Southlake Carroll's 42-point quarter swamps Keller Fossil Ridge

By Louie Horvath

Special to the Star-Telegram

SOUTHLAKE -- Southlake Carroll used a 42-point second quarter to beat Keller Fossil Ridge 70-7 on Friday and clinch at least a share of the District 4-5A title.

The Carroll offense didn't look to be firing on all cylinders early, as the Dragons (8-1, 6-0) opened the game by going three-and-out, and fumbled the ball away to end their third possession on the Fossil Ridge 5-yard line, sandwiching a 13-yard Kenny Hill touchdown run.

But that Hill fumble on the third possession was the last time the Panthers (3-6, 3-3) stopped the first-team Carroll offense.

"We knew they'd come out strong, working on a playoff run," Carroll running back A.J. Ezzard said. "We just had to stay the course and it worked out for us."

The Dragons' first score on six consecutive touchdown drives by the first team came on Ezzard's 15-yard run for a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

The spree was capped by Ryan Weigel's 74-yard touchdown catch, on which he eluded two tacklers in the secondary.

Backup quarterback Ryan Agnew led the second-team Carroll offense to a touchdown with two seconds left in the first half for a 56-0 lead.

At halftime, the Dragons had 490 offensive yards, and held a dominant 27-2 advantage in first downs. Fossil Ridge could only muster 56 yards of total offense in the first half.

Ezzard was the driving force of the Dragons' offense, finishing the game with 79 yards on 13 carries. Hill had 254 passing yards and 113 rushing yards with four rushing touchdowns.

And the Dragons' defense forced three three-and-outs, grabbed a fumble and an had interception in the second quarter.

With the loss, Fossil Ridge is tied with Keller Timber Creek for the fourth and final playoff spot. The teams play next week.

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