As district play begins to wind down, the Southlake Carroll Dragons (7-0) will face off against the Keller Central Chargers (1-6) tonight, with hopes to add yet another win to their undefeated streak.
Carroll is not the only undefeated 6-A team in the region, Allen, Arlington, Arlington-Lamar, Duncanville and Haltom also remain undefeated through the season's first eight games. Although the Chargers aren't considered a threat, the game does have meaning as a win against Keller Central would clinch a spot for Southlake Carroll in the playoffs.
Keller Central is the first of back-to-back road games before the Senior Night celebrations at Dragon Stadium on November 9th. The biggest match up for the Dragons will most likely be when they face Eaton (5-2), who has had high-scoring matches against other teams in the district.
Last week, the Dragons heftily defeated Fossil Ridge 47-26 after a momentum change in the second half. Carroll scored four touchdowns against the Panthers, and both quarterback Will Bowers and running back TJ McDaniel exceeded the 1,000-yard mark in their respective positions.
The Chargers have been able to score, especially of late with two high-scoring affairs against Trophy Club and Keller Fossil Ridge. However, the Chargers were shut down by a tough Eaton team 31-7 as they look to get back on track tonight.
In order to get back on track, Keller Central will need a big game from Gavyn White, who is closing in on 1,000 passing yards himself. The junior quarterback has eight touchdowns and a 50% completion rate heading into the night. Look for the Carroll secondary and players like RJ Mickens, Preston Forney and Ben Furgal to make big plays against the Chargers, as White is prone to turnovers, having thrown five interceptions this fall.
The pass game has proven to be more potent than the run game for the Chargers. Junior wide receiver Devon Graham II has caught four touchdowns and just over 400 receiving yards while senior receiver Jack Hecker follows Graham with four touchdowns and just under 250 receiving yards. With White finding several more key receivers, the Charger's offense has a total of 1,440 receiving yards in 2018.
And when passes are complete, expect the Dragon defense to swarm the ball. Furgal also currently leads in tackles with 65, while Michael Parrish and Connor Patterson lead the team with three sacks each.
On the other side of the ball the Chargers defense has been known to force turnovers of their own, with an impressive eight interceptions. Bowers will need to keep a careful eye on senior cornerback Kacee Williams who leads the Chargers with three interceptions. Bowers is expected to have time in the pocket as the Chargers have only one recorded sack from senior defensive back Traelon Reed.
In doing so, Bowers and his receiving crew led by Glen Mitchell, John Manero, Carson White and RJ Mickens could have a breakout performance.
The Dragons kick off against the Chargers at 7 p.m. in the Keller ISD Stadium.