No surprises: Southlake Carroll 50, Haslet Eaton 14

 

After making mincemeat out of the Eaton Eagles, the Dragons get ready for a battle of unbeatens.

The methodical march continues

SOUTHLAKE –Southlake Carroll wasted no time last night in dispatching the floundering Eaton Eagles, effortlessly brushing them aside as it continues its methodical march through District 4-6A.

The Eagles didn’t put up much of a fight. It took them until halfway through the third quarter to finally get on the scoreboard. And that’s only because the Dragons mercifully had begun wholesale substitutions after scoring six unanswered touchdowns.

Carroll QB Angelo Renda lacked a bit of his usual crispness against the sluggish Eagles. But considering the runaway farce in which he found himself, you can forgive him if his mind wandered a bit. Even so, he got the job done, completing 13 of 20 passes for 135 yards and sending TD throws to three separate receivers.

Sophomore Blake Gunter, who is turning into a go-to guy for Renda, got things started by catching a 19-yarder in the endzone on the second play from scrimmage after Eaton went 3-and-out on its first possession.

Near the end of the first quarter, the Dragon D forced another Eagle punt, which gave the Dragons the ball on their 29 yardline. Renda immediately dropped back and sent a beautiful arc that fell neatly into the hands of lead receiver Brock Boyd as he ran full tilt downfield. Boyd, without breaking stride, raced 71 yards to give Carroll a 21-0 lead.

Right on target

And just before the first half ended, Renda zipped a 7-yarder to the left corner of the endzone, where it landed in the arms of Brody Knowles. Knowles, another promising sophomore, made the catch despite the Eagle defender draped over his shoulders.

All in all, not a bad night’s work, wouldn’t you say?

The Dragon ground game also flexed its muscles against the helpless Eagles.

Junior running back Davis Penn has adjusted well to his new role as the Dragons’ leading rusher, now that superstar Riley Wormley is sidelined for the season.

Penn riddled the Eagle defense, rushing 11 times for 131 yards and a touchdown.

During the Eagles’ second possession, Dragon defender Luke Bussman crashed into an Eagle receiver just as he enveloped a Mason Stubbe pass, jarring loose the ball, which Bussman quickly pounced on at the Carroll 40.

Penn’s hard-nosed running then powered the Dragons to the Eaton 20, where Penn bulldozed his way across the goal line.

Boyd also saw some action on the ground. After the Dragons took a 35-0 lead into halftime, the Dragons’ first drive of the third quarter stalled, and kicker Gavin Strange failed to make a 43-yard field goal.

Desperate conversion

But Eaton couldn’t do any better and faced a 4^th down at its 32. Carroll defensive leader Austin Davidge crushed the desperate conversion attempt when he sacked Stubbe.

The Dragons took over at the 29, and on the next play, Renda handed off to to Penn, who ran right, then pitched the ball to Boyd coming the other way.

Boyd slipped around the left end and raced untouched to the goal line, leaving a trail of stunned and confused Eaton defenders in his wake.

Carroll easily smothered a feeble Eagle offense while rolling to six unanswered touchdowns.

Even the Dragon action squad, which carried the load for 1½ quarters last night after the starters left the field, got a taste of Friday Night Lights glory. But they had to work for it.

Quarterback Coleman Fowler led a lengthy drive downfield after taking over from Renda. But the drive was upended when Fowler was intercepted as he attempted to move the Dragons across the 34.

Four plays later, however, junior linebacker Robbie Ladd recovered an Eagle fumble and gave the Dragon offense another shot.

Muscling it over

Hard running by seniors Christian Glenn and Jesse Hill carried the Dragons to the Eagle 3, where Fowler muscled the ball across the line. Junior Crawford Taylor caught a pass in the endzone to make the 2-point conversion, thus ending Dragon scoring at 50-7.

The Eagles would fight their way to a second TD in the last minute of play. But it was a meaningless gesture – despite loud efforts by the Eaton band to give some sparkle to an otherwise dismal evening for the visitors.

The Dragon defense – once again led by Davidge and Luke Bussman – shut down Eaton’s puny offense, keeping the pressure on Stubbe (13 of 20 for 78 yards) and limiting lead running back Micah Rivers to 42 yards on 17 carries.

Dragon defenders harassed Eagle quarterbacks all evening and sacked them regularly. Dragon defensive back William Chen got a pick-6 at the beginning of the third quarter, extending an already insurmountable lead to 28-0.

The Dragons now turn their attention to the still undefeated Justin Northwest Texans, who have ambitions to seize the 4-6A title for themselves.

Not so impressive

The Texans slipped past the Keller Central Chargers last night 28-14, a not-so-impressive win against a team that has lost five straight games. Northwest will host the Dragons next Thursday in Justin.

Carroll already has toppled two of 4-6A’s top teams – Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity. Facing a tough opponent brimming with confidence late in the season can be a blessing for a team like Carroll, which hungers for a district championship, but whose ultimate goal is, and always has been, a ninth state championship.

Hard tests during the regular season only help prepare playoff teams for the win-or-go-home ordeal of the postseason. It’s a sure bet that’s the message head coach Riley Dodge will be delivering to his young charges in the days ahead.

So bring it on, Texans, and let the chips fall where they may.

Go Dragons!

Head coach Riley Dodge's message to his team: Sharpen your talons on Justin Northwest to get in shape for the playoffs!

Rude Homecoming guests: Southlake Carroll 52, Keller 21

 

The Dragons ruined Homecoming for the Keller Indians, defusing their offense and overwhelming their defense.

Resting on sturdy shoulders

KELLER – The Southlake Carroll Dragons, denied the services of Riley Wormley, their star-power running back, shifted their potent ground game last night to the sturdy shoulders of Wormley’s running partner, junior Davis Penn.

And Penn didn’t disappoint. No, indeed.

While Wormley watched on crutches from the sidelines, Penn roared to four touchdowns, rolling up 136 yards on 15 carries in leading the Dragons to a pitiless dismantlement of the proud Keller Indians before a buoyant Homecoming crowd at ramshackle KISD Athletic Complex.

Wormley suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s 44-7 massacre of Keller Timber Creek. And while the Dragon offense lacks a little of the razzle-dazzle it displayed with Wormley in the lineup, it demonstrated against Keller that it has plenty of punch left.

And can you blame the laconic Penn for showing just a smidge of satisfaction that he’s emerged from Wormley’s imposing shadow and done so in such an emphatic fashion?

“It was a very unfortunate loss for us,” he told Mike Waters of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, referring to Wormley’s injury. “The rest of us have to step up. I am prepared and ready for the challenge.”

Head coach Riley Dodge paid tribute to his injured star, but made it clear that the Dragon march to district and beyond must now proceed without him.

“We will obviously miss such a great player in Wormley,” he said to Waters, then turned the spotlight on the young man who will replace him.

 “Davis had a huge year last season for us,” Dodge said. “We know what he is capable of doing.”

As a result, Dragon quarterback Angelo Renda -- after kicker Gavin Strange’s 25-yard field goal got Southlake on the board during Carroll's first possession -- turned to Penn to get things really rolling.

When Dragon defensive back Taevin Kunz snagged an errant pass by Keller quarterback Beckham Robinson at the Indian 47, Carroll marched briskly to the 6, where Penn breezed in for his first score.

Booting it back

After a Carroll punt pinned the Indians on their own 5, they were corralled inside the 10 and had to boot it back.

Renda then led a 7-play, 54-yard drive that ended when Penn juked his way through the Keller line and raced 14 yards for his second score.

Keller built momentum on its next drive. Bolstered by a thrilling 31-yard run by Indian running back Quinton Shropshire, Keller drove to the Dragon 1. Shropshire darted in and finally got his team on the board midway through the first quarter.

But it took the Dragons only 16 seconds to reestablish their command of the situation, except this time the score came through the air. On the first play of its very next drive, Renda sent a 56-yard spiral to junior receiver Brock Boyd to widen the Dragon lead to 24-7.

With less than a minute left in the half, the Dragons muffed a punt return, turning the ball over to the Indians at the Carroll 18. Three plays later, Robinson capitalized on that rare Dragon misstep, connecting with Brock Meek to make the halftime score an uncomfortably close 24-14.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that at this point the Keller crowd – the largest audience I’ve ever witnessed at a Keller athletic event – may have entertained for a brief moment a pleasant fantasy.

In that other-worldly daydream, the Indians came rampaging into the second half, teeth bared and blood in their eyes. With clockwork precision and masterful execution, they forced the Dragons into uncustomary mistakes, panicked disorder and a complete system breakdown, thus giving Keller the hallowed title of Dragon Killer.

Evaporating quickly

But that didn't happen. Not by a long shot. Like all daydreams, this one evaporated rather quickly as the decisive third quarter unfolded before the horrified eyes of the Keller faithful.

Dragonheads keep their eyes on the prize -- a District 4-6A championship.

Carroll promptly marched 81 yards in 5 plays, culminating in a 24-yard pass from Renda (15-20, 3 TDs) to Boyd, the junior receiver’s second TD of the night. He would end the evening with five catches for 144 yards.

Now leading 31-14, the Dragons bedeviled Robinson and crew as they struggled to ignite some offensive fire. Robinson was sacked once and almost lost the ball on another play in the first Indian drive of the second half, testimony to the harassment he faced from an inspired defensive squad led by Austin Davidge and Luke Bussman.

After a Keller punt set Carroll up at its own 38, Renda handed the ball to the redoubtable Penn, who plunged through the Indian line and raced 62 yards to paydirt, high stepping the last 15 yards to keep out of the grasp of his only Indian pursuer.

He would score again later in the quarter after Davidge and company forced Robinson into a 4^th-and-11 and then prevented Keller from converting.

Four plays later, Penn bulldozed 13 yards for his fourth – and final – score.

As the third period drew to a close, with the Dragons in a now soothing 45-14 lead, Keller went 3-and-out and lined up to punt. The kicker mishandled the snap, and the resulting melee ended with the Dragons sitting on the Indian 16.

Renda zipped the ball to receiver Brody Knowles (2-31), and the promising sophomore ended Dragon scoring for the night. The quarter ended with the Dragon band striking up “Hey, Baby,” signaling to all there would be no Dragons slain this night.

Give the Indians credit. They fought long and hard to the last. As the final quarter opened, with substitutions starting on both squads, backup Keller quarterback Brock Burnett briefly stirred the dispirited Homecoming crowd – now considerably thinned – by speeding 32 yards for a meaningless touchdown.

Wormley on crutches

Despite the night’s successful conclusion, more than a few Dragonheads were sobered by the sight of the remarkable Wormley on crutches, his senior year ruined by injury and his promising future endangered.

Our depression only deepened when junior Luc Jacquemard, a talented receiver and excellent kickoff returner, went down and had to be supported off the field.

It was a sad reminder that glory under Friday Night Lights can be brief indeed, and often comes at a cost. Those of us who follow these young men’s endeavors and hail their successes – which quicken our pulses and prompt our cheers – shouldn’t forget that they sacrifice a lot to pursue their dreams.

Best wishes to both Wormley and Jacquemard, and here’s hoping their recoveries are rapid and complete.

The Dragons play Haslet Eaton next week at home, then face the still undefeated Northwest Texans in Justin on Oct. 17. At this stage, the Texans seem to pose the only serious challenge to the Dragons as they pursue a District 4-6A championship.

Northwest boasts a 5-0 season record, but its non-district wins over Mansfield Legacy and McKinney North don’t count for much. The Dragons, on the other hand, have faced the best of 4-6A already, sending both Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity down in flames.

Even at home, the Texans best be prepared for the Dragons' fiery visit.

Fall may not be in the air yet, folks, but it’s coming. It’s coming. Ain’t it?

Go, Dragons!

Fall may not be in the air yet -- but the Dragons are in the second half of their regular season and still going strong.