District rampage: Southlake Carroll 63, Keller Central 7

Still unbeaten and unbowed.

Ruling the field

SOUTHLAKE – If the Keller Central Chargers were heartened by news that Southlake Carroll’s two best running backs – unstoppable junior Owen Allen and dazzling sophomore James Lehman – would sit out last night’s district matchup, nursing injuries received the week before, they were doomed to disappointment.

Enter sophomore Maddux Reid, who easily stepped into cleats and led a brutal and balanced Dragon offense that quickly overwhelmed the hapless Chargers and set Carroll up nicely for a looming showdownSenior Dragon linebacker Allan Kleiman, a rapacious presence all night, nabbed both interceptions, which set up the pair of Samson TDs.

 for the District 4-6A championship with the Haslet Eaton Eagles.

Reid, who has exhibited a precocious flair this season when he has appeared late in games in which the outcome already has been decided, slipped easily into the dominant role last night. Taking enthusiastic advantage of the holes his O-line ripped in the Central front, he ruled the field, averaging almost 12 yards a carry in rushing 118 yards for 3 touchdowns.

Shining star

Fairly typical of his performance was a dazzling 46-yard run in the 2^nd quarter. Roaring through the middle, Reid led disoriented defenders on a footrace to the goal line, where he evaded a trio of Chargers and threw himself into the end zone.

While Reid’s star shined brightest, it wasn’t the only sparkle in the Dragon constellation.

Quarterback Kaden Anderson had a solid performance, passing for 277 yards and 3 TDs. He also begain the Dragon rampage with a 2-yard dart to the end zone that capped the first Dragon drive.

Anderson threw for one interception and still displayed a maddening tendency to overthrow his receivers downfield. Leading receiver Landon Samson, who caught 2 TD passes, could have had at least two more but for throws sent just beyond his fingertips.

Against a more worthy opponent – such as, say, the upcoming Eaton – a more effective long ball might be decisive. Still, it seems silly to harp on the misfires, considering young Anderson’s output and effective management of the game.

The Dragon defense showed its usual dominance, stifling Central at every turn. It held the hapless Chargers to only 191 total yards and intercepted both of the quarterbacks fielded by Central. This despite the absence of one of its bulwarks, recuperating defensive lineman Cade Parks.

Interception king

The first placed Carroll deep in Central territory. Anderson, facing a 4^th-and-7 at the 24, connected with a wide-open Samson hovering near the goal line, widening the Dragon lead 14-0.

The second was even more dramatic.

The Chargers had installed Kelden Ryan at QB to replace the struggling Jack Helsey. Ryan quickly threw a 6-yard pass, then ran for another 7. But the opportunistic Kleiman extinguished the Ryan spark by snatching his next pass and putting the Dragons back in business at the Charger 36.

After three straight incompletions, Anderson found sophomore Jacob Jordan, making a spectacular debut as a varsity starter, who carried it to the 9. Anderson just missed Samson in the end zone on the next play. Reid bulldozed to the 3.

At that point, Anderson again sought out Samson, who was drifting across the back of the end zone. Reaching high, Samson pulled in the ball as his momentum carried his body over the line. But Samson, a South Carolina commit, desperately dragged his toes as he sailed out of bounds. Dragons extended their lead to 21-0, and savagery Dragon onslaught began in earnest.

Once again, Carroll backups got plenty of playing time last night, always the mark of a blowout. The Dragon secondary began substituting late in the 1^st half. With a 49-0 lead at half, Carroll’s action team was fully in place on both sides of the ball during the entire second half.

That’s always satisfying to see. Not only because it means the Dragons have things safely in hand. But more importantly, it gives kids who work just as hard as any of the starters a chance to shine before family and friends. As head coach Riley Dodge rightly observes at every opportunity, they are the key to Dragon success.

They help prepare the Dragons for each game, and they stand on the sidelines ready to stand in for fallen comrades. Upon their shoulders rests the whole concept of “Next Man Up.”

A scene from last year's contest.

Backup performances

It’s immensely satisfying to see a head coach who understands that. Riley Dodge’s father did, but the younger Dodge’s predecessor didn’t. That’s why the program deteriorated under him, despite its continued winning record.

A couple of the backup performances deserve attention.

When Central went 3-and-out on its first 2^nd half possession, backup QB Caden Jackson carried the Dragons to the Charger 36, a drive powered by two receptions by Brady Johnson. Then Jackson handed the ball to junior RB Conner Hill.

Hill, touching the ball for the first time in a varsity game, rumbled 36 yards to the Dragons’ 8^th touchdown of the night. And that’s why I stay in my green seat long after others have headed for home, confident of victory – or defeat. Even in a blowout, emotion and heart – the things I love most about high school football – remain.

I also call your attention to one Austin Page, a senior normally listed as a linebacker. For the two past games, Page has come in late and taken over rushing duties.

And he has excelled. Last week against Keller, he rushed 7 times for 52 yards during the final 4 minutes of play. Last night, he rolled up 53 yards in 9 attempts, setting up the Dragons’ final score by taking the ball to the 1.

Only human

Then for some inexplicable reason, Page was taken out, and Jacob Marsh was put in his place to make the final Dragon score. Why? The previous week, Page was on the verge of scoring in the final seconds of the game, when Jackson was ordered to take a knee.

 I get it. Good sportsmanship means you don’t unnecessarily run up the score.

But backups are only human. They are called upon to play just as hard as the starters. To hold them back, denying them their normal competitive instincts, doesn’t seem quite right.

Why deny Page the glory of a TD under Friday Night Lights?  I know. Coaches gotta coach. But regardless of the reasons, my heart goes out to the worthy Page.

He labors unheralded, but not unloved.

Next week is a bye week for Carroll. It comes at a perfect time for the 7-0 Dragons. Time to heal. And time to gameplan for perhaps its biggest challenge this season – the Oct. 21 matchup against Eaton. It will be, in all probability, the game that decides the District 4-6A championship.

Eaton, 6-1 and like Carroll undefeated in district, handled Keller 43-21 last night. It could be a tough nut to crack. But with a week to heal and scheme, I like the Dragons to continue their winning ways.

Go Dragons!

Next up, Eaton! A scene from last year's game.

Soundtrack of my life: Changes

He's off on a great adventure.
Change is in the wind for the Gunnels clan. And with it comes a baffling mixture of pride and joy, sadness and uncertainty.

My beloved daughter is now married and embarked on a life with the man she has known and loved since college. She is happy, harried and hopeful. All the things a new bride should be. Her parents are comforted, conflicted and confident. Nothing unusual about that, either.

And now my youngest, my steady and stalwart son, tells us he is moving to Seattle. He and his girlfriend, who his mother and I adore and endorse, will be gone by Thanksgiving – her to a great new job and he on the great adventure he has dreamed about since graduating from college.

His job, at which he has excelled in an unexpected but immensely satisfying manner, will follow him to the Pacific Northwest. They are ecstatic and – although they are loathe to admit it – a bit intimidated by the prospect of leaving friends and family behind them. But that’s all part of the adventure, right?

His mother is handling this shift in the fabric of the cosmos better than his father. She’s already planning trips to visit him, and her delighted anticipation is rather annoying. I am incredibly proud of him – I always have been, even when he teetered on the brink of disaster – and I know the two of them will thrive in their new life.

But as the winds of change buffet the tiny sailboat of my life, I admit it all makes me a little seasick. Marice and I have been luckier than many at having our grown children close at hand since they moved out of the house. Now, that’s about to change, and I’m struggling to feel OK about it.

I was sitting on my patio yesterday, feeling grumpy and heartsick, when what should pop up on Pandora but "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens (he’ll never be Yusuf to me). A message from the universe? Mere coincidence?

The father says:

It's not time to make a change.

Just relax, take it easy.

You're still young, that's your fault.

There's so much you have to know.

Find a girl, settle down

If you want you can marry.

Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

The son replies:

All the times that I cried

Keeping all the things I knew inside.

It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.

If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know not me.

Now there's a way, and I know that I have to go away.

I know I have to go.

 Yusuf / Cat Stevens - Father & Son - Bing video

Soundtrack of my life: The best love song ever written

It happened at HemisFair.
Paul Simon was a major contributor to the soundtrack of my life.

For my money, he was the best songwriter of his era. He captured perfectly the angst and disillusionment of the times, and his lyrics are sheer poetry.

“Sounds of Silence” is an anthem of the Sixties, and “The Boxer” is a transcendent testament to the strength of the human spirit and the importance of perseverance in the face of diversity and criticism. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a soaring hymn of our need to care for each other in times of trouble and travail.

But it is his love songs that I treasure most. And of them, “Kathy’s Song” is my favorite. It’s often overlooked, and that’s a damned shame because it is – simply perfect.

It reminds me of a Kathy I knew back in those long-lost days. We met in San Antonio during the seven-month run of HemisFair ’68, a world exposition that celebrated the cultures of the Americas. Its fairgrounds still exist.

I fell hard for Kathy, as only a 17-year-old can. And it says more about me than her that she remained blissfully unaware. Years later, when I told her of my infatuation – at a celebration of her engagement, no less – Kathy greeted the news with a tender look. “I never knew,” she said.

It’s the best love song ever written. Find a better one – I dare you.

So you see, I have come to doubt

All that I once held as true.

I stand alone without beliefs.

The only truth I know is you.

And as I watch the drops of rain

Weave their weary paths and die,

I know that I am like the rain.

There but for the grace of you, go I. 

Simon & Garfunkel - Kathy's Song - YouTube

Soundtrack of my life: Love, sweet and tender

She wore my senior ring.
 Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. We met in English class in my senior year at Big Spring High School.

She sat across the classroom from me, and I admired her from afar for most of the school year – too timid and unsure of myself to approach her. She had straw-colored hair, which billowed about her face in a meticulously styled cloud, and shockingly clear blue eyes the shade of the West Texas sky as it darkens into early evening.

It took me most of that year to drum up the courage to ask her out, and I was shocked and bewildered when she accepted. By graduation, she was wearing my senior ring – taped heavily to fit on her slender finger. It meant, in the customs of the day, that we were “going steady.”

As we sat with our senior classmates on the field of Memorial Stadium on that May night in 1969, sweating in our graduation robes, she was wearing that ring. I sat tall and proud, still amazed that she had chosen me.

We spent that night together – also a custom of the time for graduating seniors – driving around town, chatting merrily with other couples and spending a few hours in a quiet spot on Signal Mountain east of town in a profound, but completely innocent, interlude. At sunrise, we attended a senior breakfast at a classmate’s home, and I dropped her off at her parents’ house.

I was a clumsy, inexperienced and largely befuddled boyfriend so it’s not surprising the relationship lasted only a few weeks into that summer. She was going to Baylor in the fall, and I was fated to remain in Big Spring to attend community college. We both knew it was impossible. Fate, as they say, is inexorable, and we parted to go our separate ways. My heart was broken.

In September of that year, Crosby, Stills & Nash released “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” – a song Stephen Stills wrote for Judy Collins. Ever since, I have associated the song with my own Sweet Judy Blues Eyes.

Is there anything sweeter, more tender, more excruciatingly painful than first love?

It's getting to the point where I'm no fun anymore.

I am sorry.

Sometimes it hurts so badly I must cry out loud.

I am lonely.

I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are.

You make it hard.

Remember what we've said and done and felt about each other.

Oh, babe, have mercy.

Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now.

Crosby, Stills, & Nash - Suite Judy Blue Eyes - YouTube

Soundtrack of my life: The perfect rock song?

 Chilling on my patio, luxuriating in the peace and satisfaction of the successful execution of my lovely daughter’s wedding celebration – and what should come washing over me but the soul-soothing melody of perhaps the perfect rock ’n’ roll song.

It’s Glenn Frey’s glorious "Take It Easy," made immortal by the able assistance of Jackson Brown:

Well, I'm standing on a corner

In Winslow, Arizona

And such a fine sight to see.

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford

Slowin' down to take a look at me.

Come on, baby, don't say maybe.

I gotta know if your sweet love

Is gonna save me.

We may lose, and we may win

Though we will never be here again.

So open up, I'm climbin' in…

Take it easy.

Take It Easy - YouTube

Soundtrack of my life: The song that made Dad cry

Rachel and I dancing to "Somebody's Baby."
At some point late in the wedding planning, Rachel asked me, “What should be the song for the father-daughter dance?”

I answered with my default response to any wedding-related question asked by my daughter or wife. “I dunno. You decide.”

She spent a few minutes checking the internet, then punched up a song. “How about this one?” she asked.

Seeing the tears in my eyes as I recognized the tune, she nodded. “OK, that’s the one.”

And here we are, dancing to Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby.”

Well, just look at that girl with the lights coming up in her eyes.

She's got to be somebody's baby,

She must be somebody's baby.

All the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by.

She's got to be somebody's baby,

She must be somebody's baby,

She's got to be somebody's baby 'cause she's so fine. 

Somebody's Baby - YouTube

Soundtrack of my life: When my hands were steady

A rock tune from long ago comes floating softly over the patio, bringing reflection and a glimmer of tears to an old man who feels the weight of his years pressing down.

I was 18,

Didn't have a care.

Working for peanuts,

Not a dime to spare.

But I was lean and

Solid everywhere,

Like a rock.

 

My hands were steady.

My eyes were clear and bright.

My walk had purpose.

My steps were quick and light.

And I held firmly

To what I felt was right,

Like a rock.

Bob Seger was only 40 when he wrote “Like a Rock.” It topped the charts in 1986.

Like A Rock - YouTube