Stewart Johnson
The first lengthy road trip for the Dragons’ 2019 football team paid off. Southlake Carroll took home a win against Odessa Permian on Friday, September 13, with a final score of 48-7.There were stark differences from this year’s and last year’s matchups. While last year was a tight 24-20 win led by the rushing attack of TJ McDaniel, the 2019 game proved to be DFW Elite Realty Player of the Game, sponsored by Thomas & Sharon Michael, Realtors, quarterback Quinn Ewers’ best game yet. The Dragons dominated the second quarter with 28 unanswered points and made their way to the locker room with a 31-0 advantage at halftime.
Stewart Johnson
Ewers passed for 392 yards and threw for four touchdowns to four different receivers, including Wills Meyer and John Manero who led the receiving corp with 11 receptions and 80 yards and 9 receptions and 134 yards respectively.
Jack Abram led the rushing attack for the second straight game with 124 yards on just 16 carries. Brady Boyd and Landon Sampson also caught touchdown throws, showing off their big play abilities by averaging over 25 yards per catch on the game. Ewers added another 51 yards and two more TDs rushing for the Dragons. In the end, their high octane offense accounted for 610 yards.
On the other side of the ball, the Panthers could only muster 13 passing yards and 150 yards total in the lopsided defeat. The well-rounded defensive effort was led by Brandon Howell and Josh Sweat who each posted six tackles.
Stewart Johnson
While the non-district victory was well worth the more than five hour drive, many Dragons were equally impressed with the efforts shown by the Dragon Cheerleaders. In an emotional pre-game event, Dragon Cheer presented a check for more than $21,000 to the Odessa Community Foundation, which supports the victims of the recent Odessa shooting. Hundreds of Dragons were sporting the Dragon Cheer “One with Odessa” T-shirts proving that, at the end of the team, the two teams could come together in the city’s time of need.
The Dragons are off this week but will pick up on September 27 to take on their first district opponent, the Keller Indians. The team finished last season as district runner up, but they could fall in the standings this year after losing key players and returning just three starters on offense.
In 2018, the Indians held a 23-21 halftime lead before the Dragons outscored Keller 37-14 in the second half to win 58-37. The 2019 matchup will be the Dragons’ first district home game of the season and is expected to draw out quite the crowd. So get there early, cheer loud and get ready to show off your Dragon pride!