Nation’s top recruit throws 5 TDs as Southlake Carroll wins shootout vs Rockwall-Heath
Southlake Carroll was a week behind most of the Class 6A and 5A schools in Texas when it came to playing real football games, but even with a longer delay, the Dragons showcased an explosive offensive attack on Friday night in their season opener against Rockwall-Heath.
Heath put up huge numbers as well - even more yards than Carroll, but it was the Dragons that won, 72-57 at Dragon Stadium. The two teams combined for 1,292 yards of total offense and 129 points.
“It feels really great to come out here and compete against somebody else,” Carroll coach Riley Dodge said. “We had a great plan going in and the guys executed really well. We have some things to clean up on the defensive side of the ball, but those kids take a lot of pride so they’ll get it done.”
It appeared as Carroll (1-0), No. 7 in the 6A state rankings, was on its way to a blowout.
Sophomore running back Owen Allen, who rushed for 1,266 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, scored on a 4-yard run and 5-star junior quarterback Quinn Ewers threw TD passes of 16 and 35 yards to Landon Samson and Brady Boyd to put Carroll ahead 20-0 midway through the first quarter.
Ewers is a Texas commit and ranked as the No. 1 college prospect in the country. He threw for 4,000 yards and 45 TDs last season. Boyd is a 3-star receiver committed to Minnesota.
“Proud of that guy,” Ewers said of Allen. “When we establish the run, those linebackers step in and help the linemen and it opens up the pass game. We had a lot of time to get ready for this game.”
Heath (1-1), scored on an 8-yard TD pass from Josh Hoover to Jay Fair before Carroll extended it lead to 23-6 on a 24-yard field goal by Connecticut commit Joe McFadden early in the second quarter.
After Preston Landis’ 1-yard TD run cut the Carroll lead to 10, Allen scored from the 5 to make it 30-13 Dragons with under four minutes in the half. Hoover hit Corban Cleveland on a 33-yard TD and Allen scored from the 6 to send Carroll into the break with a 37-20 advantage.
The Hawks punted on their first drive of the third quarter and Ewers and Boyd connected on a 74-yard TD to increase the lead to 44-20. Following a Hoover-to-Fair TD for Heath, Ewers hit a wide open RJ Maryland for a 50-yard score and 23-point margin with 7:47 to go in the third.
Heath cut the lead to 51-43 late in the quarter on a 68-yard TD catch and run from Jordan Nabors, but on the ensuing play, Allen hit a big hole and raced 87 yards to make it 58-43.
Disaster struck on Heath’s next drive when the Hawks drove inside Carroll territory, but a fumble and scooped by Cinque Williams, who went 67 yards to push the Dragons’ lead back to three scores.
Williams, who is committed to Hawaii, made his first varsity start.
Ewers added a 17-yard TD pass to Boyd for his 50th touchdown throw of his career.
It was Boyd’s first career three-touchdown game. He had eight total a season ago.
“Obviously we want it to be the normal, score 72 points or more. We want to push the ball more vertical this season,” Ewers said. “We have a lot of speed on the outside. RJ Maryland stepped up. He’s a big body out there for us.”
Heath narrowly out-gained Carroll 667-625 in total yardage. Hoover threw for 416 yards on 24 of 39 passing and four TDs. Fair finished with 11 grabs for 173 yards and two scores and Nabors added 133 yards and a TD on six catches. Landis rushed for 104 yards and four TDs and Zach Evans led the team with 131 yards rushing.
Ewers was 21 of 27 for 388 yards (his fifth straight game with 300 yards passing) and tied his career-high with five TDs. Boyd had a career-high 211 yards receiving and three scores.
Allen ran the ball 28 times for 218 yards, three shy of his career-high, and four TDs.
“We have a great backfield and receivers we believe in. They put the time in during the summer and fall camp and it showed,” Dodge said. “It’s tough for defenses. We can stretch you with our receivers and then compliment the pass game with the run.”
Carroll, which has posted back-to-back 13-1 state quarterfinal seasons, will hit the road Oct. 8 to play No. 16 Rockwall (2-0).
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 10:48 PM.
