Herculean struggle: Southlake Carroll 42, Hebron 37

 

Quarterback Angelo Renda had perhaps the best game of his career against the Hawks.

No room for complacency

IRVING – The young Southlake Dragons might be forgiven if they had entered yesterday’s third-round matchup with the Hebron Hawks with a certain degree of complacency.

After all, when they met Hebron in the second game of the season in September, they drubbed the Hawks 59-16. It’s easy to see how they might have thought they could take care of business and advance to the regional finals without too much trouble. Right? Right??

Hardly. The Hawks screeched into Irving ISD’s Ellis Stadium yesterday with blood in their eyes and a thirst for retribution – and redemption.

They got neither, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Lord-a-mercy, how they tried. Led by exemplary double-threat quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr., they engaged the Dragons in a hard-hitting, nail-biting, back-and-forth dogfight until virtually the last seconds of the game.

But Carroll survived the onslaught. It will advance to the regional finals for the eighth straight year and for the 25^th time since 1987 (thanks to The Dallas Morning News for that revealing factoid). The Dragons now will meet the winner of today’s contest between Crowley and Denton Guyer, a bitter rival of old.

Not complacent or unprepared

Carroll lived to fight another day because the Dragons arrived in Ellis Stadium neither complacent nor unprepared. Carroll players knew they were not facing the same team they whipped on Sept. 6. And they understood only too well that they also were not the same team who beat the Hawks to a bloody pulp.

The main difference in the Dragons was illustrated in sad detail on the Carroll sidelines yesterday as two young men on crutches, both wearing their jerseys and standing side-by-side, watched forlornly the struggle before them.

When the Dragons played the Hawks the first time this year, both young men were in pads and riding high as Carroll’s dynamic rushing duo – Riley Wormley and Davis Penn. But that was before Wormley was sidelined in mid-season and Penn had to be helped off the field with an ACL injury in last week’s squeaker with Wolfforth Frenship.

Denied their services, the Dragon offense isn’t as explosive or as overpowering as it was with Wormley and Penn in the lineup. Had they been on the field yesterday, I suspect the game would not have been the gut-wrencher that it turned out to be.

To fill the gaps they left, Carroll has had to turn elsewhere.

Senior Christian Glenn has stepped up and done an admirable job. He was solid as a rock yesterday, rushing 17 times for 87 yards and a TD. But as talented and committed and determined as Glenn is – and he has all three traits in plentiful supply – he is, alas, no Riley Wormley and he is no Davis Penn.

Senior Christian Glenn had a solid night against the Hawks, rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown.

So to bolster the ground game, Carroll coaches have designed more plays to display quarterback Angelo Renda’s agile, elusive rushing skills.

On full display

That strategy was on full display yesterday and Renda rose brilliantly to the challenge, turning in perhaps the best game of his career. On the ground, he gained three rushing TDs, rumbling to 103 yards on 17 carries. In the air, he threw two more TD passes, completing 20 of 28 passes for 304 yards.

After the game, Carroll head coach Riley Dodge heaped praise on his quarterback to the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Charles Baggarly.

“He’s just an unbelievable competitor,” Dodge said. “He is the ultimate practice player. That is why he is able to play so fast on Friday nights. He wants the ball.”

Renda told Baggarly that the Dragons play better when the game is on the line.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to who wants it more,” Renda said. “One play at a time mentality. When the lights are on, that’s when we play our best football.”

The Dragons needed that kind of herculean effort in order to slip past the surging Hawks and their superb field leader, Patrick Crayton. If the name is a familiar one, it’s because he’s the son of the Dallas Cowboys receiver.

Crayton the younger overwhelmed the Carroll secondary, completing 15 of 22 passes for 224 yards and a TD. On the ground, he rushed 17 times for 77 yards and scored four TDs.

Yesterday’s matchup was an exhilarating battle of the quarterbacks, and even the most stalwart Dragonheads had to shake their heads ruefully at Crayton’s skills and his teammates’ inspired performance.

Hawk Drew Koster was Crayton’s favorite target, making 6 receptions for 91 yards.

For Carroll, Brock Boyd was outstanding – again – making 12 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown, a stunning 40-yard Renda pass he snatched out of the arms of a defender at the goal line.

Renda’s other passing TD was an 8-yard toss to Brody Knowles, Carroll’s first score of the game that tied things halfway into the 1^st quarter, 7-7.

Renda extended the Dragon lead to 14-7 with a 16-yard sprint. Crayton answered promptly with a 3-yard TD pass to Tyler Hoke.

The next Dragon drive featured Boyd's contested reception at the goal line, which pushed Carroll into the lead once more, 21-14

But a 44-yard Hebron field goal narrowed that insubstantial lead to 21-17, leaving a nervous, unsettled Dragon nation to try to enjoy halftime’s “Lids” show by the marching band, Emerald Belles, et al.

A promising Dragon drive in the 3^rd quarter was squelched when Boyd grabbed a Renda pass, then fumbled it away. Hebron’s resulting 71-yard TD drive gave it the first lead of the game, 24-21.

Receiver Brock Boyd fights for yardage during yesterday's matchup against the Hawks.

But Carroll responded immediately. A 63-yard drive marked by hard running from Glenn and Renda sent the Dragons to the Hawk 2, from where Renda sneaked across to give Carroll the lead once again, 28-24. 

Critical drive

In the decisive 4^th quarter, Carroll showed its offensive muscle on a critical drive set up by a Hebron punt. From his 33, Renda sprinted 11 yards to the 44, launched a 36-yard pass to Boyd to the Hawk 20, then zipped one to Blake Gunter at the 3. Glenn punched through to the endzone, and the Dragons seized a 35-24 lead.

But Crayton kept his cool and marched the Hawks back into Carroll territory. From the 29, he bullied to the 14. A penalty brought Hebron to the 7, from where Crayton crashed over to bring the score to a tantalizingly close (at least for Hawk fans) 35-31.

The next Dragon drive, which ate up a good chunk of the 4^th quarter clock, landed Renda and company at the Hebron 6. He dropped back and drifted left, looking for an open receiver in the endzone. Seeing none, he tucked the ball and bolted across the line. With 4:41 left in the game, the score stood at 42-31.

Plenty of time

That left the worthy Crayton plenty of time, and Dragonheads knew it. Our side of Ellis Stadium grew grimly silent as we watched the Hebron QB methodically drive downfield to the Carroll 8, where he sailed, effortlessly it seemed, into the end zone. With 3½ minutes to play, it was 42-37. The Hawks, eager to narrow the Dragon lead to a field goal, attempted a 2-point conversion, but failed.

Hebron, of course, attempted an onside kick, acutely aware of Carroll’s ability to score again. But the well-positioned Boyd grabbed the ball on an awkward bounce few Dragons could have handled and came down at the 49-yard line.

That essentially ended the game. The Dragons ate up the clock and turned the ball over to the Hawks with only 14 seconds left. In a symbolic – but in some ways, heartbreaking – ending to the contest, Crayton was smothered behind the line as the buzzer sounded.

The playoff road, already a rocky one for the bruised and battered Dragons, only gets more treacherous from here.

No one knows that better than Dodge. No matter who wins the Crowley-Guyer matchup, he told the Star-T's Baggarly, the Dragons will have their hands full.

“They’re two great programs,” he said. “It’s going to be a tall task for us. If we don’t play better in a lot of areas, it’ll be tough sledding for us. We’ve got to get back to work next week, focus on the Carroll Dragons and tighten stuff up.”

And they'll do it. Whether it will be enough remains to be seen. That is the glory -- and the agony -- of the win-or-go-home playoffs.

Regardless, this is a great group of young men. They’re talented, disciplined and conscientious. And they’ve handled adversity with maturity and forbearance. They’ve earned our support and affection. Say it with me now:

Go, Dragons!

Dragons celebrate their regional semi-final round victory. They're headed for the regional finals for the eighth straight year.