Lil' Jordan Humphrey rushed for 103 yards and the game's only touchdown. Photo courtesy of KM Campos/Southlake Style
Southlake Carroll football is seeing a bigger spotlight than just plain Friday night lights. USA Today and MaxPreps both came out with their weekly rankings Monday to reveal the Dragons sitting at No. 25 and No. 24 respectively.
While the accolade is nice for the team, head coach Hal Wasson and his squad is solely focused on this Friday's matchup against Colleyville - so much so that he hadn't heard the news.
"Didn’t know it," Wasson said. "I think any time you can get positive notoriety it’s a positive thing for the football team. It’s not something we focus on, but it’s a tribute to the investment our coaches and players have invested into it. We know it’s all about the next game. It’s nice - a good conversation piece - but we don’t really dwell on it a lot. I’d rather be in the top 25 than not, I promise you that. It’s always good to get positive attention, no doubt."
The rankings boost was a result of Friday night's 10-6 win over Trinity (Euless). The Dragons, now 7-0, handed Trinity its only loss of the season with a late, fourth-quarter touchdown by Lil' Jordan Humphrey. Despite the low scores by both teams, Wasson attributed the win to all units.
"Anytime you beat a perennial power like Trinity, you’re so proud for your players and coaches and the investments they made to get to this point," he said. "At the end of the day you know that’s just what it is: it’s a big win and you’ve got the next opponent up. That’s been beneficial for the football team, knowing that every win is a big win. That one gets more notoriety, because they’re a very good football team with a great coach. They have a great tradition over there."
Wasson also thanked the fans for their role in the victory.
"You’re also appreciative that our fans were incredible," he said. "There's no doubt in my mind they played a hand in the win. The electricity in the stands, that’s why Carroll is special."
On defense, Kevin Cramer intercepted the ball with less than five minutes to go in the game, and despite having to punt, the Dragons shut down the opposing offense by keeping them inbounds with no timeouts. Safety Andy Chelf made a key tackle keeping a sweep to the seven yard line contained and the clock running to end the game.
On offense, Wasson said it was his team's ability to move the ball downfield and not give up poor field position that kept the Dragons' momentum going forward.
"The big news for us was going in we couldn’t give them any more than two or three big plays and that’s what they ended up with," Wasson said. "At the end of the day, the team that made the most plays throughout that time won. Two really good football teams going at it."
Heritage has a 4-3 record and only one loss in district play. The Panthers will host undefeated Carroll at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
According to MaxPreps, "Highlighting the slate of games is a showdown between rivals DeSoto and Cedar Hill. If DeSoto loses, it could be out of the running to finish No. 1. However, a victory over Cedar Hill would add to its credentials in a major way."
DeSoto sits at No. 6 at 7-0, while Cedar Hill's ranking is 19th, with a 6-1 record. Other Texas teams in MaxPreps' top 25 include No. 3 Allen, No. 16 Skyline, and No. 17 Manvel.
DeSoto ranks 13th on USA Today's list. Allen is USA Today's second-ranked team in the country, only behind Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.