Clinching a playoff berth: Southlake Carroll 48, Northwest 7

 

Davis Penn crosses the goal line to score one of his two touchdowns against the Texans.

The boss of District 4-6A

The Southlake Carroll Dragons demonstrated last night with brutal efficiency and almost nonchalant ease who’s boss of District 4-6A, humiliating the overwhelmed Northwest Texans and blowing up their loudly touted undefeated season.

The Texans were no pushovers. Well, not quite, anyway. They were well-coached and showed grit and character in their embarrassing butt-whipping by the Dragons.

But the simple truth is they were like boys among men against the Dragons’ offensive steamroller and proved unable to contain – or even slow down -- Carroll’s thrilling junior trio of quarterback Angela Renda, wide receiver Brock Boyd and running back Davis Penn.

No doubt the Texan faithful will want to blame the blowout at least in part on the absence of starting quarterback Ryder Norton, injured in last week’s game against Keller Central.

But it’s doubtful Norton would have fared much better than backup Trey Poe, who was bedeviled by the Dragon D, with defensemen Austin Davidge and Jack Van Dorselaer leading the ravenous horde. And although primary Northwest rusher Nate Jean ran for more than 100 yards, his labors amounted to nothing – nothing at all.

Odds-on favorite

In drubbing the Texans, Carroll clinched a berth in the upcoming playoffs and confirmed it’s the odds-on favorite to capture the 4-6A crown. Making the playoffs was never really in doubt, of course. And after crushing Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity earlier in the season, all roads to the district championship run through Southlake.

The real news – not a shocker, either, but oh-so-lovely to contemplate – is how this Dragon team is jelling, three weeks before the postseason begins, into such a formidable force. Despite injuries that would cripple another team.

Head coach Riley Dodge said in postgame interviews that it’s gratifying to see his squad come together at this critical moment.

“I think the big thing is we’re getting better,” Dodge told Charles Baggarly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We’re growing up on the fly. We’re becoming a better practice football team, and it’s showing up the last three or four weeks.”

He said he’s urged his players to keep their sense of urgency. To treat every week “like it’s the Super Bowl.”

“They’re starting to learn and take it seriously,” Dodge said to Baggarly. “So I think the biggest thing for this group is just going through the process and diving into it. That’s how we win football games.”

It took Carroll only six plays and 2½ minutes to launch its scoring spree, with Penn barreling 5 yards to paydirt.

Hard-charging runner

The hard-charging Penn carried 19 times for 107 yards and 2 scores – his 10^th and 11^th TDs so far this season. Last night was the fourth time in the last five games that Penn has run for more than 100 yards.

“We really went into this game just trusting our training, really taking pride in our preparation,” Penn told The Dallas Morning News after the game. “We had so much confidence in our game plan, and how we practiced during the week. Short week, but we still made it happen.”

For anyone who doubted Penn, a Baylor commit, could slip into the primary running role vacated by injured four-star recruit Riley Wormley, don’t you feel just a little silly?

After its frisky opening drive, Carroll stopped Poe and company cold. But its next possession ended ingloriously when Renda threw an interception. Luckily, the Dragon D stepped up and stalled the Texans on the Dragon 26. A 43-yard field goal failed.

Leading receiver Brock Boyd caught two TD passes from quarterback Angelo Renda.

 
Just three plays later, Renda redeemed himself when he sent a spiral to favored receiver Boyd, who then streaked 64 yards down the left sideline for the second Dragon score.

After forcing another Northwest punt, the Dragons flubbed the return. Unnoticed by everyone – except the guys in striped shirts – a Carroll player barely brushed the descending ball, which bounced once and was buried beneath a couple of Texans.

Signs of life

Northwest showed its first signs of life on the subsequent drive. Behind the running of Jean and Poe, the Texans moved to the Dragon 2, where receiver Kobey Wall, taking a direct snap, scored the first and only Texan touchdown.

During the next Dragon drive, Penn carried the ball 31 yards in three plays to the Texan 44. That’s where Renda sent another arcing pass 44 yards to Boyd who nimbly stepped across the goal line for his second TD of the night.

Dodge heaped praise on his junior receiving star, who finished the night with 4 catches for 135 yards.

“He is the ultimate competitor,” Dodge told Baggarly. “He is a team captain for a reason. One of the best practice players and a coach’s kid. He’s been around the game a long time. He is playing like a star, and he wants the football. All good wide receivers want the ball.”

Now leading 21-7, the Dragons turned up the heat. After moving 71 yards, aided by a 36-yard keeper by Renda, they lined up at the Texan 4. Renda narrowly evaded the clutch of some unwelcome guests in his backfield, then slipped the ball to Penn, who juked left and plunged across the line, sending the Dragons into halftime with a 28-7 lead.

Carroll’s dominance extended into the third period. Defenseman William Chen stopped Jean behind the line on Northwest’s first play of the half. Forced the punt, the Texans then watched as Renda marched the Dragons downfield in four plays before tossing a 31-yard TD pass to sophomore Blake Gunter.

A bit later, after Southlake forced a turnover on downs, Renda demonstrated that his earlier rushing jaunt was no fluke. After leading the Dragons to the Northwest 10, he charged for the endzone himself, with the hardy Penn sweeping the lane clear of would-be tacklers.

Thus, the Dragons unveiled yet another offensive weapon they no doubt plan to hone as the playoffs approach.

Running prowess

In his backup role last season, Renda – who rushed 4 times last night for 63 yards – frequently displayed his running prowess. This year, he has left the rushing chores to Wormley and Penn, for obvious reasons. But as he demonstrated last night, under the right circumstances, his quick elusiveness can be an effective threat.

Dodge said a lingering health issue has kept Renda in the pocket for much of the season. He hinted to the Star-T’s Baggarly that we now may see more of a scrambling, rambling Renda.

“He’s had turf toe for a long time and hasn’t been able to use his wheels,” Dodge said. “I think he is not accustomed to using his legs.”

Widespread Dragon substitutions began in the 4^th quarter, but the Texans fared no better against the backups.

Dragon defensive lineman Austin Davidge plugs a hole in the line against a Northwest runner.

When a Texan drive was halted inside the Northwest red zone, senior Dragon defender Mateo Fodor blocked a punt, which Christian Glenn scooped up at the 5 and carried over the line. The PAT failed.

And to add insult to injury, the final Texan drive of the night ended when junior linebacker Robbie Ladd intercepted a Poe pass.

An interesting sidelight to last night’s game is the interconnecting relationships between the opposing coaches. Texan coach Bill Poe once worked for Riley Dodge’s dad, the legendary Todd Dodge, and coached Riley. Later, when the young Dodge began his coaching career, he was a Poe assistant in Justin.

“I’ve worked for Bill,” Dodge told the Star-T. “He’s a mentor of mine. I knew exactly how he was going to prepare his team. The way our guys prepared this week – they treated this game like it should have been treated. I’m so proud of our guys.”

Next week, the Dragons host L.D. Bell on Senior Night. They end district play on Nov. 1 with a road game against Keller Central. Neither team should prove to be much more than a bump in the road to District 4-6A glory.

But that’s the kind of attitude that can bite you in a tender place. Boyd told Baggarly the Dragons will be ready – regardless of the quality of their next opponent.

“We’ve talked about being a mature football team and just playing a complete game. Just taking it one play at a time,” Boyd said.

Go Dragons! 

Quarterback Angelo Renda threw for one TD and ran for another against the overmatched Texans.

No surprises: Southlake Carroll 50, Haslet Eaton 14

 

After making mincemeat out of the Eaton Eagles, the Dragons get ready for a battle of unbeatens.

The methodical march continues

SOUTHLAKE –Southlake Carroll wasted no time last night in dispatching the floundering Eaton Eagles, effortlessly brushing them aside as it continues its methodical march through District 4-6A.

The Eagles didn’t put up much of a fight. It took them until halfway through the third quarter to finally get on the scoreboard. And that’s only because the Dragons mercifully had begun wholesale substitutions after scoring six unanswered touchdowns.

Carroll QB Angelo Renda lacked a bit of his usual crispness against the sluggish Eagles. But considering the runaway farce in which he found himself, you can forgive him if his mind wandered a bit. Even so, he got the job done, completing 13 of 20 passes for 135 yards and sending TD throws to three separate receivers.

Sophomore Blake Gunter, who is turning into a go-to guy for Renda, got things started by catching a 19-yarder in the endzone on the second play from scrimmage after Eaton went 3-and-out on its first possession.

Near the end of the first quarter, the Dragon D forced another Eagle punt, which gave the Dragons the ball on their 29 yardline. Renda immediately dropped back and sent a beautiful arc that fell neatly into the hands of lead receiver Brock Boyd as he ran full tilt downfield. Boyd, without breaking stride, raced 71 yards to give Carroll a 21-0 lead.

Right on target

And just before the first half ended, Renda zipped a 7-yarder to the left corner of the endzone, where it landed in the arms of Brody Knowles. Knowles, another promising sophomore, made the catch despite the Eagle defender draped over his shoulders.

All in all, not a bad night’s work, wouldn’t you say?

The Dragon ground game also flexed its muscles against the helpless Eagles.

Junior running back Davis Penn has adjusted well to his new role as the Dragons’ leading rusher, now that superstar Riley Wormley is sidelined for the season.

Penn riddled the Eagle defense, rushing 11 times for 131 yards and a touchdown.

During the Eagles’ second possession, Dragon defender Luke Bussman crashed into an Eagle receiver just as he enveloped a Mason Stubbe pass, jarring loose the ball, which Bussman quickly pounced on at the Carroll 40.

Penn’s hard-nosed running then powered the Dragons to the Eaton 20, where Penn bulldozed his way across the goal line.

Boyd also saw some action on the ground. After the Dragons took a 35-0 lead into halftime, the Dragons’ first drive of the third quarter stalled, and kicker Gavin Strange failed to make a 43-yard field goal.

Desperate conversion

But Eaton couldn’t do any better and faced a 4^th down at its 32. Carroll defensive leader Austin Davidge crushed the desperate conversion attempt when he sacked Stubbe.

The Dragons took over at the 29, and on the next play, Renda handed off to to Penn, who ran right, then pitched the ball to Boyd coming the other way.

Boyd slipped around the left end and raced untouched to the goal line, leaving a trail of stunned and confused Eaton defenders in his wake.

Carroll easily smothered a feeble Eagle offense while rolling to six unanswered touchdowns.

Even the Dragon action squad, which carried the load for 1½ quarters last night after the starters left the field, got a taste of Friday Night Lights glory. But they had to work for it.

Quarterback Coleman Fowler led a lengthy drive downfield after taking over from Renda. But the drive was upended when Fowler was intercepted as he attempted to move the Dragons across the 34.

Four plays later, however, junior linebacker Robbie Ladd recovered an Eagle fumble and gave the Dragon offense another shot.

Muscling it over

Hard running by seniors Christian Glenn and Jesse Hill carried the Dragons to the Eagle 3, where Fowler muscled the ball across the line. Junior Crawford Taylor caught a pass in the endzone to make the 2-point conversion, thus ending Dragon scoring at 50-7.

The Eagles would fight their way to a second TD in the last minute of play. But it was a meaningless gesture – despite loud efforts by the Eaton band to give some sparkle to an otherwise dismal evening for the visitors.

The Dragon defense – once again led by Davidge and Luke Bussman – shut down Eaton’s puny offense, keeping the pressure on Stubbe (13 of 20 for 78 yards) and limiting lead running back Micah Rivers to 42 yards on 17 carries.

Dragon defenders harassed Eagle quarterbacks all evening and sacked them regularly. Dragon defensive back William Chen got a pick-6 at the beginning of the third quarter, extending an already insurmountable lead to 28-0.

The Dragons now turn their attention to the still undefeated Justin Northwest Texans, who have ambitions to seize the 4-6A title for themselves.

Not so impressive

The Texans slipped past the Keller Central Chargers last night 28-14, a not-so-impressive win against a team that has lost five straight games. Northwest will host the Dragons next Thursday in Justin.

Carroll already has toppled two of 4-6A’s top teams – Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity. Facing a tough opponent brimming with confidence late in the season can be a blessing for a team like Carroll, which hungers for a district championship, but whose ultimate goal is, and always has been, a ninth state championship.

Hard tests during the regular season only help prepare playoff teams for the win-or-go-home ordeal of the postseason. It’s a sure bet that’s the message head coach Riley Dodge will be delivering to his young charges in the days ahead.

So bring it on, Texans, and let the chips fall where they may.

Go Dragons!

Head coach Riley Dodge's message to his team: Sharpen your talons on Justin Northwest to get in shape for the playoffs!

Rude Homecoming guests: Southlake Carroll 52, Keller 21

 

The Dragons ruined Homecoming for the Keller Indians, defusing their offense and overwhelming their defense.

Resting on sturdy shoulders

KELLER – The Southlake Carroll Dragons, denied the services of Riley Wormley, their star-power running back, shifted their potent ground game last night to the sturdy shoulders of Wormley’s running partner, junior Davis Penn.

And Penn didn’t disappoint. No, indeed.

While Wormley watched on crutches from the sidelines, Penn roared to four touchdowns, rolling up 136 yards on 15 carries in leading the Dragons to a pitiless dismantlement of the proud Keller Indians before a buoyant Homecoming crowd at ramshackle KISD Athletic Complex.

Wormley suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s 44-7 massacre of Keller Timber Creek. And while the Dragon offense lacks a little of the razzle-dazzle it displayed with Wormley in the lineup, it demonstrated against Keller that it has plenty of punch left.

And can you blame the laconic Penn for showing just a smidge of satisfaction that he’s emerged from Wormley’s imposing shadow and done so in such an emphatic fashion?

“It was a very unfortunate loss for us,” he told Mike Waters of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, referring to Wormley’s injury. “The rest of us have to step up. I am prepared and ready for the challenge.”

Head coach Riley Dodge paid tribute to his injured star, but made it clear that the Dragon march to district and beyond must now proceed without him.

“We will obviously miss such a great player in Wormley,” he said to Waters, then turned the spotlight on the young man who will replace him.

 “Davis had a huge year last season for us,” Dodge said. “We know what he is capable of doing.”

As a result, Dragon quarterback Angelo Renda -- after kicker Gavin Strange’s 25-yard field goal got Southlake on the board during Carroll's first possession -- turned to Penn to get things really rolling.

When Dragon defensive back Taevin Kunz snagged an errant pass by Keller quarterback Beckham Robinson at the Indian 47, Carroll marched briskly to the 6, where Penn breezed in for his first score.

Booting it back

After a Carroll punt pinned the Indians on their own 5, they were corralled inside the 10 and had to boot it back.

Renda then led a 7-play, 54-yard drive that ended when Penn juked his way through the Keller line and raced 14 yards for his second score.

Keller built momentum on its next drive. Bolstered by a thrilling 31-yard run by Indian running back Quinton Shropshire, Keller drove to the Dragon 1. Shropshire darted in and finally got his team on the board midway through the first quarter.

But it took the Dragons only 16 seconds to reestablish their command of the situation, except this time the score came through the air. On the first play of its very next drive, Renda sent a 56-yard spiral to junior receiver Brock Boyd to widen the Dragon lead to 24-7.

With less than a minute left in the half, the Dragons muffed a punt return, turning the ball over to the Indians at the Carroll 18. Three plays later, Robinson capitalized on that rare Dragon misstep, connecting with Brock Meek to make the halftime score an uncomfortably close 24-14.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that at this point the Keller crowd – the largest audience I’ve ever witnessed at a Keller athletic event – may have entertained for a brief moment a pleasant fantasy.

In that other-worldly daydream, the Indians came rampaging into the second half, teeth bared and blood in their eyes. With clockwork precision and masterful execution, they forced the Dragons into uncustomary mistakes, panicked disorder and a complete system breakdown, thus giving Keller the hallowed title of Dragon Killer.

Evaporating quickly

But that didn't happen. Not by a long shot. Like all daydreams, this one evaporated rather quickly as the decisive third quarter unfolded before the horrified eyes of the Keller faithful.

Dragonheads keep their eyes on the prize -- a District 4-6A championship.

Carroll promptly marched 81 yards in 5 plays, culminating in a 24-yard pass from Renda (15-20, 3 TDs) to Boyd, the junior receiver’s second TD of the night. He would end the evening with five catches for 144 yards.

Now leading 31-14, the Dragons bedeviled Robinson and crew as they struggled to ignite some offensive fire. Robinson was sacked once and almost lost the ball on another play in the first Indian drive of the second half, testimony to the harassment he faced from an inspired defensive squad led by Austin Davidge and Luke Bussman.

After a Keller punt set Carroll up at its own 38, Renda handed the ball to the redoubtable Penn, who plunged through the Indian line and raced 62 yards to paydirt, high stepping the last 15 yards to keep out of the grasp of his only Indian pursuer.

He would score again later in the quarter after Davidge and company forced Robinson into a 4^th-and-11 and then prevented Keller from converting.

Four plays later, Penn bulldozed 13 yards for his fourth – and final – score.

As the third period drew to a close, with the Dragons in a now soothing 45-14 lead, Keller went 3-and-out and lined up to punt. The kicker mishandled the snap, and the resulting melee ended with the Dragons sitting on the Indian 16.

Renda zipped the ball to receiver Brody Knowles (2-31), and the promising sophomore ended Dragon scoring for the night. The quarter ended with the Dragon band striking up “Hey, Baby,” signaling to all there would be no Dragons slain this night.

Give the Indians credit. They fought long and hard to the last. As the final quarter opened, with substitutions starting on both squads, backup Keller quarterback Brock Burnett briefly stirred the dispirited Homecoming crowd – now considerably thinned – by speeding 32 yards for a meaningless touchdown.

Wormley on crutches

Despite the night’s successful conclusion, more than a few Dragonheads were sobered by the sight of the remarkable Wormley on crutches, his senior year ruined by injury and his promising future endangered.

Our depression only deepened when junior Luc Jacquemard, a talented receiver and excellent kickoff returner, went down and had to be supported off the field.

It was a sad reminder that glory under Friday Night Lights can be brief indeed, and often comes at a cost. Those of us who follow these young men’s endeavors and hail their successes – which quicken our pulses and prompt our cheers – shouldn’t forget that they sacrifice a lot to pursue their dreams.

Best wishes to both Wormley and Jacquemard, and here’s hoping their recoveries are rapid and complete.

The Dragons play Haslet Eaton next week at home, then face the still undefeated Northwest Texans in Justin on Oct. 17. At this stage, the Texans seem to pose the only serious challenge to the Dragons as they pursue a District 4-6A championship.

Northwest boasts a 5-0 season record, but its non-district wins over Mansfield Legacy and McKinney North don’t count for much. The Dragons, on the other hand, have faced the best of 4-6A already, sending both Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity down in flames.

Even at home, the Texans best be prepared for the Dragons' fiery visit.

Fall may not be in the air yet, folks, but it’s coming. It’s coming. Ain’t it?

Go, Dragons!

Fall may not be in the air yet -- but the Dragons are in the second half of their regular season and still going strong.

The cost of success: Southlake Carroll 44, Keller Timber Creek 7

 

Superstar Riley Wormley, shown here with QB Angelo Renda, left last night's game with a left-knee injury.

A big win, yes, but …

What price victory?

It’s a question many Dragonheads may be asking themselves in coming days after Southlake Carroll’s shellacking last night of the Keller Timber Creek Falcons.

The Dragons, led by the brilliant running of superstar Riley Wormley, easily brushed aside the Falcons, who boasted an undefeated record they hardly deserved.

But in doing so, Carroll may have lost the services of the talented Wormley, who had to be helped off the field in the 3^rd quarter after a 6-yard run in which he injured his left knee.

Wormley spent a lengthy period in the medical tent and later was carted off the field, his leg encased in a metal brace, to the cheers of the hometown crowd and the hugs of his teammates.

“It doesn’t look good,” head coach Riley Dodge admitted to The Dallas Morning News’ Greg Riddle after the game. “You can tell in the kids’ eyes after a really good win. It deflates you a little bit. Obviously, he’s a special player and a special teammate, a captain and a leader on this team.”

When a coach talks like that to a member of the media, you can bet damned well that the injury is a serious one. Serious enough to put Wormley out for the season? Let’s hope not. But I have a dismal hunch that is exactly what’s going to happen.

End of the show?

If I’m right, that’s the end of the Riley and Davis show. That explosive rushing ensemble – featuring the redoubtable Wormley and his partner in crime, junior Davis Penn – has powered the Dragons past District 4-6A rivals Byron Nelson and Trinity to a 5-0 season record and thrust Carroll high in the playoff conversation.

I know. It’s churlish to consider the impact of Wormley’s injury on the Dragon program. After all, the young man’s bright future – he is a USC commit – is at stake, as is his overall good health. His welfare is paramount.

Still and all, this is high school football, and the bigger picture looms for the Dragons.

They are lucky that the sturdy Penn – an indefatigable, hard-charging runner without Wormley’s flair, but with much of his skill and determination – remains ready for duty.

Dodge, in his comments to the DMN’s Riddle, acknowledged that fact.

“Davis is the guy,” he said. “He carried a lot of the weight last year for us. He’s one of the top running backs in the state. We’re blessed to have two really good running backs.”

Blessed, indeed. But don’t kid yourself. Wormley will be missed. Plenty. He was a glory to see last night, rushing for three touchdowns, including a couple of first-play-from-scrimmage TD runs that made a mockery of the Falcon’s 4-0 season record.

In their first drive of the night, the Falcons drove confidently down the field, with Creek quarterback Carson Porter eating up the clock with a steady diet of short passes before he tossed a 17-yard strike to receiver Xavier Lee.

But the Creek celebration was a short one. Exactly 53 seconds later, Dragon quarterback Angelo Renda sailed an 80-yard beauty to his favorite receiver, junior Brock Boyd, as he raced wide open downfield, no Falcon defender within 20 yards of him.

The score now knotted at 7-7, the Dragons held Creek to a 3-and-out, then swept downfield 63 yards in five plays before Renda hit the sure-handed Boyd with a 45-yard TD arc.

From that point on, it was disaster on the ground for the Falcons, thanks to Wormley and Penn.

Pushing it in

After another 3-and-out, Creek turned the ball over to Carroll, which drove smoothly to the Falcon 2, where Wormley pushed it in.

Porter and his Falcons could do no better on their next possession. After a weak-footed punt that Dragon Luc Jaquemard returned to his 46-yard line, Penn bulldozed to the 4, then scored from the 2.

Creek, now trailing 28-7, started its next drive at its own 13 and could only struggle to its 22 before Porter – under immense pressure all night – was sacked by defensive end Jack Van Dorselaer at the Creek 10 and the Falcon punter lined up in the endzone to boot it away.

The end was never in doubt, but the true impact of the game still is to be determined.

The Falcon punt skittered off the kicker’s foot and bounced out of bounds at the original line of scrimmage. From there, Wormley plunged through the line to paydirt. One play. One Dragon. No fuss, no muss.

For the Falcons, the nightmare continued. After starting their next drive at their 25, Porter was sacked by Van Dorselaer – again – and coughed up the ball to Dragon defensive lineman Austin Davidge.

Two plays later, Renda launched the ball to sophomore receiver Brody Knowles in the end zone. The ball brushed Knowles' fingers, then was juggled by two – or was it three? – Creek defenders before one of them fell to the turf with it clutched in his arms.

But the gift was returned unopened. After another pitiful 3-and-out, the Creek kicker – who shall remain unnamed to protect the inept – sent another punt sliding out of bounds at the 26.

And from there – yes, you guessed it – Wormley muscled through the line, twisting out of two tackles and scored his hat trick.

Hindsight being 20/20, his night should have ended at the half. But Wormley returned for the first Carroll series of the second, which was interrupted by another rare interception of the normally reliable Renda. Two plays later, the Dragon-tormented Porter threw an errant pass of his own, which was snagged by Carroll defender Ethan Fisher.

Wormley’s injury occurred as he fought for yardage to the 25.

With his departure, much of the ooph of the Dragon offense faded away. Renda sailed passes of 51 and 9 yards to Boyd to get Carroll inside the Creek 10. But the drive stalled there, setting up a 28-yard field goal by Gavin Strange that ended scoring for the night and signaled the beginning of substitutions by both squads.

Dragon dominance

A group of statistics illustrates the scope of Dragon dominance. Carroll rushed for 467 total yards, compared to the Falcons’ meager 134. And while the Dragons were gaining 267 yards in the air, Porter could manage only 88. On the ground, the Carroll outran Creek 200 to 46.

Offensive stars, no surprise, were Wormley (8 for 73, 3 TDs) and Penn (8 for 76, 1 TD). Both gained an average of more than 9 yards every time they touched the ball.

Boyd was not far behind, perhaps even a half-step in front. He caught 7 Renda passes for 213 yards and the Dragons’ first two scores.

Renda, despite his two INTs, had an acceptable night. He completed 10 of 18 passes for 233 yards, including the two long ones to Boyd for TDs.

The Dragon D deserves a lot of credit, too. Although the Falcons don’t wield the strongest offensive arsenal around, the Carroll defense tossed Falcons around like ragdolls.

Van Dorselaer was a monster, spending almost as much time in the Creek backfield as Porter. Although he gained his reputation and was recruited by Tennessee as a tight end, he gracefully accepted a transfer to the Carroll defense to help that beleaguered squad.

As such, he quickly established a commanding presence and now leads the team in tackles. He and Davidge bedeviled Porter on every play, disrupting his timing and sending him scrambling for his life. Luke Bussman also was a major factor in shutting down – and then stamping out – the Creek offense.

Dodge heaped praise on his defensive stalwarts.

“Our defense played lights out,” Dodge told the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Mike Waters. “We gave up the quick score early, but I cannot say enough about our defense.”

Coach love

Van Dorselaer in particular garnered his share of coach love.

 “He is such a talented athlete,” Dodge said to Waters. “He just keeps getting better and better as the season goes along.”

The Dragons are 5-0 for the season, 3-0 in District 4-6A. Next up: Keller on Oct. 4.

Van Dorselaer told Waters he is getting more comfortable on defense.

“I like the aggressiveness of playing defense,” he said. “On offense, you know what the play is going to be. But on defense, you have to react on the fly. And I like knowing I have a chance to make a play on every play on defense.”

The question is how the Dragons will be affected by the loss of Wormley. Can they continue to be a force to reckon with or will their plans for a deep playoff run be disrupted.

The Star-Telegram game story mentioned that Carroll, which for the fourth consecutive year has started 5-0, is seeking its 7^th undefeated regular season in the past 14 years.

Another undefeated season seems a reasonable expectation. The only possible bump in the road could be the 4-0 Northwest Texans, who face Carroll at home on Oct. 17. The Texans have sent Mansfield Legacy, McKinney North Keller and Eaton packing this year. They face L.D. Bell on Oct. 3

Keller is next up for the Dragons on Oct. 4 in its disgrace of a football stadium, the KISD Athletic Complex. Since I feel another rant coming on, I’ll leave that topic for another day.

Before signoff, a word about the streaming of Carroll games by the Dragon Sports Network. A medical procedure earlier in the week kept me from attending the game, so I tuned in to the online broadcast.

Thankfully, they seemed to have worked out the technical kinks in the system, and announcers Chris Blake and Robert Clayton are well-informed and a joy to follow. I found it to be a most enjoyable way to watch the Dragons.

Nothing beats attending the games in person. But if circumstances make that impossible, the online streaming is a great way to feel like a part of the show.

Go, Dragons!

Mum's the word at the Homecoming Game!

Another Trinity thriller: Southlake Carroll 56, Euless Trinity 48

Angelo Renda hands the ball to four-star running back Riley Wormley.

A grim, smashmouth struggle

BEDFORD – History tells us that any time Euless Trinity and Southlake Carroll meet, it frequently results in high school gridiron gold, and last night’s District 4-6A clash at venerable Pennington Stadium was no exception.

The Trojans gave their Dragon neighbors – the two schools are located only 10 miles apart – almost more than they could handle as the two squads waged a grim, smashmouth back-and-forth struggle in the second half of last night’s contest.

Led by dual-threat quarterback TJ Tupou, the Trojans put on an offensive fireworks display that had the Dragons gasping for breath as they hung desperately to a single-score lead until the final buzzer.

If the Dragons weren’t loaded with an equally explosive offensive arsenal themselves, and if they hadn’t managed to carve out a beefy 35-14 halftime lead, the evening might have ended badly for the Southlake heroes.

As it was, Trojan runners scoured the porous Carroll offense – undersized as always – and Trojan receivers brushed aside the Dragon secondary to keep Trinity not only competitive, but within grasp of victory until the last seconds of the game.

In the end, it came down to a single play as the clock ticked inexorably to zero. But plenty of drama preceded it.

Cutting the lead

The Trojans quickly took charge in the second half. They ended a 62-yard drive with Michael Saafi’s 10-yard TD run that cut the Dragon lead to 35-20 (they missed the PAT).

After forcing Carroll to punt on the next drive, Trinity then launched an 84-yard drive that featured Lukas Sanchez’s 47-yard reception of a Tupou pass and culminated in Tupou’s 1-yard TD sprint. That cut the Dragon lead to 35-27.

Then both teams staged a dramatic, high-stakes series of tit-for-tat scoring drives that kept Dragonheads glued to their seats instead of making their usual exodus after halftime.

Four-star Dragon running back Riley Wormley caught an Angelo Renda pass and darted 35 yards to widen the Dragon lead to 42-27. The Trojans quickly responded when running JT Harris finished a 58-yard Trinity drive with a 9-yard dash that made it 42-34.

Next up, Renda (28-36, 376 yards) tossed a short pass to Luc Jaquemard, who crossed the field diagonally on his way to a 46-yard TD. Score: 49-34. Seven plays later, Trinity made it 49-41 when Tupou darted 2 yards to paydirt.

Renda, who completed TD passes to five separate receivers, then engineered an 80-yard drive that culminated in a 5-yard spiral that hit sophomore receiver Blake Gunter in the right corner of the endzone. That handed Carroll a 56-41 lead with less than 5 minutes on the clock. Tupou then went into action and led his Trojans 75 yards to the Dragon 3. From there, Harris took in his second TD of the night and brought the Trojans to 56-48, with 3 minutes until the end.

Onside kick

At that point, Trinity tried an onside kick – emulating perhaps the three onside kicks the Dragons staged in the first half, two of which they recovered. Carroll foiled Trojan plans by falling on the ball at the Dragon 48, but the Trojan defense stopped Renda and company cold.

A Dragon punt set Trinity up at its 30, and it quickly drove to the Dragon 41. Now facing 4^th-and-3, Tupou dropped back to pass.

For the entire half, Trinity had been able to make short yardage when necessary. Moreover, Tupou had been scary accurate, completing 87 percent of his passes. The inevitability of a first down had Trojan fans on their feet, cheering wildly.

With plenty of time, Tupou zipped the ball to a receiver moving through the wide-open Dragon backfield. His ball sank low and hit the turf, well short of his target. And with a shocking suddenness, the moment of truth had come -- and gone.

With less than a minute and a half left, Renda took a knee twice, and it was finally, mercifully over.

You could almost hear the sigh of relief exhaled by a Dragon crowd worn out by the seesaw battle that had raged in front of them for half the game.

One thing is clear from last night’s matchup. The Dragon D needs work. True, it was facing one of the area’s top offensive teams, but if Carroll has any ambitions in the playoffs – and it does, oh, yes, indeed it does – it must shore up its defenses.

Trinity was averaging just under 300 total yards a game before last night. It rolled to 558 against Southlake. As noted above, Tupou was extremely accurate in the air, even though he couldn’t match Renda’s output in yardage or points. He was particularly adept at mining sideline routes.

Riley Wormley scored twice on the ground and caught a TD pass to boot.

On the ground, the Trojans outpaced the Dragons, 291 yards to 204. Tupou scored three times, ending long drives with short bursts across the line. Harris was the Trojans’ leading scorer, rushing 15 times for 113 yards and two scores. Tupou rolled to 64 yards on 10 carries, and Saafi had 6 for 45. Trinity’s star running back Josh Bell could manage only 41 yards in 11 tries.

Shining brightest

As for Southlake, Wormley, once again, shined brightest in the Carroll constellation. He also was the night’s leading rusher, rolling to 181 yards and two TDs on 15 attempts.

He scored the Dragons’ first TD on its initial drive, but the real crowd-pleaser came later, early in the 2^nd quarter. Following Wormley’s TD run and a second by his running partner, Davis Penn, Trinity’s Tupou responded with a 51-yard drive that finally got the Trojans on the scoreboard.

A few seconds later, after taking the handoff on the first play of the Dragons’ next series, Wormley burst untouched through the Trinity line and sprinted 75 yards to the endzone, sending the football parents I was seated near into paroxysms of delight.

And as if that weren’t enough, Wormley also scored in the air, giving Dragonheads a few tense moments in the process.

With Carroll clinging to a 35-27 lead late in the 3^rd quarter, Wormley grabbed a 35-yard aerial from Renda, taking a jarring hit in the process. But he shook off the collision and raced to the endzone, then sank to his knees, his helmeted head on the turf.

Thankfully, he sprang to his feet a few moments later and ran off the field, allowing the visitor’s side of Pennington Stadium to start breathing again.

Renda was superb, guiding an offense that kept the surging Trojans at bay with poise and determination. His leading receiver, junior Brock Boyd, nabbed 11 catches for 135 yards and 1 touchdown.

Boyd, who like every Dragon knows the storied history between Southlake and Euless, said last night’s confrontation should be viewed as a learning experience.

“We know what we’re good at, and tonight pointed out what we struggled at, and it’s ultimately just getting back to the meeting room and just improving on the little things,” Boyd told The Dallas Morning News’ Robert Harrod Jr.

Savoring victory

Southlake traveled to Pennington last night still savoring its decisive 33-21 victory last week against what everyone expected would be their most serious district challenger, the Byron Nelson Bobcats.

But Trinity sought desperately to ruin the grand Dragon parade through 4-6A, and it damned near did it.

Carroll head coach Riley Dodge acknowledged that playing the Trojans is never a walk in the park.

“It was really stressful,” Dodge told the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Charles Baggarly after the game. “But it was a quality win versus a really good football team. We knew we had a challenge defensively with their offense, and it obviously showed up on the scoreboard. We knew it was gonna possibly be a shootout tonight.”

Angelo Renda tossed TD passes to five separate receivers last night.

To the DMN’s Harrod, he was more blunt.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to get the win,” Dodge said.

Next week, the Dragons host Keller Timber Creek in the Homecoming game at Dragon Stadium. After the exertions of the last two weeks, Carroll might be expected to feel a bit of a breather is in order. But Dodge dismissed the thought.

“We just played two big games, but we have so much to improve on,” he told Harrod. “There’s so much to improve on and clean up, and we’ve got to continue to get better.”

Go Dragons!

Dragon defensive lineman Austin Davidge latches on to Trojan QB TJ Tupou.

Leaping a district hurdle: Southlake Carroll 33, Byron Nelson 21

 

Head coach Riley Dodge, now executive athletic director for Carroll ISD, celebrates with his players last night after their decisive win over Byron Nelson.

Capitalizing on mistakes

SOUTHLAKE – Wise men have declared that capitalizing on the mistakes of your opponent often is the key to victory – no matter the endeavor.

And so it was last night, when the Southlake Carroll Dragons bested a talented and fired-up Byron Nelson team in a spirited clash that probably decided the District 4-6A championship.

If not for a Bobcat fumble on the first play of the 2^nd quarter, followed by a blocked Byron Nelson punt in its own endzone 2 minutes later, it might have been a very different game – filling Dragonheads with nervous twitches instead of a spreading glow of satisfaction.

As it came to pass, junior Dragon linebacker Marcus Brouse recovered the fumble, and junior quarterback Angelo Renda engineered a 74-yard drive that rushing phenom Riley Wormley capped with a 35-yard TD run.

The blocked punt, which sophomore Blake Gunter knocked down in the Bobcat endzone, garnered Carroll a 2-point safety and forced the Bobcats to free kick from their own 20. Three plays later, Renda lofted a 50-yard pass to receiver Luc Jaquemard (4 receptions for 82 yards), who slipped quickly across the goal line.

With the Dragons now leading 23-7, the night essentially was over for the unfortunate Bobcats. To their credit, they never panicked, and they never gave up.

Lost momentum

But they were never able to regain the momentum shattered by the fumble and the failed punt, even after Bobcat RB Sean Robinson, narrowed Carroll’s lead to 23-14 as the 1^st half wound down.

Of course, even without the miscues, it would have been a rough night for Byron Nelson.

Unlike the Dragons, who roared into the 2024 season by demolishing Midland and Hebron by wide margins, the Bobcats have been living on the edge. They had to stage come-from-behind, last-gasp efforts to slip by Wolfforth Frenship and Lewisville.

Relying on that kind of risky gamesmanship doesn’t work against the Dragons. Not this year, blessed as they are with an aggressive, highly productive offensive machine, headed by Carroll’s dynamic rushing duo of Wormley and junior Davis Penn, and helmed by talented junior Angelo Renda.

Wormley and Penn combined for 224 yards and 3 TDs, two for Wormsley on the ground and one in the air for Penn.

From the outset, both had their way with the Bobcat defense. On his first run of the night, Wormley – who gained 140 yards against Bryon Nelson – sped 16 yards, followed by Penn, whose first run garnered 11 yards. And so it went throughout the night.

Renda, whose confidence grows with every game, was equally brilliant. He completed 72 percent of his passes for 167 yards and two TDs.

His first TD throw was an 8-yard zipline to Penn, which tied the score at 7-7. It capped an 8-play, 75-yard series in response to Bryon Nelson’s opening-drive score, a nifty march downfield that signaled the Bobcats meant business.  

Wide receiver Brock Brady leaps for more yardage after catching an Angelo Renda pass.

Renda’s second score came when he tossed a 50-yard beauty to Jaquemard that essentially sealed Byron Nelson’s fate.

Blunting the offense

Meanwhile, the Dragon D blunted the Bobcats’ heralded offensive array, which before last night was averaging 40 points and 453 total yards per game (stats compiled by The Dallas Morning News). Against the Dragons, Bryon Nelson could manage only 315 total yards and 21 points.

Even that stat is a bit misleading. The Bobcats’ final score – a dazzling 57-yard pass from QB Grant Bizjack to WR Ezra Malamura, who seized it despite being surrounded by Dragons in the endzone – came with only 49 seconds on the clock. That was long after the Dragons had surged to an insurmountable 33-14 lead, and the Dragon Marching Band had launched into “Hey, Baby,” the traditional signal that a Carroll victory is assured.

Dragon defenders sacked Bizjack six times and limited leading rusher Tucker James to only 84 yards and a single score, a 6-yard bolt that opened Bobcat scoring. Despite the harassment, the worthy Bizjack completed an amazing 89 percent of his passes for 199 yards, but – tellingly – only 1 TD.

Defensive standouts included junior backs Luke Bussman and William Chen, who sacked Bizjack twice during the Bobcats’ final offensive series.

Senior defensive back Jack Van Dorselaer, the Dragons’ highly regarded tight end, demonstrated the wisdom of his switch from offense to defensive back, a move intended to bolster weaknesses in the Dragon secondary. He’ll play on offense at the next level, but for the time being, he’s quickly becoming a linchpin to the Dragon D.

Van Dorselaer told the DMN’s Greg Riddle that he and his colleagues learned a few things against Bizjack and the Bobcats.

‘Who we are’

“I think we found out who we are, and we’re a tough team,” Van Dorselaer said. “Defense, we chose violence, that was the biggest thing this week. Playing offense for three years, it’s a little bit different than defense. Defense is a lot more violent.”

The pace of the game slowed considerably in the 2^nd half. Both defenses tightened, and the sole score in the 3^rd period was a 30-yard field goal by Carroll’s Clark Lemmermann, a junior. He later missed a 48-yarder by a whisker.

Early in the 4^th, the Dragons – justifiably wary of the explosive potential of Bizjack and the Bobcats – hung grimly to a not-entirely-comfortable 26-14 lead. At that point, Wormley and Penn took matters in hand, headlining a grinding, 67-yard scoring drive.

Wormley, a USC commit, got the series started with a 27-yard bolt, and Penn, who’s headed to Baylor, carried the Dragons to the Bobcat 2, where Wormley plowed into the endzone. It was his second TD and ended Carroll scoring.

Jack Van Dorselaer, 88, congratulates Riley Wormley, 1, after a touchdown run.

As noted previously, in defeating Byron Nelson in their first district game of the 2024 season, the Dragons become odds-on favorites to seize the District 4-6A crown.

Of course, they still must play the rest of the 4-6A field. But realistically, Byron Nelson posed the most serious – OK, let’s face it, the only serious – challenge to Carroll 4-6A dominance this year.

The chief thing they must guard against is complacency. Although District 4-6A is not a powerhouse district, it contains programs that on any given night – and if they can catch Carroll napping – could upend the Dragon bulldozer rumbling toward them.

Friday was a red-letter day for Southlake athletics for another reason, too. Head coach Riley Dodge was elevated to executive director of athletics for Carroll ISD, which puts him in charge of the district’s entire athletic program. It’s a big job, but Dodge has demonstrated he can handle the pressure and the expectations that come with it.

Football royalty

Dodge, son of the legendary Todd Dodge, who took Carroll to four state championships in a five-year span, is football royalty in Southlake – and in the entire state, for that matter.

He has refocused, reinvigorated and renewed enthusiasm for Carroll’s storied football program since being named head coach in 2018. Since then, he has compiled an extraordinary 81-8 record and led the Dragons deep into the playoffs every year, including a trip to the championship game in 2021.

His elevation runs counter to the current trend in high school athletics. Once it was common for the head of football operations to guide the entire athletic program. But in recent years, administrators have separated the two jobs, guided by the reasonable conviction that both positions are full-time posts that no one person can handle effectively.

The move may have been to provide incentive for Dodge to remain in Southlake. Lord knows his success here makes him highly recruitable. His elevation to the college coaching ranks probably is inevitable.

If any person can keep all the balls in the air, Dodge may be that person. A telling indication of his success, charisma and inspirational presence was on display last night during pre-game activities at Dragon Stadium.

It was Dragon Youth Football night, and all the kids in Southlake’s version of peewee football ran through the huge inflatable dragon’s head to the cheers and applause of the crowd.

There were hundreds of youngsters, almost double the number of kids who participated in the program before Dodge arrived. They bear vivid evidence of the impact of the philosophy of inclusion and recognition he pursues as head coach, a point of view pursued by his father and that now once again imbues Dragon athletics.

The DMN’s Riddle described the scene as Dodge stood before his team after the game and demonstrated one of his strongest traits – the ability to focus young minds on what’s ahead, not what’s in front of them. To keep them directed on future objectives, not current accomplishments.

“This,” he said, “isn’t going to be the highlight of our season.”

No, indeed. Go, Dragons!

Dragon linebacker William Leins gives Bobcat Anthony Sexton something to think about in last night's destruction of Byron Nelson.

No contest: Southlake Carroll 59, Hebron 16

 

The Southlake Carroll Dragons came roaring out of pre-district play last night, signaling their readiness for the march to a District 4-6A championship.

If at first you don’t succeed …

Angelo Renda demonstrated last night the diamond-bright truth of the old adage that it matters little how you begin an effort. It all comes down to how you finish.

Renda, a junior still getting used to the role of field general for the Southlake Carroll Dragons, fumbled his first snap from center in the Dragons’ non-district clash with the Hebron Hawks.

That misstep led to Hebron’s second field goal of the night and left Carroll in the rare and uncomfortable role of trailing 6-0 halfway through the first quarter.

But Renda quickly shook the cobwebs out of his helmet and led Carroll on a seven-touchdown scoring spree that overwhelmed and humiliated a sturdy, but outmatched Hebron squad.

The junior quarterback completed 13 of 19 passes for 237 yards and touchdown passes to sophomore Brody Knowles (3 receptions, 91 yards) and junior Brock Boyd (6-87).

Daring duo

On the ground, the Dragons’ daring duo – senior Riley Wormsley and junior Davis Penn shattered the Hebron defense, racking up five TDs between them. Wormsley, a USC commit, ran 63 yards on 11 carries and scored three times. Baylor commit Penn ran six times for 69 yards and two scores.

A 25-yard field goal by junior Gavin Strange, and a 9-yard TD run from backup QB Preston Perazzo completed Dragon scoring.

Renda readily took responsibility for his first-snap bobble, but he kept the big picture front and center.

“I have to take ownership of that fumble,” he told The Dallas Morning News’ Rick Kretzschmar. “I didn’t like that because one of our team goals every game is no turnovers. Another team goal is how we handle adversity, and I’m proud of the way we fought back.”

That’s the kind of maturity and stay-focused mentality that head coach Riley Dodge instills in his players. And it's why Southlake stands near the top of most state rankings.

Family commitments, centering around the recent birth of my first grandchild, kept me from traveling to the Hebron blowout. That necessarily means this game account will be short and sweet.

Hosting the Bobcats

Next week, the Dragons begin District 4-6A play by hosting the Byron Nelson Bobcats at Dragon Stadium in a contest that could very well determine who will be district champions.

The Bobcats, as Dragonheads remember bitterly, shocked the Dragons 34-17 in last year’s regular-season matchup, seizing the 4-6A crown that Carroll already had dusted off space for in its trophy case.

The Dragons sought and received vindication later in the year by obliterating the Bobcats 56-7 in the regional finals, sounding taps on Byron Nelson’s best season in program history. That helped ease a bit the sting of the initial insult, which ended a 38-game district winning streak by the Dragons.

But the seeds of a neighborly feud were sown.

Bobcat coach Travis Pride acknowledged to the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Mike Waters the challenge his team faces in its clash with Dragons.

“Southlake has a great team every year,” Pride said. “Their program is the type program we are trying to build here. It will be a big game. And our guys are looking forward to it. I am sure Southlake Carroll will be ready and so will we. Gotta clean up a few things, but we will be prepared.”

Pride knows that when Byron Nelson comes gunning for the Dragons next week, it will have to have its weapons oiled and loaded. Because by all appearances, Carroll is a dreadnought readying to blast its way through the 4-6A battleline.

Go Dragons! 

The Bryon Nelson Bobcats will seek to be Dragon killers once again this season, but they'll have their hands full in the attempt.