even, that both Carroll
and Nelson will be undefeated when they meet later this month.
Upcoming doozy
The winner of that contest, and it should be a doozy, will almost
certainly become the 4-6A champ.
Keep in mind that more than just bragging rights comes with a
district championship. It has tangible benefits in the playoffs. District
champs get homefield advantage in the first round and face weaker opponents.
After seeing the Dragons in action last night against a
credible team – and, trust me, Keller is a sound ball club, the lopsided score notwithstanding
– I think they have an excellent chance to win district and make a deep plunge
in the playoffs.
Who knows, perhaps this is the year. Another state
championship. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
Go Dragons!
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