A stunning debut
SOUTHLAKE – So noodle this, why don’t you?
During their season opener last night at Dragon
Stadium, the Southlake Carroll Dragons, who have trumpeted far and wide the
dazzling potential of their dynamic rushing duo of Riley Wormley and Davis Penn
– were outgained on the ground by the Midland Bulldogs, 368 yards to 253.
Don’t be misled, however. The Bulldogs were briskly
dispatched and sent slinking back to the wind-stroked plains of West Texas. The
final issue was never in doubt, thanks to a balanced offensive scheme and the
crisp execution of junior Angelo Renda, the Dragons’ new man under center.
Dragonheads noted with satisfaction – but not much
surprise – that Renda, who showed repeated flashes of brilliance last season in
his role as Graham Knowles’ backup, ruled supreme last night, passing for 196
yards and 3 touchdowns, and rushing for another 48 and 2 more TDs.
Minor heartburn
Still and all, Midland’s early success on the ground –
it matched the Dragons score for score during the first quarter – almost
upstaged the Wormley and Penn show and caused me minor heartburn in my Section D green seat. (Then again, maybe that was just blowback from the
Feedstore brisket I enjoyed before kickoff.)
It looked for a while there, watching the bruising power
of RB Elijah McCoy and the slick dodgery of quarterback Stroman Bridges shred
the Carroll defensive line, that we might be facing a shootout. A
shootout that Renda and company were almost certain to win, but still – against
Midland?
The Bulldogs’ reluctance to behave as docile,
unassuming guests of their Metroplex betters shouldn’t have been that big a
surprise. After all, they went 9-3 last year before falling in the area round
of the playoffs, displaying a gritty, smashmouth brand of football invented and
perfected decades ago by the sturdy sons of oilfield roughnecks.
Those days have faded into the yellowing pages of
history, however, and West Texas teams routinely are humbled when they venture east to face the state’s premier programs. Take, for instance, Midland Legacy,
which drove the same Interstate 20 route to the Metroplex as its sister school, only
to fall ignominiously before Allen, 61-0. Oh, how the once mighty have fallen.
Eventually, the Bulldogs’ brief glimpse of glory blinked
out last night. And the rising hopes of the hardy handful of Midland fans who
endured the 300+-mile drive from the Permian Basin, alas, were crushed by a
resurgent Dragon defense.
Unhindered dash
That moment came early in the 2nd period,
after Renda excited the Carroll crowd with a 20-yard unhindered dash up the
middle to give the Dragons a 21-14 lead. It was his 2nd rushing TD,
his first coming less than 2 minutes into the game with a 4-yard dart to
paydirt.
Midland, which had responded briskly to Carroll’s
first two scores, once again moved quickly to midfield. There, McCoy – the night’s
top rusher with 182 yards on 26 carries and 2 TDs – met unaccustomed
resistance. Facing a 4-2 at his own 47-yard line, he was stopped cold, and the
Dragons took charge.
Three plays later – after Renda connected with sophomore
WR Blake Gunter at the 1 – Wormley sealed the deal, handing the Dragons a 28-14
lead. A third unanswered TD later in the quarter – on a 17-yard pass to leading
Dragon receiver Brock Boyd – rewarded Carroll with an unassailable 35-14 halftime lead.
Renda, in a postgame interview with The Dallas
Morning News’ Jim McCurdy, was generous – perhaps overly so – in handing
credit to his defense for slowing down the Bulldog offense.
“The defense set the tone
for the offense,” Renda told McCurdy. “Them getting a stop on 4th-and-2 was
massive. They worked so hard. They did their job, and at the end of the day, they
got it done.”
All true, of course. But Bridges and McCoy still had
banner nights in the trenches. Bridges rushed 18 times for 87 yards and 2 TDs.
In addition to the redoubtable McCoy, Bulldog runners Steven Garcia and Cutter
Lange also gained double-digit yardage.
A balanced Dragon attack and excellent execution overwhelmed the Bulldogs.
Defense is always problematic in Dragon land, especially this early in the season. Under-sized players and a shallow bench frequently pose a challenge. Head coach Riley Dodge acknowledged in postgame interviews the D remains troublesome.
Settling in
“We made some adjustments defensively,” he told the Fort
Worth Star Telegram’s Mike Waters. “We have such inexperience on defense,
and it also took us a while to settle in and get a feel of what Midland was
doing.”
To address gaps in the defense, Dodge told Waters he has moved
one of the Dragons’ best offensive weapons – highly regarded tight end Jack Van
Dorselaer – to defensive end.
Van Dorselaer – a hard-charging blocker and
sure-handed receiver – showed great promise last season and had been expected
to play a key role in Carroll’s offensive plans.
Dodge praised Van Dorselaer, a Tennessee commit, for
putting team ahead of self and promised Dragonheads that he plans to work the
senior back into the offensive lineup later this season.
Let’s hope so. Van Dorselaer is a good kid, with his
head screwed on right and his priorities in order. And – did I mention it? – he’s
a ton of fun to watch as he knocks defenders on their butts and snares yardage
in tight situations.
As I mentioned, Angelo Renda ruled the night,
directing the Dragon attack with grace and poise.
He may need to work some on his long ball – of the
only two long passes he launched last night, one was intercepted and the other wildly off-target.
But on his first night in control of Dragon fortunes, he more than lived up to
the promise he revealed late in games last season.
His coach heaped praise on his new offensive leader,
with whom Dodge – a former state champion Dragon quarterback – has worked
closely to get him ready.
Dodge told Waters of the Star-T that Renda’s
performance against Midland was no surprise. To the contrary.
“We had expected
that from Angelo,” Dodge said. “He had a tremendous summer, and we have high
expectations for our offense.”
Spreading the love
In typical Dragon fashion, Renda swiftly spread
the love -- and credit.
“Our offensive line did a great job,” he told the Star-T.
“No nervousness at all with me. I have confidence in our team and in myself.
The backs were incredible, and our receivers did a fantastic job of getting
open. I thought we played well offensively. Something definitely to build on
going forward.”
That confidence is based on the comforting knowledge
that he’s blessed with a truly impressive arsenal, both in the air and on the
ground.
As Dodge promised before the game, Wormley and Penn shared
running chores evenly. Both were impressive in their own ways. The slippery
Wormley showed quickly why he has D1 college offers from everyone, although he
publicly has settled on USC. He gained 126 yards on only 7 carries against
Midland. That’s a stunning 18 yards per carry if you’re into higher
mathematics.
A screenwriter couldn’t have scripted it better. On
the second play of the game, he crashed through the line and galloped 60 yards
to the Bulldog 10, setting up the Dragons’ first score.
Nothing would top that. But Wormley was electric every time
he touched the ball, and Midland had no answer for him.
Penn, a Baylor commit, was less showy, but his bruising,
go-for-broke running style had Dragonheads around me humming a merry tune. He rushed
12 times for 56 yards and a TD.
Renda also showed discipline and patience in the
passing attack. While he connected with seven different receivers, Boyd was his
favored target. The junior caught 6 passes for 76 yards, half of them for
touchdowns – of 13, 17 and 27 yards. I’d call that an acceptable percentage,
wouldn’t you?
Both Renda and Boyd commented after the game about the
chemistry they’ve worked hard to develop between them.
“We’ve been playing
together a whole lot, so we really have a great connection,” Renda told the DMN.
“I can trust him to make a play with a ball in his hands, so that’s what I did.
I threw him the ball, and he scored touchdowns.”
“We have been playing football together for about six
years,” Boyd told the Star-T, referring to Renda. “So the chemistry is
there. It was a lot of fun out there.”
Familiar foes
Carroll is playing in a reconstituted District 4-6A
this season, but all its district opponents are familiar ones. The Keller 6A schools
are there – Keller, Keller Central and Timber Creek. Northwest ISD’s Byron
Nelson and Eaton have been joined by Northwest High. All but Northwest have
been Dragon district mates the past two years. Joining the party are Trinity
and L.D. Bell – also well-known Dragon foes from years past.
With eight district opponents, Carroll faces only
the non-district Hebron Hawks next week on the road before it plunges into the 4-6A race.
The district opener – against Byron Nelson on Sept. 13
– will be a doozy. The Bobcats handed the Dragons their only regular-season
defeat last year, denying them the district championship they coveted.
Carroll sought revenge in the playoffs and got it. But
the festering rivalry with Byron Nelson has all the ingredients for a slam-bam, thank-you-ma’am collision
that could very well determine the outcome of the District 4-6A championship – just
as it did last year.
First, however, come the Hebron Hawks, tough nuts to crack
in past encounters, but perhaps not the threat they once were. But as life and
high school football teach us, those are the opponents you have to look out
for.
Go Dragons!
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