A big win, yes, but …
What price victory?
It’s a question many Dragonheads may be asking
themselves in coming days after Southlake Carroll’s shellacking last night of
the Keller Timber Creek Falcons.
The Dragons, led by the brilliant running of superstar
Riley Wormley, easily brushed aside the Falcons, who boasted an undefeated
record they hardly deserved.
But in doing so, Carroll may have lost the services of
the talented Wormley, who had to be helped off the field in the 3rd
quarter after a 6-yard run in which he injured his left knee.
Wormley spent a lengthy period in the medical tent and
later was carted off the field, his leg encased in a metal brace, to the cheers
of the hometown crowd and the hugs of his teammates.
“It doesn’t look good,” head coach Riley Dodge admitted
to The Dallas Morning News’ Greg Riddle after the game. “You can tell in
the kids’ eyes after a really good win. It deflates you a little bit. Obviously,
he’s a special player and a special teammate, a captain and a leader on this
team.”
When a coach talks like that to a member of the media,
you can bet damned well that the injury is a serious one. Serious enough to put
Wormley out for the season? Let’s hope not. But I have a dismal hunch that is
exactly what’s going to happen.
End of the show?
If I’m right, that’s the end of the Riley and Davis
show. That explosive rushing ensemble – featuring the redoubtable Wormley and
his partner in crime, junior Davis Penn – has powered the Dragons past District
4-6A rivals Byron Nelson and Trinity to a 5-0 season record and thrust Carroll high
in the playoff conversation.
I know. It’s churlish to consider the impact of
Wormley’s injury on the Dragon program. After all, the young man’s bright
future – he is a USC commit – is at stake, as is his overall good health. His
welfare is paramount.
Still and all, this is high school football, and the bigger
picture looms for the Dragons.
They are lucky that the sturdy Penn – an indefatigable,
hard-charging runner without Wormley’s flair, but with much of his skill and
determination – remains ready for duty.
Dodge, in his comments to the DMN’s Riddle,
acknowledged that fact.
“Davis is the guy,” he said. “He carried a lot of the
weight last year for us. He’s one of the top running backs in the state. We’re
blessed to have two really good running backs.”
Blessed, indeed. But don’t kid yourself. Wormley will
be missed. Plenty. He was a glory to see last night, rushing for three
touchdowns, including a couple of first-play-from-scrimmage TD runs that made a
mockery of the Falcon’s 4-0 season record.
In their first drive of the night, the Falcons drove
confidently down the field, with Creek quarterback Carson Porter eating up the clock
with a steady diet of short passes before he tossed a 17-yard strike to
receiver Xavier Lee.
But the Creek celebration was a short one. Exactly 53
seconds later, Dragon quarterback Angelo Renda sailed an 80-yard beauty to his
favorite receiver, junior Brock Boyd, as he raced wide open downfield, no
Falcon defender within 20 yards of him.
The score now knotted at 7-7, the Dragons held Creek
to a 3-and-out, then swept downfield 63 yards in five plays before Renda hit the
sure-handed Boyd with a 45-yard TD arc.
From that point on, it was disaster on the ground for
the Falcons, thanks to Wormley and Penn.
Pushing it in
After another 3-and-out, Creek turned the ball over to
Carroll, which drove smoothly to the Falcon 2, where Wormley pushed it in.
Porter and his Falcons could do no better on their
next possession. After a weak-footed punt that Dragon Luc Jaquemard returned to
his 46-yard line, Penn bulldozed to the 4, then scored from the 2.
Creek, now trailing 28-7, started its next drive at
its own 13 and could only struggle to its 22 before Porter – under immense
pressure all night – was sacked by defensive end Jack Van Dorselaer at the
Creek 10 and the Falcon punter lined up in the endzone to boot it away.
The Falcon punt skittered off the kicker’s foot and
bounced out of bounds at the original line of scrimmage. From there, Wormley plunged
through the line to paydirt. One play. One Dragon. No fuss, no muss.
For the Falcons, the nightmare continued. After starting
their next drive at their 25, Porter was sacked by Van Dorselaer – again – and
coughed up the ball to Dragon defensive lineman Austin Davidge.
Two plays later, Renda launched the ball to sophomore
receiver Brody Knowles in the end zone. The ball brushed Knowles' fingers, then
was juggled by two – or was it three? – Creek defenders before one of them fell
to the turf with it clutched in his arms.
But the gift was returned unopened. After another
pitiful 3-and-out, the Creek kicker – who shall remain unnamed to protect the
inept – sent another punt sliding out of bounds at the 26.
And from there – yes, you guessed it – Wormley muscled
through the line, twisting out of two tackles and scored his hat trick.
Hindsight being 20/20, his night should have ended at the
half. But Wormley returned for the first Carroll series of the second, which
was interrupted by another rare interception of the normally reliable Renda. Two
plays later, the Dragon-tormented Porter threw an errant pass of his own, which
was snagged by Carroll defender Ethan Fisher.
Wormley’s injury occurred as he fought for yardage to
the 25.
With his departure, much of the ooph of the
Dragon offense faded away. Renda sailed passes of 51 and 9 yards to Boyd to get
Carroll inside the Creek 10. But the drive stalled there, setting up a 28-yard
field goal by Gavin Strange that ended scoring for the night and signaled the
beginning of substitutions by both squads.
Dragon dominance
A group of statistics illustrates the scope of Dragon
dominance. Carroll rushed for 467 total yards, compared to the Falcons’ meager 134.
And while the Dragons were gaining 267 yards in the air, Porter could manage only 88. On the ground, the Carroll outran Creek 200 to 46.
Offensive stars, no surprise, were Wormley (8 for 73,
3 TDs) and Penn (8 for 76, 1 TD). Both gained an average of more than 9 yards
every time they touched the ball.
Boyd was not far behind, perhaps even a half-step in
front. He caught 7 Renda passes for 213 yards and the Dragons’ first two
scores.
Renda, despite his two INTs, had an acceptable night.
He completed 10 of 18 passes for 233 yards, including the two long ones to Boyd
for TDs.
The Dragon D deserves a lot of credit, too. Although
the Falcons don’t wield the strongest offensive arsenal around, the Carroll
defense tossed Falcons around like ragdolls.
Van Dorselaer was a monster, spending almost as much
time in the Creek backfield as Porter. Although he gained his reputation and was
recruited by Tennessee as a tight end, he gracefully accepted a transfer to the
Carroll defense to help that beleaguered squad.
As such, he quickly established a commanding presence and now leads the team
in tackles. He and Davidge bedeviled Porter on every play, disrupting his
timing and sending him scrambling for his life. Luke Bussman also was a major
factor in shutting down – and then stamping out – the Creek offense.
Dodge heaped praise on his defensive stalwarts.
“Our defense played lights out,” Dodge told the Fort
Worth Star Telegram’s Mike Waters. “We gave up the quick score early, but I
cannot say enough about our defense.”
Coach love
Van Dorselaer in particular garnered his share of
coach love.
“He is such a
talented athlete,” Dodge said to Waters. “He just keeps getting better and
better as the season goes along.”
Van Dorselaer told Waters he is getting more
comfortable on defense.
“I like the aggressiveness of playing defense,” he
said. “On offense, you know what the play is going to be. But on defense, you
have to react on the fly. And I like knowing I have a chance to make a play on
every play on defense.”
The question is how the Dragons will be affected by
the loss of Wormley. Can they continue to be a force to reckon with or will their
plans for a deep playoff run be disrupted.
The Star-Telegram game story mentioned that Carroll,
which for the fourth consecutive year has started 5-0, is seeking its 7th
undefeated regular season in the past 14 years.
Another undefeated season seems a reasonable
expectation. The only possible bump in the road could be the 4-0 Northwest
Texans, who face Carroll at home on Oct. 17. The Texans have sent Mansfield Legacy,
McKinney North Keller and Eaton packing this year. They face L.D. Bell on Oct.
3
Keller is next up for the Dragons on Oct. 4 in its
disgrace of a football stadium, the KISD Athletic Complex. Since I feel another
rant coming on, I’ll leave that topic for another day.
Before signoff, a word about the streaming of Carroll
games by the Dragon Sports Network. A medical procedure earlier in the week
kept me from attending the game, so I tuned in to the online broadcast.
Thankfully, they seemed to have worked out the technical
kinks in the system, and announcers Chris Blake and Robert Clayton are well-informed
and a joy to follow. I found it to be a most enjoyable way to watch the
Dragons.
Nothing beats attending the games in person. But if
circumstances make that impossible, the online streaming is a great way to feel
like a part of the show.
Go, Dragons!
Mum's the word at the Homecoming Game!
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