Junior Quarterback Mason Holmes will be under center in Week 2 vs Tulsa Union.
By EJ Holland
Southlake Carroll isn't used to losing many games.
But penalties and mistakes cost the Dragons in a big way inbrtheir season opening loss to Austin Westlake 20-14. And now, Southlake Carrollbrmust turn its attention to another tough road contest as it travels to Oklahomabrto take on Tulsa Union.
Head coach Hal Wasson is optimistic his team will have abrbetter performance in Week 2.
“As Dragons, we know there are winners and there arebrlearners,” Wasson said. “This was a big learning experience. The question isbrhow fast can we rebound from it. It's really quite simple — we have to playbrmore disciplined. We have to protect the football and seize momentum.”
Senior Quarterback Montana Murphy completed just 48% of his passes in the
season opener vs Austin Westlake.
Southlake Carroll struggled to put points on the board withbrnew starting quarterback Montana Murphy under center. Murphy completed lessbrthan 50 percent of his passes and was picked off once.
Now, the Dragons will turn to Mason Holmes. A junior, Holmesbrdoesn't have any experience on the varsity level but did have a solid fallbrcamp.
Tulsa Union, however, will be a tough test. The Redskinsbrgave up just 17 points per game last season and return a bulk of theirbrstarters, including highly touted cornerback recruit Tre Brown.
“We anticipated that both quarterbacks were going to playbragainst Westlake,” Wasson. “But we dug ourselves into a hole early and didn'tbrfeel that was the best time to insert Mason. He'll start this week.
“Tulsa Union is going to bring a lot of pressure. They run abrlot of man concepts, so we have to win routes.”
Despite the opening loss, Southlake Carroll performedbradmirably on defense, considering the unit featured 10 new starters. But thingsbrwon't get any easier against Tulsa Union.
The Redskins have an electrifying running back in TylerbrAdkins, who rushed for more than 1,400 yards last season and holds an offerbrfrom Navy, and an experienced quarterback in Mason Farquhar.
“They have a strong running game,” Wasson said. “Obviously,brtheir running back is a high profile guy. They have a big offensive line and anbreffective quarterback. This is going to be a big challenge for our defense.”
Southlake Carroll topped Tulsa Union, 42-41, in a dramatic overtime win last season. And Wasson expects another close contest on Friday.
“It's their home opener, so it's going to be a hostilebrenvironment,” he said. “We're going to have to weather the storm. If we don't,brwe're not going to like it. We have to play with energy.”