No. 1 Southlake Carroll steamrolls No. 8 Euless Trinity in state-ranked clash
In a state-ranked battle between No. 1 Southlake Carroll and No. 8 Euless Trinity, the winner would be on the fast track to the District 4-6A championship.
The stands at Dragon Stadium, in a near sellout, were packed with fans donning Carroll green — they witnessed a thoroughly dominant performance from their Dragons, as they cruised to a 44-6 victory on Friday.
“Our kids answered the bell,” Carroll head coach Riley Dodge said. “We challenged them all week. We talked about the physical nature of this football game. ... Opportunity after opportunity, we just lined up, put the ball down and played football all night.”
Quarterback Angelo Renda orchestrated the offense, passing for 281 yards and completing 18 of 22 passes (82%).
“He is trusting the guys around him,” Dodge said. “He is doing the little things right right now, and he put us in great situations. He trusts in his playmakers. When we can take what the defense gives us, we’re going to be okay.”
After the game, Dodge told the players that the sky is the limit. He said the Dragons were the more physical club tonight, but that there is plenty of room for improvement. He specifically mentioned a personal foul and missed defensive opportunities on third down.
“Let’s continue to get better,” Dodge said. “Just super proud of the guys.”
Carroll thrives from start to finish
Carroll got off to an incredibly fast start with a defensive stop and a one-yard touchdown rush from running back Davis Penn. After a perfectly placed onside kick from athlete Gavin Strange that linebacker Robbie Ladd recovered, Renda found receiver Brody Knowles down the field for a wide open 36-yard TD.
The Dragons seized another possession with a fumble recovery from Parker Harris — that set up a 10-play scoring drive capped by a four-yard rushing score from Renda.
“Every drive is 0-0,” Ladd said of the defense’s mentality. “This team won’t quit. We knew Trinity wouldn’t quit on us. So, we had to keep going every single drive. Just keep hitting them in the mouth and never giving up.”
To end the first half, Trinity got on the board with a two-yard slant from Jaylon Donaldson, but to bring the momentum back to Carroll’s sideline, Strange recovered a blocked PAT and returned it for two points.
The Dragons picked up right where they left off, extending the lead with a 43-yard touchdown to Ohio State WR pledge Brock Boyd; they quickly got the ball back with an interception from Harris, who notched his second takeaway, and the offense capitalized with an eight yard TD rush from RB Brooks Biggers.
The relentless takeaways continued with a forced fumble from William Leins — Austin Brussman recovered, setting up a 59-yard touchdown on a bubble screen to receiver Blake Gunter, who finished with 89 yards on three receptions.
“Great team effort,” Gunter said. “We put in the work all week, and it showed. We were very physical on both sides of the ball. ... And (Renda) puts it right on the money every time. The best quarterback.”
With an insurmountable lead, Carroll’s reserves took over and finished the contest.
The receiver room had 284 combined yards. Wide receivers Boyd and Caden Mackey had strong showing with 79 and 64 yards, respectively.
“He is so good with the ball in space,” Dodge said of Mackey. “Savvy route runner. We’ve got to spread the wealth. I think the more we get guys getting touches, the better.”
In Week 5, Southlake Carroll will hit the road to face Keller Timber Creek on Thursday at Keller ISD Stadium. Euless Trinity will look to bounce back against Trophy Club Byron Nelson on Friday at Pennington Field.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM.
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