Graham Faloona scoops of a Byron Nelson fumble for a 66-yard touchdown. The Dragons defeated Byron Nelson 50-17. Photo by S.Johnson/SnappedDragons.com
By Justin Thomas
Ray Mickens catches a 36-yard touchdown pass from Will Bowers for his second score of the night. The Dragons defeated Byron Nelson 50-17. Photo by S.Johnson/SnappedDragons.com
Facing a Byron Nelson team Thursday that had surrendered 210 rushing yards per game (6.1 per carry) in its five losses, the makings were there for a big game from Carroll running back TJ McDaniel.
The junior didn't disappoint, racking up 202 yards on 15 carries with three touchdowns despite seeing limited fourth-quarter action in the 50-17 blowout win over the Bobcats.
The performance upped McDaniel's season totals to 1,331 yards (third in 6A in the area) with 16 touchdowns.
Quarterback Will Bowers chipped in 70 yards on the ground and a touchdown to go with 135 passing yards and two scores for a Dragons' squad that crossed the end zone on each of their first four possessions.
Bowers fired a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes RJ Mickens (two receptions for a team-high 57 yards) to give Carroll a quick 14-0 advantage before McDaniel's first scoring run (36 yards) pushed the margin to 21-0 heading to the second quarter.
McDaniel's second touchdown dash (53 yards) increased the lead to 36-0 and McDaniel later tacked on a 48-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter for good measure.
While Carroll had little difficulty moving the ball, the Dragons are likely equally excited about another dominant performance defensively.
After allowing 21 points combined in wins over Lewisville and Marcus, the Dragons shut out Nelson for three of the four quarters Thursday, including keeping the Bobcats off the scoreboard entirely in the first half.
In fact, Carroll's defense outscored Nelson over the first quarters, 2-0, by virtue of a safety with 6 seconds remaining in the half.
The Dragons also added a defensive touchdown in the fourth quarter when Dragon Pride Player of the Week Graham Faloona scooped up a loose ball and it returned it 66 yards for the final margin of 50-17.
In addition to the heads up touchdown, Faloona paced the Dragons with 13 tackles and a sack, while Ryan Thompson had eight.
Carroll will look to keep the defense in rhythm Friday against L.D. Bell in anticipation of a showdown against high-powered Hebron to close the regular season on Nov. 10.
Dragon Offensive Leaders:
Rushing: TJ McDaniel 15-202, Will Bowers 14-70, Tavian Gould 3-29, Eli Furgal 1-1, Darryl Crockett 1-20.
Passing: Will Bowers 12-19-2-135, Clayton Webb 0-1-0-0
Receiving: TJ McDaniel 4-18, RJ Mickens 2-57, Carson White 2-28, Cade Bell 2-19, Jacob Doddridge 1-13, Hudson Shrum 1-0.
Dragon Defensive Leaders:
Graham Faloona: 13 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one touchdown
Ryan Thompson: eight tackles
Michael Parrish: six tackles
Jacob Doddridge: five tackles
Matt Werner: five tackles
1 of 6
Graham Faloona scoops of a Byron Nelson fumble for a 66-yard touchdown. The Dragons defeated Byron Nelson 50-17. Photo by S.Johnson/SnappedDragons.com
2 of 6
3 of 6
4 of 6
5 of 6
6 of 6