The Southlake Carroll Dragons (7-0) defeated the Fossil Ridge Panthers (4-3) Friday 47-26 to hand Riley Dodge his first homecoming victory as head coach of the Dragons.
Head coach Riley Dodge was pleased with the Dragons' performance.
“We knew it was going to be tough sledding,” Dodge says. “We did a great job in all three phases and in making adjustments at half time, and playing clean football.”
As many Dragon fans already know, this was not Dodge's first homecoming as a Dragon, but his first as head coach of Carroll. The Dodge family is no stranger to Carroll homecoming traditions, as the entire family including Todd Dodge attended the game in Dragon Stadium to cheer him on.
Dragon fans are also aware of the fact that there has been no love lost between Southlake Carroll and Fossil Ridge, including both teams' histories with the Dodge family.
In the fall of 1999, the Panthers defeated the Dragons 14-13 to prevent them from making it to playoffs. At the time, Todd Dodge was head coach of Fossil Ridge. The following year, Dodge moved from Fossil Ridge to Southlake Carroll to become the new head coach of the Dragons, and to begin the dynasty in 2000.
After some halftime adjustments, the Dragons came to life as senior quarterback Will Bowers threw for just over 200 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Despite a slick ball and field, Bowers was his usual efficient self with a 78-percent completion rate as he surpassed 1,000 yards passing for the season. Running back and Dragon Pride Player of the Week TJ McDaniel also capped 1,000 yards rushing on the season with 205 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Senior running back Eli Furgal also made a statement against the Panthers with his first touchdown of the season – a straight pass from Bowers into the end zone as the game was winding down. Blake Smith also had a hand in the scoring with a reception in the end zone, similar to his role in the trick play just a couple weeks ago.
The Dragon defense played a huge part in the victory as well, with a recovered fumble and a safety.
Carroll was the first to score with a 39-yard touchdown run from McDaniel with just over seven minutes left in the first quarter, putting the Dragons up 7-0 over the Panthers.
The Panthers responded with a 28-yard touchdown to be within one point of tying the game, however a blocked extra point changed the momentum of the game, as junior outside linebacker ran the block 97 yards back for a safety, making the score 9-6 with just over one minute left in the first quarter.
The Dragons' second touchdown came just five minutes into the second quarter with a reception by Smith in the end zone, adding another seven points to the scoreboard for Carroll. The Dragons went into the half leading Fossil Ridge 16-6.
Fossil Ridge struck early in the second half with just over nine minutes left in the third quarter, putting the Panthers within three points of tying the game.
Carroll was quick to respond as McDaniel ran a touchback 75 yards to score his second touchdown of the night, putting the Dragons up 10 points over the Panthers. A field goal soon after increased the lead to 13 points.
Fossil Ridge scored again with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter, but a failed two-point conversion only allowed for a seven-point spread.
McDaniel scored his third touchdown just as the third quarter was winding down, giving the Dragons a 33-19 lead over the Panthers heading into the fourth quarter.
Two touchdowns in the fourth quarter – one from Furgal and another from RJ Mickens – combined with only one score from Fossil Ridge finished the game 47-26.