Who’s the boss?
Electricity filled the air last night as the Southlake
Carroll Dragons administered a debilitating shock treatment to the overwhelmed Midland
Bulldogs on their home turf.
And not all of it came from the lightning strikes that
lit up the skies around Astound Broadband Stadium, delaying the Dragons’ season
opener by 1½ hours.
Much of it came courtesy of the Carroll offense, which
came roaring out the weather delay like a caged – well, dragon – eager
to show everyone who was boss.
Quarterback Angelo Renda did a masterful job as Dragon
field general, peppering his young – but oh-so-talented – receiving corps with
pinpoint passes and deftly launching the rushing careers of two running backs
making their varsity debut.
(I won’t mention the two interceptions Renda lofted,
uncharacteristic missteps I’m sure he’s still kicking himself about. Besides,
they proved meaningless since the bedraggled Bulldogs went 3-and-out after each
one.)
But the Renda-led offense wasn’t the only electrifying
performance of the evening. While he and company were marching unhindered up and
down Astound field, the Dragon defense restricted Midland’s offensive wattage
to that of a guttering candle, a light so dim it might have been a flickering
firefly – if fireflies still existed on West Texas’ parched and dusty plains.
Triple-option challenge
Dragon defenders shredded the Midland offensive front,
which made it impossible for Midland’s much-discussed triple-option offense to
work as intended. When Bulldog quarterback Carson Anderson wanted to hand off
the ball, Dragon linemen William Chen, Crawford Taylor and their defensive
chums were johnny-on-the-spot to disrupt the exchange. When he wanted to keep
the ball, the Dragon horde was stuffing his face into the turf.
And then, alas, there was the unfortunate fact that
Anderson isn’t a very good passer. He attempted only 5 passes and completed
only 1 – for 6 yards. (You read that right – 6 yards.) That deficiency, made
more acute by Carroll’s talented defensive secondary, effectively eliminated
the third leg of Midland’s offensive stool, leaving the Bulldogs with what kindly
might be called a zero-option offense.
Needlessly brutal? Maybe, but you have to consider the
final score: 49-0. Even after Carroll’s backup squads took over for the
starters, the ’Dogs were toothless mutts. Truth hurts, don’t it?
Of course, no one figured the Bulldogs would put up
much of a fight against the vandals from Southlake. In last year’s matchup at
Dragon Stadium, the Dragons started out slowly, but eventually hung a 48-24
loss on their West Texas visitors.
Besides that, respected football journal Dave
Campbell’s Texas Football has ranked the Dragons No. 1 in 6A Division II.
It predicts Carroll will win its ninth state championship this year, after
making it to the state finals last year before falling to the Austin
Vandegriff Vipers.
The Dragons return 19 starters this season from that
team, 10 on offense and nine on defense. That experience was on full display
last night.
William Chen, playing at outside linebacker to take
advantage of his impressive football IQ, scampered through the Bulldog 0-line
with impunity. Defensive lineman Crawford Taylor spent so much time in the
Midland backfield he might as well have worn a blue jersey. Defensive end Zac
Hayes, who was shaken up early in the game, nonetheless regularly short-circuited timing and execution by Anderson and his beleaguered comrades.
Impressive debuts
But it was the debut of running backs Harrison
Phillips, a sophomore for heaven’s sake, and Brooks Biggers, a junior transfer
from Highland Park, that captured the attention of Dragonheads.
Running in tandem, the pair ran wild behind their
beefy offensive line, reminding more than a few of us of last year’s running
duo of Riley Wormley and Davis Penn, both sidelined with season-ending injuries.
Phillips and Biggers were handed frontline duties
because Wormley graduated and Penn still is recovering from the ACL injury that
took him out of the limelight last year. Fingers are crossed that Penn will
return later in the season. (Please, God, he’s a good kid and deserves his time under Friday night lights. Besides, he got a great career waiting for him at the next level when he graduates.)
But Biggers (16 rushes for 103 yards and 2 TDs) and
Phillips (10 rushes for 92 yards and 1 TD) filled in nicely for the mending
Penn. How will they fare as the season progresses and opposition stiffens? Hard
to know, but the prospects look promising.
Last night, both youngsters showed poise and patience in letting
the behemoths on their O-line bulldoze paths through the dazed and confused
Bulldogs. The young Phillips was particularly eye-catching. He kicked off the 2nd
quarter by dashing 42 yards untouched through the middle of the Midland line to
score Carroll’s third TD.
As for Renda, who has committed to Pitt when he
graduates, his season debut couldn’t have gone better, aforementioned INTs
notwithstanding.
He completed 16 of 24 passes for 248 yards and 3 TDs.
His favorite target – not surprisingly – was senior Brock Boyd (6 catches for
88 yards and 1 TD), an Ohio State commit who’s one of the state’s most highly
regarded receivers. Close behind was junior Blake Gunter (5 catches for 88
yards and 2 TDs. Junior Brody Knowles snagged 2 for 29 yards.
The road ahead
For the Dragons, the next few weeks will be a proving
ground of sorts as they face off against what perhaps will be their toughest opponents
of the regular season.
Next Friday, the Hebron Hawks travel to Dragon
Stadium. Carroll whipped the Hawks handily in the regular season last year,
easily rolling to a 59-16 ass-kicking.
But when the Dragons faced Hebron in the third round
of the playoffs later in the year, it was a different story. The Hawks gave the
Dragons all they could handle, and Carroll only managed to eke out a 42-37
victory that wasn’t secured until the final seconds of the game.
Hebron lusts for revenge, you can bet on that. The
Dragons can expect a bitter struggle to defend the sanctity of Dragon Stadium.
On Sept. 12, Carroll meets Bryon Nelson, a District
4-6A foe who fell to the Dragons last year 33-21 in a knock-down-drag-out
affair to decide district champs. The Bobcats – always tough, well-disciplined
and well-coached – will be powerfully motivated this year. During the off
season, they lost their gifted and beloved football coach, Travis Pride, who died
suddenly last May. They’ll have something to play for this season, and Carroll
had best be prepared for an unpredictable, emotion-charged matchup.
Friendly foes
Then on Sept. 19, the Euless Trinity Trojans, another
4-6A resident, come to town. The Trojans are friendly foes, but foes
nonetheless. The Trinity and Carroll schools, which are located only 10 miles
apart, share a mutual respect and affection for each other, despite the seismic
differences in the communities they serve.
The Trojans are fiercely proud, always filled with
talent and intensely competitive on the field. Last year, the Dragons managed
to outlast a determined Trojan onslaught to win 56-48. Frankly, it could have
gone either way. Will this year be any different? Not likely.
But tough competition is good preparation for the
playoffs, particularly if you find yourself in a relatively weak district like
4-6A. So despite the challengers, the Dragons will square their shoulders, grit
their teeth – and get it done.
The playoffs – and a ninth state crown. It’s time,
Dragonheads! It’s time!
Go Dragons!
