Dragons survive early scare against Marcus

Southlake Carroll 35, Flower Mound Marcus 21

The Dragons pulled away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win a hard-fought District 5-6A game, 35-21, against Flower Mound Marcus on Friday at Dragon Stadium. Carroll stiffened on defense in the fourth quarter, allowing Marcus just 21 yards in 10 plays. The two teams had identical records and were tied for third in district before the game.

Key players: Carroll running back T.J. McDaniel carried the ball 26 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Carroll QB Will Bowers rushed for a score and threw touchdown passes to R.J. Mickens and Jacob Doddridge. Running back Justin Dinka shined for Marcus, rushing 18 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. Dinka also caught five passes for 37 yards and another score.

Key stat: The two longest plays of the game came on back-to-back snaps in the middle of the second quarter. Carroll running back McDaniel rushed for 35 yards on the first play, then scored on a 40-yard run.

Records: Southlake Carroll 5-2, 3-1 5-6A; Flower Mound Marcus 4-3, 2-2

This story was originally published October 21, 2017 at 12:49 AM with the headline "Dragons survive early scare against Marcus."