Southlake Carroll QB has career game as Dragons open playoffs with rout over Crowley

Southlake Carroll quarterback Graham Knowles had a dazzling playoff debut on Thursday night, throwing for 324 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Dragons to a decisive 52-13 victory over Crowley in a Class 6A Division 2 bi-district contest at Dragon Stadium.

Carroll (11-0) controlled the game’s tempo throughout, riding a strong combination of an offense that put up 502 total yards with a defense that racked up eight sacks to claim the playoff win. Carroll’s opponent in the next round will be the winner of Friday night’s contest between Wolfforth Frenship and El Paso Eastlake.

“Our offense settled in and performed well and the defense made several key stops when it mattered,” said Carroll head coach Riley Dodge. “Our guys continue to get better and better each week, and tonight was a good way to start the playoffs.”

Crowley (4-7), which made the playoffs for the first in Class 6A, had several promising drives and played well at times, but could not put up enough consistent plays on both sides of the ball to keep pace.

“Our guys competed and battled hard but we just didn’t make enough plays,” said Crowley coach JJ Resendez. “It’s a tough loss to end the season, but I know our future is bright with the kids we have coming back next year.”

Crowley tried to strike first on its opening drive, eventually setting up first and goal from the Carroll 5. However, the drive stalled and Crowley came away empty-handed after missing a 36-yard field goal. Carroll quickly turned the contest into its favor with back-to-back scoring drives to grab a 14-0 lead going to the second quarter.

Knowles tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Clayton Wayland to open the scoring, with Owen Allen then capping an 8-play, 56-yard drive with a 13-yard run for the other touchdown. Allen, No. 3 in the preseason Star-Telegram Top 100, rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Carroll eventually pushed its lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter, with Jacob Jordan hauling in a 65-yard scoring strike. Jordan had a standout effort in the playoff win, finishing with 11 catches for 222 yards receiving and two scores.

Crowley finally got on the board with 8:07 left in the opening half, with Jordan Green scoring on a nice 74-yard catch-and-run from Caleb Williams to cut the Carroll advantage to 21-7. Williams paced the offense for Crowley with 272 total yards and a touchdown.

A 26-yard field goal by Carroll’s Tyler White (Texas A&M commit) pushed its lead to 17, but Crowley’s defense came up with an interception by Jonathan Blake to keep the deficit at 24-7. However, Carroll had the final say of the half as Knowles tossed his third touchdown, a 16-yard effort to Jaylen Pile, for a 31-7 halftime lead.

The Dragons kept the pressure on with more touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 23-yard scoring pass from Knowles to Jordan and a 2-yard touchdown run by Todd Mallory for a 45-7 edge going to the final quarter. Carroll’s final score came on a 25-yard run by Parker Thompson, with Crowley scoring on the game’s final play on a 2-yard run by Treyshaun Ford.