They didn’t go quietly
SOUTHLAKE – It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t particularly
pretty. But as the philosopher wisely observed: “A win is a win.”
And for the Southlake Carroll Dragons, it’s a win that
packs a particularly satisfying punch.
Their close-fought victory over the determined and
dangerous Keller Indians last night means Carroll most probably has earned
another District 4-6A championship trophy. It remains the only undefeated squad
left in the 4-6A lineup.
But the Indians, bless ’em, didn’t go down quietly. Not
only did they bring a boisterous and noisy student section with them to Dragon
Stadium. They also played head-to-head and toe-to-toe against the Dragons,
scoring handily against the Carroll D and waging an aerial attack that the
Dragon secondary found hard to dismantle.
For their part, the Dragons struggled, as they have
all season, with penalties that disrupted timing, momentum and scoring. Consider
this: Carroll was penalized a whopping 13 times for 125 yards, while Keller drew
only six for 35.
Against a better team – and those teams are coming, if
not in district play, then in the quickly approaching playoffs – it would have
proved deadly. Head coach Lee Munn acknowledged after the game the problem had
to be addressed – and corrected.
Fiercely focused
Keller arrived in Dragon country last night fiercely
focused and full of fight. The Indians, who at 6-0 were enjoying their best
season since 1967, hoped mightily to slay the Dragons, a feat they hadn’t
accomplished since 1999.
And they almost carried it off. Don’t be misled by the
40-28 final score. The game was a lot closer than the numbers indicate, and the
Indians remained within striking distance until the waning moments of the
contest.
The lead changed seven times in the see-saw contest. A
minute into the final period, Keller edged ahead a razor-thin 28-27. Indian
quarterback Matt McCroskey, aided by a dramatic 53-yard pass reception by WR
Graham Kaler, had moved his team to the Dragon 3, where RB Blake Dyniewski
bolted across the goal line.
The Dragon offense, no doubt feeling the brush of
angel wings, countered immediately.
Hard running by Dragon RB Brooks Biggers (17-107) –
aided by a 4th-down, 17-yard pass reception by star receiver Brody
Knowles (9-143) – carried Carroll to Keller’s 9-yard line. From there, Biggers
plowed into the endzone to give the Dragons a 5-point lead, 33-28, with 4 ½
minutes left on the clock. (A 2-point conversion attempt failed.)
It seemed inevitable that McCroskey (24 of 37 for 359
yards and 3 TDs) and the Indians would respond. They had done exactly that all
evening in tit-for-tat scoring exchanges with the Dragons.
But the Carroll D, as it seems always to do, stood
tall when it counted, smothering the Keller drive at its own 16. In the end, it
held the Indians, who were averaging 51 yards per game before last night, to their
lowest point total of the year.
Muffed punt
Forced to punt, the Indian kicker muffed it, sending
the ball a meager 12 yards, and the Dragons began work at the Keller 28.
Stellar receiver Blake Gunter then stepped into the
spotlight. He already had caught seven passes for 80 yards, and he had lined up
in the wildcat to receive direct snaps at critical moments earlier in the game.
A smart, sure-handed receiver, Gunter runs with power
and passion. He’s hard to bring down and can be counted on to extend plays
after receptions.
On the crucial Carroll drive that followed the
abbreviated Keller punt, Gunter (5-29 rushing) gobbled up yards in the wildcat,
finally sprinting 7 yards across the line with 1:48 left to hand Carroll a well-earned
40-28 victory.
Gunter’s versatility isn’t lost on his teammates.
In a post-game interview with the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, quarterback Hudson Tomcheck (21-31, 305) heaped praise on
the California commit.
“I see Blake as a Swiss Army knife,” Tomcheck told the
Star-T’s Charles Baggarly. “He can play quarterback and running back. We
can put him at receiver. He can do it all.”
Tomcheck didn’t do so badly last night, either. He completed
21 of 31 passes for 305 yards, ran 12 times for 53 yards and scored once in the air and twice on the ground.
Dragon-killer
Brushed by a brisk, westerly autumn breeze, Keller
wasted no time in revealing its Dragon-killer ambitions. It scored on its first
drive, a six-play, 75-yard effort that ended with McCroskey hitting Ethan
George in the end zone.
Carroll’s following drive died at the hands of a
15-yard penalty. Disaster loomed when the ensuing punt was blocked and the
Indians took it to the house.
The Dragons caught a break when a penalty canceled the
score, and they got another 4th-down chance. Gunter took the direct snap
and got the first down. On the next play, Tomcheck lofted a 46-yard bomb to
Thomas Joyner III to tie things up.
The Dragons edged to a narrow lead with a 28-yard field
goal by Kyle Vidal, but a blizzard of yellow flags prevented them from putting
away the Indians.
Keller seized the lead half-way into the 2nd
period when McCroskey connected again with George. Carroll regained it with a
1-yard plunge by Tomcheck and finished the first half with another Vidal field
goal, this time a 40-yarder that split the uprights literally at the buzzer.
The Dragons carried a 20-14 lead into the locker room,
and Dragonheads prepared for a challenging second half.
Midway through the third quarter, Keller gained the
lead yet again with a 32-yard TD pass from McCroskey to Graham Kaler. But Carroll’s
stiffening defense prevented Keller from converting on 4th down.
Carroll took over near midfield, and Tomcheck moved
the Dragons to the Keller 10, where he fought his way across the line to send
Carroll ahead 27-21 as the game entered the decisive final quarter.
Spirited battle
In an interview with the Star-T’s Baggarly,
Munn said the Dragons expected a spirited battle against Keller.
“We know what to expect when we play this game,” he
said. “Keller is always going to take their game to the next level when it’s
against us. They’re always going to play with a little bit more enthusiasm.”
Enthusiasm? Keller played last night with blood in its
eye and a thirst for mayhem in its heart. At least, that’s what I saw from my
green seat.
Munn, who also calls defensive plays for the Dragons, showed
character in post-game interviews.
He took the blame for Carroll’s struggles in
containing McCroskey, admitting his man coverage scheme just didn’t work. How
often do you see that kind of candor from a head coach?
The stats speak for themselves, however. Keller
receivers had a field day. Cash Erdman caught 5 passes for 111 yards, Kaler
grabbed 3 for 102, Dyniewski got 10 for 82 and George made the most of his two
grabs, turning both into TDs.
Dez Bryant Jr., who rushed 7 times for 43 yards against Keller, heads downfield.
Munn also acknowledged the penalty-prone Dragons have much to improve.
“We protected the ball, and that was good,” Munn said
to the Star-Telegram. “But there are so many things we have to get
better at. Fortunately, we won the football game. But we’re not doing our team
justice if we don’t look into the mirror and fix a lot of stuff.”
Mighty pleased
But overall, he told Baggarly, he’s mighty pleased
with his youngsters.
“Those young kids that we had those first three weeks
have grown up and matured,” Munn said. “They’re starting to figure out some
things, in terms of our preparation. And also personnel, figuring out who we
are and what’s our identity. We finally settled in on that and have kids in the
right places. Now, it’s about, ‘How much better can we get each week?’”
The answer to that comes next Friday, when the Dragons
continue their march to a district title with a slog down traffic-choked Texas
114 to Northwest ISD Stadium in Justin.
They shouldn’t have much trouble with the Byron Nelson
Bobcats this year. But since this high school football, it’s always wise to take
a we’ll-see attitude.
Go, Dragons!
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