Dragon Quarterback Ryan Agnew shakes off a Mansfield defender in a thrilling 38-31 victory at AT & T Stadium. Photo by K.Campos
by EJ Holland
Somehow, someway Southlake Carroll just finds ways to shakebroff the opposition.
Five of its 11 games this season have been decided by sevenbrpoints or fewer, and each time, the Dragons have come out on top. The latest thriller came last weekend in the opening round of the 6A Division II statebrplayoffs.
Down by 14 to Mansfield late in the fourth quarter,brSouthlake Carroll scored 21 unanswered points in the games' final six minutesbrto rally for a 38-31 victory and move on to the area round.
So is it grit, tradition or something else completely? Whybrdo the Dragons always come through in the clutch?
“I don't think there is an exact science to it. It's notbranything magical,” said head coach Hal Wasson. “We just don't change ourbrmindset when we get down, and we just stay the course. You just have to havebrguys step up and make plays, and we do a good job of that. We just have tobrtrust ourselves and trust our schemes.”
Whatever the formula is, Southlake Carroll will need it thisbrSaturday when it returns to AT&T Stadium for a showdown with Denton Guyer in the nightcap of a quadruple header. Like Southlake Carroll, the Wildcatsbrhave pedigree. Denton Guyer won back-to-back state titles at the 4A level inbr2012 and 2013 and is ready to prove its worth in the state’s largestbrclassification.
And the Wildcats are off to a good start. Denton Guyerbrfinished the regular season with a 9-1 record and won an outright districtbrtitle.
“This is a challenging second round matchup. There is nobrdoubt that this is a very challenging area with a lot of outstanding footballbrteams,” Wasson said. “Denton Guyer is no stranger to the playoffs. They are abrgreat program, and they are very well coached. We knew it was going to be abrchallenge in the playoffs.”
Denton Guyer's only loss came to Allen in the season opener,brbut that's when Shawn Robinson was just getting acclimated to the offense.brRobinson, a sophomore transfer from Chisholm Trail, replaced Texas signeebrJerrod Heard at quarterback and has been nothing short of electric, passing forbr2,395 yards, rushing for 1,315 yards and scoring 44 total touchdowns.
Robinson is surrounded by a slew of weapons including widebrreceivers Adam Scott and Alex Honey and running back Anthony Taylor, all ofbrwhom hold FBS offers. Simply put: King Newton, Andy Chelf and the rest of thebrSouthlake Carroll defense has its work cut out for it.
“They have an outstanding quarterback and a ton ofbrplaymakers. When you play Guyer, you have to be very disciplined,” Wasson said.br“You can't allow them to gain yards after initial contact or yards after thebrcatch. It's going to be challenging, there is no doubt about it. We just havebrto stick to our schemes and be consistent.”
Defensively, Denton Guyer runs a base 4-3 and has a studbralong the defensive line in Kansas commit Carl Thompson, who has notched 36brtackles and three sacks this season. The Wildcats also have a couple of bigbrtime playmakers in the secondary in Jordan Wallace, an Iowa State pledge, andbrIan Edwards.
But Denton Guyer does give up a little more than 25 pointsbrper game, and Wasson hopes his offense can take advantage.
“I don't think you reinvent the wheel against a tough teambrlike Guyer,” he said. “We just have to be consistent and disciplined in thebrthings we're doing offensively. We have to play with great energy, and we justbrhave to go out and be us. All you can do is be as good as you can be.”
Will that be enough? Remember, the Dragons do thrive inbrtight contests.
