The Southlake Carroll Dragons escaped with a 24-20 victory Friday night over the Permian Odessa Panthers after yet another soggy game.
It was Dragon Pride Player of the Week TJ McDaniel who struck first for the Dragons with a 56-yard touchdown run up the middle, with a little over eight minutes left in the first quarter. This run alone put McDaniel halfway to 100 yards on the game in the beginning of the first quarter. This was only the first of three touchdowns for McDaniel on the game.
McDaniel credits the crowd's energy for his performance.
"It was an amazing atmosphere tonight in Dragon Stadium, just indescribable," McDaniel says. "The fans definitely played a part and made a difference in the game."
Another breakout star for the season, defensive lineman Alex Kingston, earned his second turnover of the season, recovering a crucial Permian fumble and giving the ball back over to Will Bowers and the Dragon offense.
The next Permian possession would last almost seven minutes, but the Carroll defense remained strong and did not allow a score from the Panthers. Carroll regained possession with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Dragons finished out the first half with a kick from Neal Koskay, putting Carroll up 10-0, with still no answer from Odessa Permian.
This week, the rain came halfway through the game, with a single lightning strike at the beginning of the third quarter, four minutes into the second half. This forced both teams and fans out of Dragon Stadium for almost an hour and a half.
The Dragons did not let the weather delay slow their momentum, and came out firing in the third quarter with another score from McDaniel 10 yards down the middle. The Dragons lead the Panthers 17-0.
Odessa Permian would fail to get a play started before the end of third quarter, and remained scoreless going into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers finally answered early in the fourth quarter to make the score 17-7.
Upping the tempo, the Panthers scored again with over five minutes left in the game, narrowing the spread to 17-14.
It was McDaniel who secured the game for the Dragons, with a swift 90-yard run for a touchdown with four and a half minutes left in the game. This touchdown rounded out McDaniel's three touchdowns on the night.
The Panthers would answer again, but it would not be enough to overcome the deficit, and the Dragons win 24-20.
The Carroll offense had a total of 381 yards on the night, 277 of which were rushing yards. McDaniel had a total of 233 rushing yards alone, with 12 carries and three touchdowns. Bowers ended the night with a 77 percent completion rate and over 100 passing yards.
The Dragon defense would end the night allowing 411 yards, while compiling three sacks and two recovered turnovers - one from Kingston and the other from Preston Forney. Connor Patterson lead the defense with 12 tackles.
Southlake Carroll has a bye-week this week before traveling to face off against Keller.
Head coach Riley Dodge says this week will be for recovery.
"We're going to tend to some injuries and get health," Dodge says. "We're also going to hit the weight room a little harder, be more detailed in our practice and have a little more individual time."
After the bye week and the 13th annual Dragon Pride issue release party the Dragons will hit the road to face the Keller Indians in the first district match of the 2018 season.
It was Dragon Pride Player of the Week TJ McDaniel who struck first for the Dragons with a 56-yard touchdown run up the middle, with a little over eight minutes left in the first quarter. This run alone put McDaniel halfway to 100 yards on the game in the beginning of the first quarter. This was only the first of three touchdowns for McDaniel on the game.
McDaniel credits the crowd's energy for his performance.
"It was an amazing atmosphere tonight in Dragon Stadium, just indescribable," McDaniel says. "The fans definitely played a part and made a difference in the game."
Another breakout star for the season, defensive lineman Alex Kingston, earned his second turnover of the season, recovering a crucial Permian fumble and giving the ball back over to Will Bowers and the Dragon offense.
The next Permian possession would last almost seven minutes, but the Carroll defense remained strong and did not allow a score from the Panthers. Carroll regained possession with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Dragons finished out the first half with a kick from Neal Koskay, putting Carroll up 10-0, with still no answer from Odessa Permian.
This week, the rain came halfway through the game, with a single lightning strike at the beginning of the third quarter, four minutes into the second half. This forced both teams and fans out of Dragon Stadium for almost an hour and a half.
The Dragons did not let the weather delay slow their momentum, and came out firing in the third quarter with another score from McDaniel 10 yards down the middle. The Dragons lead the Panthers 17-0.
Odessa Permian would fail to get a play started before the end of third quarter, and remained scoreless going into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers finally answered early in the fourth quarter to make the score 17-7.
Upping the tempo, the Panthers scored again with over five minutes left in the game, narrowing the spread to 17-14.
It was McDaniel who secured the game for the Dragons, with a swift 90-yard run for a touchdown with four and a half minutes left in the game. This touchdown rounded out McDaniel's three touchdowns on the night.
The Panthers would answer again, but it would not be enough to overcome the deficit, and the Dragons win 24-20.
The Carroll offense had a total of 381 yards on the night, 277 of which were rushing yards. McDaniel had a total of 233 rushing yards alone, with 12 carries and three touchdowns. Bowers ended the night with a 77 percent completion rate and over 100 passing yards.
The Dragon defense would end the night allowing 411 yards, while compiling three sacks and two recovered turnovers - one from Kingston and the other from Preston Forney. Connor Patterson lead the defense with 12 tackles.
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Head coach Riley Dodge says this week will be for recovery.
"We're going to tend to some injuries and get health," Dodge says. "We're also going to hit the weight room a little harder, be more detailed in our practice and have a little more individual time."
After the bye week and the 13th annual Dragon Pride issue release party the Dragons will hit the road to face the Keller Indians in the first district match of the 2018 season.