Southlake vs Keller Indians
The Dragons are off to a 3-0 start with impressive wins over South Grand Prairie, Colleyville Heritage and Odessa Permian. After a bye week, Riley Dodge’s squad is more than ready to take on all comers. Dragon Nation will be out in force for this special Green Out home game that also highlights Southlake’s Friday night tykes, AKA Dragon Youth Football.
This week’s matchup will be against the 2-1 Keller High team that has seen it all in early play. A narrow 1-point loss at home to Cooper High, a 43-point barrage over Richardson Berkner and a defensive win holding Grand Prairie to just 7 points.
The Indians finished as the district runner-up last season. But despite early successes, this year could fall in the standings after losing several key players. They’ll be looking to avenge last year’s game where the Indians held a 23-21 halftime lead before the Dragons, behind TJ McDaniel (254 yards and 5 TDs), outscored Keller 37-14 in the second half to win 58-37.
The Indians’ top returning star on offense is senior Enoch Ntchobo, a 5’-7”, 165-pound running back with good speed who carried the ball over 200 times for 1,372 yards and reaching the end zone 11 times. The effort was good enough to garner first-team offense all-district honors for the back. To date, Ntchobo is averaging 141 yards per game on the ground this season for the Indians run-heavy attack.
Junior quarterback Hayden Anderson provides promise going into this season but has to gain experience to replace a solid starter in Sloan Henry (2,209 yards passing, 27 TDs). Through three games, he’s thrown for 449 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Look for the Dragon’s defensive backfield to prey on any downfield attempts from the rookie passer.
When Anderson does throw, he’ll be looking to wide receiver Nick Rocha who has stepped up to become a go-to target with 214 yards receiving and three TDs so far.
Defensively Tyler Atkison, a senior safety, is one of the Indians’ best returning defenders, registering 89 tackles and two interceptions. Fellow safety Kyle Britton and corner Britton Melton, also seniors, will join Atkison to form a trio in the secondary bent on making passing difficult for upstart quarterback Quinn Ewers who has already amassed 868 yards and seven TDs passing through just three games.
Don’t miss this exciting district opener on Friday, September 27. Purchase your tickets before the game here.