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.
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 4th-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!
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