The SouthlakebrCarroll Dragons (12-0) dominated the DeSoto Eagles (9-3) 41-20 Saturday tobrclinch the Class 6A Division I area title and move on to the third round of thebrTexas State Football Playoffs.
Despite facingbrboth a potent offense and defense in DeSoto, the Dragons quickly took controlbrof the game early and ended the Eagles' playoff hopes for the second straightbryear.
Windy conditionsbrkept the pass game to a minimum for both teams, but the dynamic duo of seniorbrquarterback Will Bowers and senior running back TJ McDaniel controlled thebrfield with four rushing touchdowns between them. Bowers also broke the 2,000brpassing yard mark, with 122 yards on the game to push him to 2,132 yards totalbrfor the season. RJ Mickens also had his hand in the score, with one rushingbrtouchdown.
The Dragonbrdefense was electric, containing a threatening DeSoto offense and holding thebrEagles to 20 points the entire game. The starting defense only allowing sixbrpoints, while two more touchdowns were scored late in the fourth quarter.brSenior outside linebacker Graham Faloona led the defense in tackles with nine,brwhile Preston Forney racked up eight total tackles with one for a loss.
The second-roundbrplayoff game quickly became Dragon Pride Player of the Week Michael Parrish'sstandout game, after he recorded seven total tackles with three for a loss,bras well as blocking an extra point attempt to keep the Eagles at bay.
The Dragons putbrthe Eagles away early – scoring on their first three possessions.brBowers earned his first touchdown of the night with a 14-yard rush into the endbrzone on the Dragons' very first possession, leading the Eagles 7-0. His secondbrtouchdown came on the second possession of the game, with a six-yard rush tobrput another seven points on the board for Carroll.
An interceptionbrby Mickens on the Eagles' second possession of the game put Carroll back in thebrdriver's seat and led them to score again with a 17-yard rush from Mickens intobrthe end zone.
Silence from DeSotobrhad the Dragons leading 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
McDaniel madebrhimself heard early in the second quarter with a seven-yard rush for abrtouchdown, increasing the gap 28-0.
The Eaglesbrfinally answered midway through the second quarter with a six-yard pass frombrquarterback Shundarion Ward to Vontae Shenault. A blocked extra point attemptbrfrom Carroll's Parrish only allowed DeSoto to put six points on the board.
A 43-yard fieldbrgoal from Joe McFadden late in the first half had the Dragons leading thebrEagles 31-6 heading into the locker room for halftime.
Both teamsbrremained without a touchdown for the third quarter, aside from a 21-yard fieldbrgoal from McFadden to give the Dragons another three points. Carroll was upbr34-6 at the end of the third.
McDanielbrrecorded his second touchdown of the night with a three-yard rush into the end zonebron the Dragons' first possession of the quarter, making the score 41-6.
The Eagles werebrquick to respond with a touchdown from Tyson Alexander, narrowing the gapbr41-14. They scored again late in the fourth quarter to make the scorebr41-20, but it was not enough to overcome the Dragons' lead.
Next up, Carrollwill face longtime rivals Euless Trinity, on Friday at the University of North Texas' Apogee Stadium at 7 p.m.