Southlake Carroll one step closer to district championship after routing Haslet Eaton
Southlake Carroll already has a potent offense this season averaging over 45 points per game. But when the Dragons are gifted with terrific field position, it spells doom.
Carroll started in Eaton territory on six of its first 10 drives that helped lead the Dragons to a 47-24 victory in a District 4-6A showdown between the top two teams Thursday night at Northwest ISD Stadium.
The Dragons (8-0, 4-0 in 4-6A) also had a drive begin on the 50.
“Defense played really well and [Eaton] was backed up a couple times and went for it which was interesting,” Carroll coach Riley Dodge said. “We were able to get stops and cashed in. When you’re playing at the 30 or 20-yard line for the majority, especially in the second half, it makes it fun for us.”
Eaton (7-2, 4-1), No. 4 in the Star-Telegram Class 6A area rankings, tried to catch Carroll sleeping on the opening kickoff with an onside attempt, but the Dragons recovered and had short work for the first touchdown of the game.
Carroll quarterback Kaden Anderson threw a 42-yard pass to Boston College commit RJ Maryland and Owen Allen scored two plays later on a 4-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the contest.
Allen scored his second touchdown run, from the 1, to push Carroll’s lead to 14-0 with 4:55 to play in the first quarter. Then Max Reyes intercepted an Eaton pass attempt at the Eagles 25 and four plays later, Anderson called his own number on a 1-yard touchdown run to up the lead to 21-0.
“Lot of veterans with a lot of football,” Dodge said of his defense that’s allowing 14 points per game. “Majority of them played in the state championship game last season. It’s a smart group that prepares well.”
Added Reyes about his interception, “I knew the running back would always wheel out. I saw the two receivers bail out and the quarterback lobbed it up, and gave me enough time to run under it.”
Eaton finally got on the scoreboard on the ensuing drive going 75 yards on nine plays, capped off with a 4-yard touchdown run from JB Brown that cut the lead to 21-7 just before the first quarter came to an end.
The Eagles forced a Carroll punt and turned it into points, but could only muster up three on a 26-yard field goal from Dakota Hester with 3:30 left before intermission.
Eaton ran 17 plays for 77 yards and killed over six minutes on the clock. The Eagles converted two third downs and a fourth-and-1 on the drive.
Carroll, No. 1 in the area rankings and No. 3 in the state, destroyed any momentum the Eagles had with a fourth touchdown at the end of the half. Anderson hit sophomore Jacob Jordan on a 2-yard scoring pass to make it 28-10.
The Dragons then tacked on 16 more points in the third quarter to put the game away. Tyler White booted a 30-yard field goal, Allen scored on a 6-yard touchdown run, and Anderson and Maryland connected on a 45-yard scoring pass to give Carroll a 44-10 advantage. All three scoring drives started on Eaton’s side of the field.
White, a preseason MaxPreps All-American, nailed a career-long 55-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter that made it 47-10 Carroll. White came into the night making all 39 extra-point attempts and four of five field goals with a previous long of 42 yards.
“Thankful coach Dodge let me kick that kick. I knew coming into the season that we’re not known for kicking a lot of field goals, but I’m fortunate enough that he has a trust in me to go out there and kick,” White said. “I knew I hit it pretty well, but I wasn’t for sure until I saw the guy in the end zone turn around and give the signal.”
“Not a big fan of kicking field goals or punting very much, but the opportunity presented itself and glad we did it,” Dodge added with a chuckle.
But Eaton kept fighting until the end with back-to-back touchdowns.
Brown broke a tackle up the middle and scored on a 49-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 47-17 with 6:56 left. The Eagles then recovered a Carroll fumble on the next play from scrimmage and Charles Whitebear caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Fussell to make it 47-24 just 19 seconds later.
Allen had a game-high 24 carries for 146 yards and three TDs, and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The junior had his 11th career game with three rushing scores.
Anderson threw for 209 yards and Maryland caught six passes for 138.
“We think RJ is pretty dang good,” Dodge said. “He’s going off right now and playing some good football.”
The Eagles were led by Brown, who rushed 22 times for 118 yards and two scores. Fussell threw for 204 yards and Whitebear made seven grabs for 113.
Carroll will end the season with Keller Timber Creek in Week 10 and Keller Fossil Ridge on Nov. 4. Eaton has a bye next week before closing with Timber Creek on Nov. 5. The Dragons should be headed to the Division 1 playoffs while the Eagles will likely be D2.
This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 9:57 PM.
