Determined and feisty
KELLER – The Southlake Carroll Dragons, despite some
twists and turns, got back on track last night, dispatching a determined and
feisty Keller Central squad with more ambitions than talent.
The Chargers had their moments, lord knows, led by two
twin brothers who play both ways and aren’t too shabby at either.
They managed to keep things interesting, thanks to
some sloppy, undisciplined action by the Dragons. But Central simply couldn’t
contain a Carroll squad tired of being knocked around by some of the top teams
in the state and focused on entering District 4-6A play with a bang.
Dez Bryant Jr., son of the former Dallas Cowboys
great, and quarterback Hudson Tomcheck, who accounted for three scores, were
the offensive stars in overwhelming the upstart Chargers.
Last night was a welcome return to victory lane for
the Dragons, who have endured a rugged three-week start to the 2026 season,
barely squeaking by a premier Oklahoma team in the season opener at the Cotton
Bowl, then falling miserably to Texas powerhouses North Crowley and Allen.
Early lead
Carroll leaped to a 14-point lead and never
relinquished it. Bryant struck first, rolling 14 yards to paydirt, then adding
a 15-yard strike with 13 seconds left in the first period.
Bryant, who normally lines up as a receiver, rumbled
77 yards on 14 carries. Carroll head coach Lee Munn told The Dallas Morning
News’ Greg Riddle that the Dragons have big plans for the youngster.
“Moving forward he is going to be doing everything for
us,” Munn said. “He’s going to play running back, he’s going to play in
the slot, he’s going to play outside, he’s going to return kicks, return punts.
He’s going to be an X factor for us.”
The Chargers could do no better than a 35-yard field
goal in the first half, despite aggressive pressure by quarterback Isaiah Taylor,
who also plays cornerback, and his twin, Jeremiah, a receiver who also lines up
as a corner on defense.
Quarterback Hudson Tomcheck breaks clear and heads for one of his two rushing TDs against the Chargers.
Isaiah completed 12 of 24 passes and 1 TD last night. His brother was the Chargers’ leading receiver, snagging five passes for 69 yards.
But the Dragon defense, knocked around some by a
surging Charger offense, stood tall when it counted.
Both teams kept the officiating crew scurrying. Carroll,
normally a tightly disciplined team, racked up 11 penalties for a whopping 103
yards, including at least four 15-yard walkoffs for a variety of offenses. Central
was little better, amassing 9 penalties for 95 yards.
Dramatic ending
Tomcheck, as the half dwindled, put together an
8-play, 48-yard drive that ended dramatically when he juked, jived and jolted 13
yards for the third Dragon TD. When the buzzer rang, Carroll held a comfortable
and, as it turned out, unassailable 21-3 lead.
Tomcheck completed 15 of 21 (70%) for 110 yards and a
1TD. He was the second leading rusher behind Bryant, rolling to 66 yards on 6
carries and two TDs.
The Chargers’ best chance of the upset for which they
yearned came early in the 3rd quarter. Dragon defender Ty Moody
intercepted an errant Taylor pass, but the Carroll drive immediately stalled at
its 45.
The Carroll punter bobbled the snap, and Charger
corner Jeremiah Taylor knocked it loose. Farrod Meling snatched it up and
roared 35 yards to the end zone, melting the Dragon lead to 11.
But the Dragons responded briskly. Tomcheck led them
on a 69-yard drive energized by a 34-yard pass reception by leading receiver
Brody Knowles (6-101). Knowles then ended the drive with a 12-yard TD catch from Tomcheck.
Central refused to collapse, however. It narrowed the
Dragon led to 11 yet again early in the 4th, staging a sustained
66-yard drive that ended when Jerry Dillard surged 1 yard across the line.
A key moment occurred when a 39-yard field goal by
Carroll was blocked and the Chargers recovered the ball at their 1. They moved
the ball to the 26, but could go no further, and Carroll took over on downs.
The right decisions
As the Dragon band struck up “Hey, Baby,” the
traditional signal that a Dragon win is imminent, Tomcheck tossed an 11-yarder
to Thomas Joyner III, then slipped around the right sideline to dart 12 yards
for the final Carroll score.
“I’m really proud of Hudson,” Munn told the DMN’s
Riddle. “The decisions he’s making and protecting the football. That’s only his
fourth varsity start as a quarterback, so he’s making the right decisions. You
can see what his legs can do.”
As Tomcheck would be the first to point out, he had
help. In addition to the worthy Knowles, receivers Blake Gunter (3-34) and Joyner
(4-31) and rusher Brooks Biggers (8-35) proved too potent for the Chargers.
Bryant, interviewed by Charles Baggarly of the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram, spoke for his fellow Dragons.
“We are a great team,” Bryant said. “We had two tough
games these previous weeks, and I feel like this was definitely a bounce-back
for us. This showed that we are on the map, and we are a solid team. So this
win definitely means a lot.”
Some Dragonheads – me, for instance – had blithely
dismissed the Chargers, who went into last night’s game 3-0 for the first time
since 2019.
Shame on us for allowing our judgment to be clouded by
memories of the bedraggled Central team of old, the one that won only a handful
of games in the three seasons before last year.
In 2025, however, the Chargers went 5-5. And this
summer, they whipped Allen to win the state 7-on-7 championship. That’s no
guarantee of regular-season success, of course, but it does signal that significant
change is afoot.
It’s early, of course, but the smart money is on the
Chargers to make the playoffs this year, a remarkable turnaround for the
program.
Munn heaped praise on the Central transformation and tipped
his hat to Charger head coach Eric Vance.
“That’s a really good football team,” he told the Star-T’s
Baggarly. “And they’re going to make playoffs in our district. Vance and his
coaching staff, they’ve got the kids bought in. They play hard. They play
respectful. And we’ve got all the respect in the world for them.”
Work in progress
Vance told Baggarly that the Chargers are a work in
progress.
“We still haven’t put a game together yet,” he said.
“It’s going to be scary when we do.”
Vance said Central’s biggest problem is the depth of
its bench.
“At the end of the game, we ran out of bullets, to be
honest,” he said to the Star-T. “We have some very good talent, but
we’re having to play them both ways, just because some of the depth we’d like
to have — we just we don’t have it.”
As for the Dragons, they took an initial step in achieving the
first in every season’s three goals: To win district, to make a deep run in the
playoffs and to win a state championship.
The Dragons’ back-to-back defeats by North Crowley and
Allen will sting for a while. After all, consecutive losses at Carroll are
rare. The last time it happened was a couple of decades ago.
But Munn said his team would continue to focus on getting
better and being ready on game day.
“The kids did a really good job of diving into their
prep, and I think it showed,” he told Baggarly. “Our kids did a really good job
of playing fast and executing the game plan.”
Next up, the Haslet Eaton Eagles at home.
Go, Dragons!
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