‘Stare adversity in the eyes’: Southlake Carroll bounces back, blanks Keller Fossil Ridge
Southlake Carroll (8-1, 5-1 District 4-6A) isn’t used to dropping games in the regular season.
On Friday, October 27th the Dragons were toppled by Trophy Club Byron Nelson, losing a district game for the first time since 2017. They bounced back with a 63-0 shutout win over Keller Fossil Ridge to close the season at Dragon Stadium on Friday.
The Dragons had to face something they seldom see in the regular season: adversity. Head coach Riley Dodge said he had to “tip his cap” to Byron Nelson and “give credit where credit is due.”
Dodge said the message all week was “what is your response going to be?” He told the team to “stare adversity in the eyes” while getting back to work.
“We’ve got a resilient group,” Dodge said. “We’ve got a really good football team. I’m just proud of the way we worked this week and went back to business with a sense of urgency. The kids played a clean football game tonight.”
The Dragon strikes back
Southlake Carroll elected to differ, and the defense made the decision worthwhile. Fossil Ridge had a solid gain to start but quarterback Logan Cundiff was intercepted by defensive back Eric Garza; the senior returned it all the way to the Panthers’ 20.
“We needed to start getting some takeaways,” Dodge said. “It’s what we did well early in the season. It’s been a couple of weeks, but proud of the guys.”
On the first play of the drive, running back Riley Wormley showed off his toughness, breaking several tackles and bulldozing his way to the end zone for a 20-yard score.
“He’s gotten better and better each week and it was good to see he was he was seeing it and feeling it tonight,” Dodge said. “And it was good to get him going as we enter the playoffs.”
After a Panther punt, Wormley scored again. He found room down the sideline, sprinting to a 41-yard touchdown.
In the Dragons next drive, quarterback Graham Knowles threw an interception in the red zone. Dodge said Knowles had an opportunity to check the ball down and mentioned he can limit turnovers by being more cautious in the red zone.
“Understand the situation and not forcing it,” Dodge said.
The Dragon defense stymied the Panthers, and they capitalized on offense. The ground game continued to thrive, but this time it was running back Davis Penn’s turn to score. He got the Dragons to the 1 with a 42 yard scamper up the middle and proceeded to punch it in.
“We’re super versatile,” Penn said. “We play off each other. We correct each other in practice. It’s just a great running back room. Super positive. We support all of each other. All of us got to eat tonight.”
Following an interception by defensive back Sam Fuller, Wormley scored on a 15 yard run and recorded his third touchdown of the night.
“Were just flying around as a defense,” Fuller said. “Our coaches put us in the right spots and we just made plays.”
The Panthers, once again, couldn’t move the chains against a tough Dragon defense. Garza and Fuller both got to the punter and Garza made the block.
Fuller recovered and ran towards the end zone. He pitched the ball back to Garza so he could score.
“He got the block and he was calling for it behind me and it all just happened so fast,” Fuller said. “And I just pitched it. I’m glad he caught it, though.”
Fuller said Dodge asked him about the play on the sideline. Fuller said Dodge called him a “Maverick” and a better man than he is for making the unselfish play.
“That was wild,” Dodge said with a smile. “I didn’t see it until the very last second and I was asking the guys on the headset ‘did he pitch the ball back?’ ... we have some really good kids and some really nice kids. And he thought since he blocked it, he should score the touchdown.”
The last score of the half was a 10-yard rush by Penn with 15 seconds remaining in the half. Carroll was meticulous about using timeouts and controlling the clock.
The Dragons continued the offensive onslaught in the third quarter with a Brock Boyd 20 yard touchdown reception. Boyd led the team with 65 receiving yards and eight catches.
“He’s played great as a sophomore,” Dodge said. “He keeps getting better and better and maturing each and every week.”
With backups in, Carroll scored two more second half touchdowns while continuing to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard. Angelo Renda and Jake Fullmer recorded the scores.
Playoffs up next
The Dragons have been playing without wide receiver Jacob Jordan, an Oklahoma commit, since week seven. Dodge said the dynamic wide receiver is “week to week” and they are hoping to get him back in the second or third round.
“He’s our most explosive weapon and we can do a lot of different things with him,” Dodge said. “But proud of the way our guys have stepped up around him and proud of our offensive staff, how we’ve had to work a little bit harder.”
The opening round of the Texas high school football playoffs begins on Thursday and Friday.
“Regardless of who you’re playing, you’re in tournament play now,” Dodge said. “It’s win or go home mentality. We’ve been in the playoffs for a long time and I’m excited about the opportunity our kids have.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 10:48 PM.
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