Southlake Carroll rolls past Midland Legacy and advances to regional semifinals
Entering Saturday’s area round playoff game, Southlake Carroll and Midland Legacy were a combined 21-1 this season.
But Carroll left little doubt on who the more superior team was at Globe Life Field.
Star running back Owen Allen rushed for 249 yards and four touchdowns as the Dragons downed the Rebels, 42-7 in a Class 6A Division 1 area round game.
Carroll (12-0) will play Lewisville (11-1) in the regional semifinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at Coppell. Lewisville knocked off Arlington Martin on Friday.
“Very balanced,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who picked up his 50th career win in just four seasons. “We got some short field and some turnovers early that we were able to capitalize on.”
The Dragons led 14-0 before the midway point of the first quarter on a 23-yard touchdown run from Allen and a 51-yard pass from Kaden Anderson to Jacob Jordan.
Allen, a junior, surpassed 5,000 yards rushing in his 3-year career and ups his touchdown runs to 79.
“We relied on our run game and o-line early which opened up the passing game for Kaden. The offense was just firing on all cyclinders,” Allen said.
Carroll kept the foot on the gas when less than a minute into the second quarter the Dragons extended their lead to 21-0 on a 4-yard run from Anderson.
Legacy (10-2) was led by senior running back Makhilyn Young, who is one of three in program history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. However, the Rebels struggled on offense going three and out on their first five possessions.
“I’ll tell you what, I love our defense, but we’re on the bench for like 30 seconds getting water before we have to go back out there,” Allen said. “The turnovers, the three and outs, the physicality...I love watching them just as much as I love playing.”
Added Dodge, “We’ve been doing that all year. We have a good defense. I’d say 98% of them played in the state championship last year. We have a bunch of good football players that trust each and stay connected, and it’s a physical group.”
Allen added his second touchdown run from the 2 that gave Carroll a 28-0 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.
Legacy finally got on the scoreboard with 10 seconds left before intermission. Marcos Davila hit Addison Akbar on a 12-yard scoring pass.
Allen added a 36-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 4-yard run with 9:46 left in the fourth for the final score of the game.
The Dragons defense played lights out as Legacy came in averaging 48 points and 485 yards per game. The Rebels were held to four yards rushing on 27 carries and 130 yards total. Young was limited to 27 yards on 20 rushes.
Anderson threw for 236 and Carroll rushed for 262. Jordan led the receiving core with 146 yards on 10 catches.
“Defense played lights out. Offense played lights out. We had a few miscues on some drives, but overall a great game,” Anderson said. “Owen is freaking amazing. You cannot stop the kid.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 10:09 AM.
