by Justin Thomas
RJ Mickens makes a spectacular catch as the Dragons defeated the Desoto Eagles 33-15 in last week's Area Round of the 2017 UIL Playoffs.Carroll’s boys in blonde are back in the third roundbrof the playoffs after downing defending state champ DeSoto 33-15 in the areabrround last Saturday in Frisco. The win appropriately avenges a Dragon loss tobrthe Eagles in the same round a year ago. Now Hal Wasson and the Dragons shiftbrtheir attention to the Arlington Colts (10-2). Kickoff will be this Saturday at 7 pm once again at the Star in Frisco.
Carroll is seeking its first berth in the regional finalbrsince falling to eventual state champ Cedar Hill in 2014. Arlington, meanwhile,brlast advanced to the fourth round in 2009 and was previously eliminated in thebrregional semifinals in 2012.
“Saturday was a big win for us,” said Hal Wasson, Carrollbrhead coach. “We’re excited for the chance to move on and for the opportunity tobrplay Arlington.
“Getting through the Metroplex is an ordeal to say thebrleast. There are so many talented teams and I’m very proud of our guys for whatbrthey’ve done and where they are right now.”
Speaking of talent, Arlington boasts plenty of it afterbrposting a 10-2 thus far and rolling to two playoff wins by a combined score ofbr114-55.
Arlington boasts an offense that has produced 39 pointsbrand 436 yards per game and a defense that surrenders 23.89 points and 343 yardsbrper contest.
The Colts’ offense is helmed by dual-threat quarterbackbrD’Montae Davis, who has thrown for 1,594 yards (62 percent completions) with 20brtouchdowns against three interceptions, while rushing for 1,234 yards (7.4 perbrcarry) and an additional 18 scores.
Wasson likened the Colts attack to that of Martin.
“They have good skill guys and it starts with theirbrquarterback,” he said. “I think Martin is a good comparison from thebrquarterback perspective in that they both feature guys as runners that canbrextend plays with their feet. But you can’t just concentrate on the quarterbackbrbecause they have a very talented runner and good receivers.”
Wasson is alluding to running back Kenland McCray who entersbrthe game with 1,343 yards (8.2 per rush) and 10 touchdowns and wide-receiverbrTrey Cleveland who has 32 receptions for 486 yards and six touchdowns. McCraybris also dangerous in the passing game and has hauled in 17 catches for 363bryards with two touchdowns.
In Arlington’s second-round win over El Paso Montwood,brboth McCray (11 carries, 223 yards) and Davis (12 carries, 220 yards) eclipsedbr200 yards, as did Zander Benson (19 rushes, 229 yards) as Arlington rushed forbra team high of 665 yards on the ground. All of it came on just 42 attemptsbr(15.5 per carry).
“Our defense gave a great effort against DeSoto and hasbrbeen playing well,” Wasson said. “They’re playing fast and confident and it’sbrbeen fun to see their maturation, but we’re going to need a similar effort tobrget past Arlington.”
Speed is prevalent on the defensive side of the ball forbrArlington as well.
And while the Colts have surrendered 24 points per game,brfew teams faced the slew of talented opponents Arlington did during the regularbrseason.
“They’re fast andbrathletic and they have a very strong secondary,” Wasson said. “We’re going tobrhave our hands full, but any time you get this far, the teams are just sobrstrong overall.”
If the talent and a third-round berth isn’t enough to getbrthe Dragons excited, Carroll is also relishing the chance to compete at ThebrStar for the second consecutive week.
“It’s a great venue,” Wasson said. “You could really feelbrthe energy out there last week. It kind of had an old-school feel to it andbrwe’re excited to be back there this week for Arlington.”
RJ Mickens makes a spectacular catch as the Dragons defeated the Desoto Eagles 33-15 in last week's Area Round of the 2017 UIL Playoffs.
Carroll is seeking its first berth in the regional finalbrsince falling to eventual state champ Cedar Hill in 2014. Arlington, meanwhile,brlast advanced to the fourth round in 2009 and was previously eliminated in thebrregional semifinals in 2012.
“Saturday was a big win for us,” said Hal Wasson, Carrollbrhead coach. “We’re excited for the chance to move on and for the opportunity tobrplay Arlington.
“Getting through the Metroplex is an ordeal to say thebrleast. There are so many talented teams and I’m very proud of our guys for whatbrthey’ve done and where they are right now.”
Speaking of talent, Arlington boasts plenty of it afterbrposting a 10-2 thus far and rolling to two playoff wins by a combined score ofbr114-55.
Arlington boasts an offense that has produced 39 pointsbrand 436 yards per game and a defense that surrenders 23.89 points and 343 yardsbrper contest.
The Colts’ offense is helmed by dual-threat quarterbackbrD’Montae Davis, who has thrown for 1,594 yards (62 percent completions) with 20brtouchdowns against three interceptions, while rushing for 1,234 yards (7.4 perbrcarry) and an additional 18 scores.
Wasson likened the Colts attack to that of Martin.
“They have good skill guys and it starts with theirbrquarterback,” he said. “I think Martin is a good comparison from thebrquarterback perspective in that they both feature guys as runners that canbrextend plays with their feet. But you can’t just concentrate on the quarterbackbrbecause they have a very talented runner and good receivers.”
Wasson is alluding to running back Kenland McCray who entersbrthe game with 1,343 yards (8.2 per rush) and 10 touchdowns and wide-receiverbrTrey Cleveland who has 32 receptions for 486 yards and six touchdowns. McCraybris also dangerous in the passing game and has hauled in 17 catches for 363bryards with two touchdowns.
In Arlington’s second-round win over El Paso Montwood,brboth McCray (11 carries, 223 yards) and Davis (12 carries, 220 yards) eclipsedbr200 yards, as did Zander Benson (19 rushes, 229 yards) as Arlington rushed forbra team high of 665 yards on the ground. All of it came on just 42 attemptsbr(15.5 per carry).
“Our defense gave a great effort against DeSoto and hasbrbeen playing well,” Wasson said. “They’re playing fast and confident and it’sbrbeen fun to see their maturation, but we’re going to need a similar effort tobrget past Arlington.”
Speed is prevalent on the defensive side of the ball forbrArlington as well.
And while the Colts have surrendered 24 points per game,brfew teams faced the slew of talented opponents Arlington did during the regularbrseason.
“They’re fast andbrathletic and they have a very strong secondary,” Wasson said. “We’re going tobrhave our hands full, but any time you get this far, the teams are just sobrstrong overall.”
If the talent and a third-round berth isn’t enough to getbrthe Dragons excited, Carroll is also relishing the chance to compete at ThebrStar for the second consecutive week.
“It’s a great venue,” Wasson said. “You could really feelbrthe energy out there last week. It kind of had an old-school feel to it andbrwe’re excited to be back there this week for Arlington.”