Southlake Carroll survives strong showing by Keller in battle for 4-6A supremacy

The Keller football team punched Southlake Carroll in the mouth like the Dragons hadn’t been punched in a while. The problem was that Carroll just kept playing.

The Indians led at the half, but two third quarter touchdown runs by Wyoming commit Kaden Anderson and star running back Owen Allen, plus a game-saving interception by Dragons’ defensive back Logan Lewandowski with 1:20 left allowed Carroll to escape with a 38-35 win over Keller in a District 4-6A game on Friday night at Dragon Stadium.

“They punch us hard at the start and at the finish,” said Allen, who finished the game with 232 rushing yards on 35 carries and three touchdowns. “I’ve played Keller four years in a row and my first varsity game was against them and this is by far the strongest and most disciplined team that they’ve had.

“Nothing but respect for that team. The score speaks for itself and we were trading blows back and forth, but I think it spoke a lot to our team on how we overcame the adversity and fought to the end.”

The magic that Keller (5-1 overall, 2-1 district), No. 5 in the Star-Telegram Class 6A area rankings, was able to muster in the first half all but evaporated in the third quarter.

Carroll, (6-0, 3-0), No. 3 in the 6A state poll and No. 1 in the S-T area rankings, scored on long drives on its first two possessions of the second half. Anderson’s 8-yard TD run gave Carroll a 31-28 lead after the Dragons took four and a half minutes off the clock.

Following a punt by the Indians, the Dragons went on a 12-play drive covering 63 yards with eight of the plays being runs by Allen. The senior bulled in from the one to give Carroll a 10-point lead with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.

Anderson was injured on the drive after picking up a first down at the Keller 10 with 1:57 left in the third. Anderson walked off under his own power, but did not return to the game and was seen later on crutches with an ice pack on his knee.

Carroll coach Riley Dodge refused to speculate on Anderson’s condition, pending further evaluation.

Keller finally got the spark it needed with 8:18 left in the game. After the Indians punted, Allen broke off a 39-yard run down to the Indians 5, but fumbled and the loose ball was covered by Keller’s Tyler Swanson.

Indians’ quarterback Tre Guerra (Central Arkansas commit) drove the Indians the 95 yards in three and a half minutes. The Indians pulled to within 38-35 when Cameron Rayford broke free around left end for a 28-yard score with 4:48 left.

With Anderson out of the game the Carroll offense sputtered, going three and out on its next series and Keller took over at its own 23 with 2:31 left.

The Indians were driving, but two procedure penalties put them in a third and 15. Lewandowski made a perfect break on a deep out for the interception and Carroll was able to run out the clock.

“The Polish guy picked off a pass,” quipped Lewandowski on the game-saving pick. “The receiver broke the cushion, but he didn’t run it flat enough, he doesn’t run it like an out he runs it deeper. So I undercut that thing and the rest is history...I could have taken that thing for six, I’m not gonna lie.”

“Logan is a bit of a ball hawk,” said Allen. “He’s got a knack for finding the ball when it’s in the air. All night we were saying that we just need that one turnover, that one play on defense and he stepped up at a crucial time when we really needed it and I’m really proud of him.”

Guerra was masterful in the first half in leading the Indians to a 28-24 lead at the break.

Guerra threw for 236 yards in the first half and guided the Indians on three long scoring drives on Keller’s first three possessions, making big plays on each drive to keep the marches going.

Keller took the opening kickoff and blitzed down field, covering 75 yards in four plays in just over a minute. Tre Griffiths made a terrific run after a catch from Guerra for 43 yards down to the Carroll 19. Two plays later Guerra hit Amarion Henry in the right corner of the end zone from 12 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

The Indians’ second drive covered 85 yards in only five plays in 1:17 capped by a 16-yard scoring run by Cameron Rayford. Guerra converted pass plays of 28 yards to Henry and 20 yards to David Wagner keeping the drive alive.

Keller ran 13 plays on its next possession covering 78 yards with Jayden Hart darting in from the three on the first play of the second quarter. Another Guerra-to-Henry connection of 34 yards gave the Indians a first down at the Carroll 35.

Guerra finished the game 22 of 32 for 312 yards.

“The thing that always happens when you come over here is that if you flinch then you get rolled,” said Keller coach Carl Stralow. “If you don’t flinch then you have a chance to come in here and win the ball game. They believed that.

“This was an amazing game. Southlake Carroll with all the things that they’ve done over the last 30 years is amazing, but I couldn’t be more proud of how our kids played.”

But every time Keller would score, so would the Dragons. Carroll looked just as sharp on offense behind Allen at running back and Anderson at quarterback.

Anderson’s 27-yard scoring pass to James Lehman tied the game at 7 with 8:53 left in the first quarter.

Allen, who had 109 rushing yards in the first half, scored the next two TDs for the Dragons on runs of 19 and 17 yards. The latter tied the game at 21 with 8:45 left in the second quarter.

Five-star Texas A&M commit Tyler White gave Carroll its first lead at 24-21 when he booted a 37-yard field goal at the 4:39 mark of the second quarter. But Guerra got the Indians rolling again scoring with 12 seconds left in the half on a 10-yard pass to Henry after moving 90 yards in 1:47.

“There’s a lot of things that we have to clean up, but that’s a really good Keller football team,” said Dodge. “I’m just super proud of our kids. This wasn’t our best outing, but I’m proud of how we responded and found a way.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2022 at 11:15 PM.