Game Day: Southlake Carroll Dragons 38, Hurst L.D. Bell 14

The Southlake Carroll Dragons have gone undefeated in every state championship run they’ve ever made. So finishing the regular season last night with a 10-0 record is comforting for those of us – and oh, that includes every Dragon fan on earth – who harbor desires for a ninth, record-setting state trophy.

But let’s face it, a perfect record in the regular season doesn’t mean a damned thing in the playoffs. And the road to state this year – like every other year – will be a long and difficult one.

But what the hey, let’s bask in the glory of an unblemished record, at least until the team's blond-hair dyes are completed and the black uniform pants are laundered and distributed, both cherished playoff traditions.

The Dragons face the Mansfield Tigers in Cowboys Stadium next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m., but since there’s an earlier game that night, it’ll probably be closer to 10 p.m. That’s not an optimum time to play football, but it is what it is.

The alternative scenario, which the Dragons avoided by some last-second heroics by the Cedar Hill Longhorns last night, was a first-round matchup on Saturday afternoon with the aforementioned Longhorns.

Cedar Hill was expected to easily handle South Grand Prairie in the final game of the season. Instead, it found itself in the fight of its life and only managed to eke out a come-from-behind victory on the last play of the game, a 7-yard TD pass that gave it a heart-racing 37-35 victory.

If the Longhorns had lost, they would have faced the Dragons in the first round, a matchup that neither team wanted. If they keep winning, Southlake and 8-2 Cedar Hill eventually will face either other, but both teams would rather that contest come later in the post-season when they each have established rhythm and momentum.

Instead, the Dragons will battle the 7-3 Tigers, who dismantled Midlothian last night 62-37. Our Southlake heroes had best not look past Mansfield, a solid, disciplined team on a roll, lest they find themselves booted early from the playoffs.

After all, Mansfield whipped Cedar Hill last week, a 49-34 shocker that indicated the returning state champion Longhorns might not be all their reputation implied and the Tigers might be something more.

But before we focus exclusively on the post season, we should tidy up last night’s affair.

One could almost – almost – feel sorry for the L.D. Bell Blue Raiders. A sleepy, half-hearted effort by the Dragons, facing a hired-up Bell squad with literally nothing to lose, left the score at halftime 17-7. It wasn’t hard to imagine the Raiders – whose dismal 1-8 record already had snapped their playoff streak – contemplating the delicious prospect of felling the mighty, high-flying Dragons in the friendly confines of Pennington Field in Bedford.

A few of us on the Dragon side exchanged raised eyebrows as the teams headed for their locker rooms at half. We need not have worried, of course. The Dragons came out energized in the second half, icing the game with a couple of TDs in the third quarter before pulling their starters and dispatching Raider hopes to oblivion.

Bell, which had moved with some authority in the second quarter against Carroll’s sluggish D-line, managed only a negative-4 yards during its first three possessions in the second half. It only collected a second touchdown after Dragon backups had replaced starters.

It was a record-setting night for Dragon running back Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, who left the game at halftime with 98 yards and a touchdown. He now holds Dragon records for total rushing yards during a season (1,365), for most consecutive 100-yard games (7) and for most 200-yard games (2). I’m also fairly certain he holds the record for total rushing TDs in a season, but I don’t have that number at hand.

Senior quarterback Ryan Agnew also was in good form, completing 13 of 18 passes for 189 yards and three TDs, one each to WRs Parker Fentriss, Tariq Gordon and Ryan McGiboney.

His back-up, junior Montana Murphy, who spelled him late in the third quarter, added the final score for Carroll, a fourth-quarter, 19-yard pass to junior WR Tommy Kane, his first reception of the season. Remember that connection, Murphy-to-Kane. You might be hearing a lot more about it, come next season.

So Carroll emerges from the regular season with some bumps and bruises, but with its chief goals in hand: a perfect record against a stiff schedule, champions in one of the toughest districts in the state and first seed in the playoffs.

And its warriors are mostly healthy and focused on the job ahead. Sophomore linebacker Jacob Copeland and WR/DB Tariq Gordon both left the game last night in the first half, Copeland with a shoulder injury and Gordon with a knee. But Gordon returned to play in the second half, and Copeland was seen on the sideline with his helmet on, so apparently his injury is not serious. That’s good because Copeland is having a great season at linebacker and will be needed for the playoff inferno ahead. As for Gordon, he’s a beast on both sides of the ball and a critical element of Dragon success.

Some of us hoped, as we closely monitored the Cedar Hill/South Grand Prairie game, that Carroll would end up playing the Longhorns next Saturday, instead of a “midnight match” with Mansfield on Friday.

 “We might as well face Cedar Hill now, while they’re in the middle of a losing streak,” a buddy said as the score see-sawed back and forth in Grand Prairie.

 But the football gods decreed otherwise, and so it’ll be the Tigers instead. Lord-a-mercy, how I love this time of year. Go Dragons!

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 62, Haltom 0

Virtually every senior on the Southlake Carroll Dragons got into last night’s runaway contest against the overwhelmed and under-powered Haltom Buffalos.

And that’s as it should be on Senior Night.

Senior receivers C.J. Bryan and Brooks Pannell each snagged their first touchdowns of the season in bolstering Carroll’s battered receiving corps. Bryan scored twice, catching four passes for 86 yards. Pannell also scored twice, finishing with six catches and 79 yards.

Pannell’s parents sit a couple of rows down from my seats in Dragon Stadium. It did my heart good to see the pride and joy on his mom and dad’s faces when he made the scoring catches and was credited for the scores by the stadium announcer.

Moreover, senior running back Deondre Wiltshire, who came in at halftime to relieve starter Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, had his best game ever, scoring two touchdowns while piling up 95 yards on eight carries.

Last night’s contest was as much about preparing for the playoffs as it was about facing the bottom of the District 7-6A roster. Haltom is winless this season and, try as it might, couldn’t put up much of a struggle against the confident Dragons, who have faced several trials by fire this season – against Trinity and Coppell, for instance – to arrive at their unbeaten 9-0 (6-0 in district) record.

So Carroll took the opportunity last night to rest its starters, give its backups substantial game experience and to dust off its passing game, which surprisingly has taken a back seat this season to the Dragon ground game.

Senior quarterback Ryan Agnew was on point and on target, completing 13 of 17 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns – not a bad night, particularly since he was relieved halfway through the second quarter by backup Montana Murphy.

Agnew’s completion rate would have been even more impressive but for a series of downs near the Haltom goal line, when he threw three straight passes into the end zone. One was dropped after Agnew delivered it right in the receiver’s chest and the second was overthrown when the receiver flubbed the route.

Nevertheless, it was good to see Carroll getting its aerial attack in shape. It will need it when the playoffs begin in two weeks, along with the Dragon ground attack led by Humphrey, who saw last night’s air show terminate his string of 100-yard games.

He managed only 77 yards on 12 carries and a single touchdown, a below-average night for the hard-charging Humphrey, who is having a record-setting season for the Dragons. His 17 touchdowns this season already has snapped Tre’ Newton’s previous 15-TD season record, and he’s got another game to pad the numbers.

He, too, took a seat early last night, replaced by Wiltshire and junior Grant McFarlin. With the Dragons leading 41-0, Wiltshire electrified the few Dragon fans still in the stands on a single play in the third quarter.

After fielding a Buffalo punt on the 50, Murphy handed the ball to Wiltshire, who darted around the right corner and sprinted 50 yards untouched for the score. Wiltshire hasn’t spent much time on the field this year, thanks to his fate of playing behind the sensational Humphrey. But as the fastest Dragon runner, perhaps the fastest runner in Dragon history, he has raised eyebrows and speeded heartbeats whenever he’s appeared. His speed could be an important arrow in the Carroll quiver come the post-season, and last night provided valuable real-game experience.

Meanwhile, Murphy provided a tantalizing glimpse at the Dragon future in guiding Carroll to its last four touchdowns. He completed five of seven passes for 78 yards and two passing TDs. Perhaps even more impressive, he showed a quick, elusive running style in gaining 51 yards on five carries.

You can’t say much for the pitiful Buffalos, who could manage only 56 total yards against the Dragons. Two numbers provide the tale of the tape: Carroll’s worst field position of the night was its own 36-yard line, and Haltom never ventured past its own 34.

Carroll will finish the regular season against the lowly L.D. Bell Blue Raiders, who have won but a single game this year. The hope is the Dragons can stage a repeat of last night’s romp, resting starters, giving backups some time under the lights and emerging injury-free and energized for the playoffs.

 Several things now are clear. The Dragons will take the District 7-6A title and will be joined by Trinity, Coppell and probably Colleyville in the post season. They also cinched the first seed in Division II and probably will face Mansfield in the first round.

There are those who specialize in bracket analysis and who can speak authoritatively about all the likely playoff matchup scenarios. I’ll leave them to their Ps and Qs. I’m content to wait in anticipation for the appearance of the blonds in black pants. Go Dragons!  

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 42, Colleyville Heritage 23

Call it the “Trinity Hangover.” Or perhaps the “Trojan Letdown.” Whatever you call it, the malady that infected the Southlake Carroll Dragons last night through the first half of their game against the Colleyville Heritage Panthers briefly spooked their fans – a week early – and gave aid and comfort to their foes – at least for a while.

Cruelly, it also gave Colleyville the false hope that it was on the verge of snapping its 12-game losing streak against Carroll and whipping the undefeated Dragons on home turf.

Thankfully, though, at least for the folks who ventured across Highway 26 to Panther-Mustang Stadium, the Dragons had junior RB Lil’ Jordan Humphrey to apply the defib paddles to a lifeless offense and to inspire the Carroll defense to shut down Panther shenanigans in the second half.

Humphrey, who looks better every game, was magnificent last night. He ran 35 times, a personal record, for 264 yards and four touchdowns. The junior standout looks long and lanky, but he runs like a combination battering ram/spinning top. The Panthers had no answer for him.

His runs fueled the three unanswered touchdowns the Dragons staged in the late third and fourth quarters to finally separate themselves from a feisty Colleyville squad that led for most of the game up to that point.

In truth, Dragon missteps in the first half made the Panthers look better than perhaps they are. All three of their first-half TDs came as a result of uncharacteristically sloppy Carroll execution.

The first touchdown was set up by a failed 53-yard Dragon field goal attempt fielded four yards deep in the end zone and returned to the Colleyville 40. Panther quarterback Trevor Anderson (9-20-2, 89), taking advantage both of the good field position and a dazed Dragon D, then marched his team smartly to the end zone.

The next two Colleyville scores came on consecutive interceptions of throws by hurried and harassed Dragon quarterback Ryan Agnew (12-18-2, 138 yards). Both were snatched by Heritage cornerback Nick Felix, who returned the second 32 yards for the score.

It’s a credit to the Dragon offense that despite the miscues, it moved the ball against the Panthers and kept things close, thanks largely to Humphrey, even leading briefly in the second quarter. But when the first half thankfully drew to a close, with the Dragons trailing 23-21, the sweat on the brows of Carroll fans wasn’t just because of the unseasonably sultry temperatures.

The worrisome first-half performance soon was overshadowed by a splendid second-half demonstration of offensive mastery and defensive tenacity. Once the Dragons snapped to attention, the Panthers were finished.

Humphrey’s performance puts him second only to Dragon stalwart Tre’ Newton’s 293 yards gained during a single game.

His twisting, wrenching, striving style of running is amazing to watch, and he’s deceptively strong and fiercely determined. A single tackler can’t bring him down. At times, it takes three or four. Early in the game, the Colleyville stadium announcer brought chuckles from the Carroll faithful by observing that Humphrey had been “brought down by everybody.”

Carroll’s ground game crushed Heritage, but Agnew contributed to the second-half beatdown. His front line, emboldened by the shift in momentum and halftime adjustments, gave him plenty of time to pick apart the Heritage secondary. His favorite targets were Ryan McGiboney (8-75, 1 TD) and Tariq Gordon (3-53).

By beating Colleyville, the 8-0 Dragons almost certainly will take the District 7-6A title. Their next two opponents are district cellar-dwellers Haltom and L.D. Bell. And they will be the first seed in Division II when the playoffs begin in three weeks. Likely first-round opponent: Mansfield. Go Dragons!

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 10, Euless Trinity 6 (Wow!)

The battle over, the combatants met at mid-field to exchange perfunctory handshakes and fist bumps, then victorious and vanquished parted ways to begin their traditional post-game routines.

The Southlake Carroll Dragons – winners in this, the fourth, meeting with the Euless Trinity Trojans – gathered with family and friends at the east end of Dragon Stadium to celebrate in front of the band and Emerald Belles drill team.

The celebration was particularly boisterous last night, considering what a near-run thing victory had been against a superb Trojan team, a brutal, hard-hitting defensive struggle that remained in doubt until literally the last second ticked off the clock. And it ended, as it always does, win or lose, with the playing of Carroll’s alma mater as the gathered crowd swayed and sang along.

Across the way, the Trinity team and its fans were observing a tradition of a different sort. Not a person stirred from the sold-out visitor’s side, all standing in unison and waiting for the team to begin its postgame Haka war dance, which also is performed regardless of the final score.

That’s when a fairly inspiring thing happened, at least to these jaded eyes. The celebrating Dragon crowd, on the field and in the stands, stopped and turned respectfully toward the visitors, observing the Haka ceremony in patient silence. And when it was over, Carroll fans gave the heartbroken Trojans a standing ovation.

In a time when this country seems so splintered and divided, when our politics have become poisoned with partisan bickering and ideological venom, it was grand to see that respect for a rival can still be observed and that the art of good sportsmanship has not vanished completely.

But then again, the relationship between the Carroll and Trinity programs has always been something special. Some observers, including me, had wondered if the mutual admiration and affection both fan bases have felt toward one another could survive the fact the Dragons and the Trojans are competing in the same district for the first time.

If last night’s game was any indication – and I can’t imagine a more intensely emotional environment or a more physically bruising clash – then the relationship has endured at least its initial regular-season encounter.

And what an encounter it was! No one expected last night’s game to be a smash-mouth defensive struggle in which only a single touchdown was scored.

Before last night, Trinity hadn’t punted the ball in three straight games. Its stellar running back, junior Ja-Ron Wilson (18 carries, 93 yards), using the massive Trojan O-Line as a road grader, had run over, around and through defenses. And the Trojan quarterback, junior Tyler Natee (10 carries, 60 yards), a 6-foot, 240-pound human bowling ball, had crashed through defenders with ease and aplomb.

Natee has an interesting story. He was a tailback last season and was dragooned into the signal-caller’s job because Trinity simply had no one else. For a novice, he looked pretty damned good last night. He doesn’t have much of an arm, as you might expect, but that’s no disgrace at run-centric Trinity, which has built its elite reputation and filled its trophy case with a bruising, nigh-on-impossible-to-stop running game.

Until last night.

In an extraordinary, unlikely and unexpected display of grit, determination, discipline and, oh, hell, just sheer guts, the Carroll defense slowed the mighty Trojan ground attack, bending but never breaking. Trinity’s only scores came in the first half, after the Dragons stopped the Trojans twice inside the 12-yard line, forcing field goals instead of touchdowns.

But Trinity’s beef-laden D-Line had a good night, too, keeping Dragon quarterback Ryan Agnew off-balance and sacking him three times for large losses. Meanwhile, the Trojan secondary disrupted his passing plays and caused Carroll’s depleted receiving corps to drop passes all night. Normally glue-fingered WR Parker Fentriss (6-77) dropped two TD passes.

But Agnew (17-27 for 170 yards and 1 INT) lived up to his reputation as a gritty and courageous playmaker, extending drives when the Dragons needed them most. His most electrifying moment came on Carroll’s winning drive. With his team trailing 6-3 late in the 4th, Agnew faced a 3-and-17 in Trinity territory. Flushed from the pocket, he scampered to the left for 19 yards before taking a vicious hit.

 Several plays later, the Dragon drive skidded to a halt at the Trinity 3 on 4^th down. The Dragons lined up to kick a field goal to tie it, but a Trojan jumped offside. Now faced with a yard and inches, Carroll coach Hal Wasson listened to his inner gambler’s voice and ordered his offensive unit back on the field. That’s when star RB Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, who ended the night with 106 hard-fought rushing yards on 28 carries, crashed into the Trinity Wall and bullied his 6-foot-3 frame over the goal line.

But with 5 minutes left, Carroll fans knew there was a lot of football left to play, despite the Dragons’ success in shutting out the Trojans since the 2^nd quarter.

With Carroll leading 10-6, it fell to its defense to seal the win. And that’s just what it did in the defining defensive series of the season.

With the clock draining, Trinity drove the field, landing at 1^st and goal with less than 2 minutes to play. It lost ground on first down and called its last timeout with 1:17 to go. On second down, Natee was sacked at the 15, and Trinity hurried to the line for a right sweep to the 9. But the runner was tackled in bounds so the clock continued to run. Faced with 4^th down, the junior quarterback simply couldn’t marshal his teammates in time to get the play off before the buzzer.

By defeating Trinity, Carroll is a prohibitive favorite to win District 7-6A and to secure a top seed in post-season play. It also snapped the Trojans’ 62-game district winning streak.

I’m not sure how far this Dragon team can go this year. But it has demonstrated to its fan base that it has the character and the determination to make a deep run in the playoffs. And by defeating talented teams like Tulsa Union, Coppell and Trinity, it also has shown it has the talent and athleticism to make a lot of noise in the post season.

The Dragons face the Colleyville Heritage Panthers next week in Panther-Mustang Stadium, the lights of which I can see from my seat in Dragon Stadium. Unlike the Carroll-Trinity relationship, Southlake and Colleyville fan bases don’t like each other much. It would be a pleasure to see the Dragons beat the snot out of the Panthers. Go Dragons!

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 38, Richland 0

“Who are these guys?” a bewildered Southlake Carroll fan inquired last night as the end of the first half against the Richland Rebels neared.

It had been that kind of half, an uncharacteristically sloppy performance by the Dragons on both sides of the ball. If the normally high-flying offense hadn’t been in a coma during most of the first half, Carroll could have hung 50 on the hapless Rebels.

Instead, the score read 10-0 at intermission, and it took the high-energy, high kick routine of the Emerald Belles to bring Dragon fans out of their stupor.

When the Carroll squad was a few minutes late to the sidelines after halftime, some of us wondered if the delay had been caused by dressing-room tirades of both offensive and defensive coordinators aimed at their semi-comatose charges.

This kind of lackadaisical performance against Euless Trinity next week will be calamitous, indeed. Get lazy and soft against the Trojans, and they will hand you your head whilst kicking your butt before stepping over your twitching body to get a sip of Gatorade.

Of course, the Dragons know what’s at stake and will be ready for the Trojans, who come to Dragon Stadium next week for the game that most probably will decide who wins super district 7-6A. Both teams stand undefeated, and both squads respect and admire each other.

At least they did before they were placed in the same district. The extraordinary playoff rivalry that Trinity and Carroll have enjoyed in three meetings since 2006 has only enhanced the “hale-fellow-well-met” relationship. Yearly battles for district supremacy may transform the warm and fuzzy jabber into something else entirely. We’ll see.

But back to Richland, which had made some noise in district play, entering the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex last night with a 2-0 district record. Of course, those wins were against L.D. Bell and Haltom, both still winless in district.

But some of us feared this was a perfect trap game. It was easy to image the Dragons – coming off the emotional high of a close win over Coppell last week and with the Trinity showdown looming – could look past the Rebels.

That might be a problem, particularly since Richland’s top running back, Deandre Clark, had rolled up 200 yards rushing in each of its last two games. And when Carroll came out of the gate last night like a drunken OU or UT fan in downtown Dallas, we all shifted a little nervously in our seats.

But we needn’t have worried. Richland was overmatched in every category. Here are a couple of eye-opening statistics from the Carroll radio-broadcasting crew: The Rebels never managed more than one first down and never gained more than 17 yards on any of their offensive series. For his part, Clark only managed 20 yards, a little less than half of Richland’s total offensive gain: 57 yards.

The night belonged to the Dragons. RB Lil’ Jordan Humphrey was terrific, running roughshod over the Rebel D-Line while racking up 224 rushing yards and three TDs. Senior backup Deondre Wiltshire, Carroll’s speediest RB, came in at half and demonstrated why he should get more playing time, scoring two rushing TDs against the Rebel starters.

Quarterback Ryan Agnew, still wearing a leg brace from an injury in the Abilene game two weeks ago, showed a return to his pre-injury form in several scampers. Aloft, he completed 8 of 13 throws for 112 yards.

And let’s not forget backup quarterback Montana Murphy, who spelled Agnew at the beginning of the fourth. Murphy, Agnew’s likely successor next year, has a cannon for an arm, throws the long ball with good accuracy and ain’t a half-bad scrambler. We’ll be hearing a lot more about this lad, I’ll betcha.

Southlake fans, who probably outnumbered the Richland faithful in their own stadium, spent a lot of time last night checking weather radar on their cell phones. A cool wind kicked up the second half – dispelling the warm, humid air that had most of us sitting in sweat – but the rains held off until everyone was safely out of the parking lot and on the way home.

I choose to consider that a good omen for next week against Trinity. Go Dragons!

 

 

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 28, Coppell 24

When the final whistle had blown and the combatants had retreated to their respective corners of Dragon Stadium, either to celebrate hard-won victory or to commiserate near-run, heart-breaking defeat, I noticed an odd thing.

Yellow-shirted event staffers were lined up lengthwise down the middle of the field, forming a barrier of sorts between the players and fans of the Southlake Carroll Dragons and Coppell Cowboys.

It wouldn’t have taken much to breach that thin defensive line, to be sure, but it stood as a symbol of the past and present animosity that the Dragons and the Cowboys hold for each other.

Last night’s entry into the longest-running rivalry for both teams will do nothing to ease the competitive friction or soothe the mutual dislike.

The Cowboys, who along with Denton Guyer are the only teams to beat the Dragons on their home turf since Dragon Stadium was built in 2001, gave Carroll the fight of its life. Only last-seconds heroics by battered quarterback Ryan Agnew, ace receiver Parker Fentriss and rugged RB Lil’ Jordan Humphrey saved the Southlake squad from a blemish on its unbeaten record, providing it with its first win in District 7-6A.

Coppell’s humongous offensive and defensive lines pushed Carroll’s Big Guys around all night. Its O-line, whose members clock in at 300+ pounds at every position, blew the under-sized Dragon defenders off the line and opened the way for Coppell’s smash-mouth running game.

Cowboy running backs Charles West and Brandon Rice had a field day – literally. West carried 25 times for 236 yards, running through, over and around Dragon defenders during spectacular touchdown runs of 69 and 67 yards.

Rice also was mighty good, carrying 19 times for 95 yards, but the real damage was inflicted by West. He looked all night like a man among boys as he broke tackles, eluded pursuers and outran the Dragon defensive backfield.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Cowboy quarterback Skylar Bonneau threw for 101 yards, almost exclusively to his favorite receiver, Obi Obialo, who snagged six for 89 yards.

Bonneau masterfully guided the Cowboys’ ball-control offense, dominating time of possession and limiting Carroll to only four possessions in each half. The strategy – based on the idea that the Dragons’ high-octane offense couldn’t score if it wasn’t on the field – was successful, up to a point. The Dragons trailed, 14-7, at half.

I worried our beaten and battered defensive line would be gassed by the end of the game, allowing Coppell to widen its lead. And I had reason to worry as I watched West and Rice, running behind Coppell’s behemoths, chew up swaths of yardage.

But Southlake’s Agnew-led offense evened things up soon after the break and then proceeded to score on three of its four possessions in the second half. That was enough, but only barely.

Agnew, bearing a beg brace from an injury suffered last week against Abilene, wasn’t his usual mobile self, although he did make a couple of critical scampers to keep Dragon drives alive.

It was the aerial assault he administered that ultimately made the difference. Agnew completed 25 of 33 passes for 273 yards, one INT and one TD. Carroll’s increasingly adept receiving corps were led by Fentriss, who caught nine for 135 yards, followed by Zach Farrar (6-73) and Ryan McGiboney (5-43).

And let’s not forget Humphrey (20 carries for 116 yards), a tall, lanky runner who proved last night that he’s tough as rawhide with strength to boot. Time after time, he churned for additional yardage after first contact, often requiring a handful of Coppell’s beefy boys to bring him down.

Late in the fourth, after Coppell pulled ahead by three, Agnew engineered the Dragon’s final drive. At around midfield, facing third down and 4, Agnew – desperately searching for a receiver as the pocket collapsed – jumped in the air to see over Coppell’s Wall of Muscle and tossed the ball to Fentress, who surged for good gain. Several plays later, at the Coppell 2 with a half-minute on the clock, Humphrey got the nod. He was stopped momentarily at the goal line before twisting and jerking to pay dirt with Cowboy defenders clinging to him like suckerfish to a shark.

Truth be told, many Coppell fans didn’t expect to win this one, although some will grumble about key penalties that cost the Cowboys at least one TD. Carroll was favored by most sports writers, who predicted a close game. That they got, and the Dragons, now 5-0 for the season and 1-0 in district play, will take this one with gratitude.

I expect Coppell will make some noise come playoff time. Since it likely will end up in Division I, while the Dragons likely are headed for Division II, these teams won’t meet up later this year. Thank God for small favors.

The Dragons got a taste last night of what they can expect in two weeks, when they face the Euless Trinity Trojans in a matchup that could decide the district championship. Coppell’s biggie-size O- and D-lines, its smothering defense and crushing ground offensive look a lot like the 6-0 Trojans, who Carroll will face in the regular season for the very first time.

Before Carroll starts worrying about Trinity, it must face the Richland Rebels next week. The Rebels are 2-0 in District 7-6A, and this is a classic trap game for the Dragons, as they come off the emotional high of a nail-biter against Coppell and anticipate a similar contest against Trinity.

The temptation, which the coaches will have to fight, will be to write off lowly Richland and concentrate on mighty Trinity, with whom the Dragons have weaved football magic in their three previous contests.

Focus, Dragons, focus!  

Game Day: Southlake Carroll 63, Abilene 28

A good memory can be a terrible burden sometimes. So when Southlake Carroll quarterback Ryan Agnew left the game last night a few minutes before halftime against the Abilene Eagles, I flashed back to another encounter with that stalwart West Texas program.

Back in 2007, the Dragons were three-peat state champions playing the Eagles in old Texas Stadium in the third round of the playoffs. Near the end of the first half, Dragon quarterback Riley Dodge, who had led Carroll to championship victory the year before, went down after a vicious, but legal, hit by an Abilene defender.

He was out for the game with a separated shoulder, and the Dragons eventually fell before the Eagles, 22-21, thus ending their storied Run of four state champions in five years.

When backup quarterback Montana Murphy took the field last night in place of Agnew, whose first-half heroics had opened a 35-21 lead over a determined, disciplined Abilene squad, I experienced that sinking feeling that comes when you see a promising season come to an anti-climactic thump.

A few moments later, my son – who was filming the game for the Carroll ISD sports marketing department – reported that Agnew’s parents were in the Dragon locker-room, news that prompted me, burdened by memories of ’07, to assume the worst.

I’m happy to report that it appears I was an alarmist and that Agnew is not seriously injured. Carroll coach Hal Wasson told The Dallas Morning News after that game, “He’s OK,” explaining he was just giving Murphy – a junior who has one of the best names for a quarterback that I can imagine – some valuable playing time.

That explanation seems a bit odd. I’m no gridiron guru, but is it normal to replace before the half a starter who has executed brilliantly, completing 15 of 20 passes for 251 yards, and guided his team to a hard-fought 14-point lead? Particularly when your opponent has demonstrated his ability to march the field at will?

 I suspect Agnew got nicked up and the Dragon coaches, understanding the importance of keeping the high-flying Dragon offense on track, exercised caution. Also possible, of course, but too terrible to contemplate, is that Wasson is fibbing madly and that Agnew really is hurt.

Regardless, Murphy performed admirably in his backup role. He led the Dragons to their final score of the first half, extending the lead to 42-21, and the Dragons never looked back. He rushed for two TDs and threw for a third, efficiently managing the two-back set the Dragon offense settled into for the rest of the game.

Carroll has a well-deserved reputation for producing talented quarterbacks that go on to success at the next level. Witness Missouri standout Chase Daniels, Alabama wizard Greg McElroy and, most recently, A&M phenom Kenny Hill.

In making his debut last night, Montana Murphy provided some reassurance that the quarterback tradition will continue, showing Dragon fans he has a good arm and is cool under fire.

It appeared at first the game was going to be a shootout. The Eagles, led by quarterback Derek Scott (22-31 for 167 yards), matched the Dragons score for score. Scott’s well-aimed passes to Eagle WR Reese Childress shredded the Dragon secondary, and running back Abram Smith punctured the Dragon D-line, which struggled throughout the half to get its bearings.

Then two things happened. First, Carroll’s Big Guys blunted Scott and company’s scoring rhythm and provided their offense a chance to surge ahead. With the score tied at 21-21, Agnew and RB Lil’ Jordan Humphrey (125 yards on 19 carries and four TDs) took advantage of the opportunity and staged a 13-play, 70-yard drive, sparking a 42-point scoring spree that doomed the sturdy Eagles.

It was during that key series that Wasson, who enjoyed the 200^th victory of his coaching career last night, showed he has acquired a gambler’s nerves this season. Faced twice with drive-ending fourth downs, Wasson threw the dice and went for it. Humphrey delivered both times, gaining the needed yard on the first attempt at the Carroll 40 and later driving for a necessary three.

Carroll even attempted an on-side kick at one point in the first half, as both sides jockeyed for an advantage in their tit-for-tat exchange of TDs. Add in the trick play that Wasson dialed up to cinch an overtime win against Tulsa Union in the second game of the season, and this is head-scratching stuff for those who have watched Wasson carefully negotiate eight years at the helm of Dragon Football.

Carroll’s scoring surge was aided by Abilene’s baffling decision to back off its successful passing game and move to the ground. Adjustments in the Dragon secondary put a damper on the aerial Scott-to-Childress heroics, but Abilene might have put up more of a fight if they had adhered more closely to the first-half game plan.

In the end, they could do little to stop the Dragon offense, which rolled up 650 yards, evenly divided between air and ground. When you couple that with a rejuvenated Dragon defense that held the Eagles scoreless in the second half until the final moments of the game, you have Carroll’s recipe for Eagle fricassee.

The Abilene fans who battled the ruler-straight highway east to see their beloved Eagles can take heart at the knowledge that their youngsters never quit and show great promise. If the right cards fall into place, the Dragons could meet them again in the playoffs.

As for the 4-0 Dragons, they too can feel pretty good about themselves as they open District 7-6a play at home next week.

Their opponents, the dreaded Coppell Cowboys, ripped up Hurst L.D. Bell last night, 42-3. The Cowboys, which travel with one of the rudest and most ill-behaved student fan bases in the area, would dearly love to embarrass the Dragons at home.