No. 1 Southlake Carroll steamrolls San Angelo Central in area round — PHOTOS
Playing during Thanksgiving week is a heavily sought-after prize for most Texas high school football teams.
But for the No. 1-ranked Southlake Carroll Dragons, it’s the longtime standard. They’ve made it past the area round every season since Riley Dodge took over as head coach in 2018.
And this season is no different — Southlake Carroll pummelled San Angelo Central 72-7 on Friday at Art Briles Stadium to advance in the Class 6A Division II bracket. Southlake totaled 734 yards, outgaining Central by 437 yards.
“It was really complete,” Dodge said of the performance. “In a lot of different ways. We took what they gave us, defensively. Once again, I thought we were lights out. Our one defense hasn’t given up many points this year. A great week of prep. We got the ball to our playmakers on offense.”
The Dragons (12-0) will face Prosper (11-1) Friday at Choctaw Stadium — the exact time is to be determined.
Quarterback Angelo Renda, a Pittsburgh pledge, spread the ball around in the first half, leading his team to a dominant 38-0 lead at the break. He passed for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns and an interception, completing 23 of 28 passes (82%) in the contest. He also rushed for 98 yards on 9 carries.
Ohio State wide receiver pledge Brock Boyd notched 49 and 31 yard TD receptions, finishing with 139 yards on 8 receptions.
Junior receiver Brody Knowles, who has offers from TCU, Oklahoma and more, added a 36 yard TD, putting a Central defender on skates. WRs Caden Mackey and Blake Gunter also got involved, adding 20 and 16 yard TD receptions, respectively.
“We kept it simple,” Dodge said. “With connecting on the perimeter — Being okay with 4 yards and understanding that those 10, 20 yard explosions were going to come.”
Defensively, the Dragons played the pass well, as defensive back Parker Harris and linebacker Robbie Ladd notched interceptions; Ladd also fell on a fumble that was forced by Austin Bussman.
The second half saw the Dragons extend their lead with TD rushes from running back Davis Penn (6), WR Luc Jacquemard (42), Gavin Gooden (59), and Gunter (43) – the latter was set up by a Brady Bourgeois interception.
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Receiver Jimmy Edwards got Central on the board in the fourth quarter with a 26 yard TD reception — it was the first time the Dragon defense has allowed a TD since an Oct. 17 contest against Justin Northwest. The unit hasn’t conceded more than 7 points since a Oct. 3 game against Keller and has allowed 81 points during the season.
The Dragons have scored 626 points on the season, averaging 52.1 per game. Now, Carroll turn its sights to Prosper, one of the four teams remaining with the Dragons in region one along with Denton Guyer and District 4-6A rival Byron Nelson.
Southlake Carroll is aiming for its first state title since 2011.
This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 10:16 PM.
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