Stewart Johnson
The 2022 season started with some wonderful weather at Dragon Stadium on Friday, August 26th, where the Dragons opened against El Paso Eastwood. After falling early to the Troopers 3-7 in the first quarter, the Dragons (1-0) came roaring back to win handily 66-14.
A field goal from Tyler White opened up the season’s scoring and a 3-0 Dragon lead. The Troopers promptly answered back with a touchdown, creating a 3-7 deficit.
That was when the action started.
The Troopers’ ensuing kickoff was returned by special-teams standout and Dragon Pride Player of the Week Jacob Jordan, who hit a hole and scampered 82 yards for a touchdown, giving the Dragons a 10-7 lead.
Senior Quarterback Kaden Anderson also showed a lot of poise in the start of his second season under center. The Wyoming commit threw 24 of 29 passes (83%) for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Anderson spread the ball well to several receivers led by Jacob Jordan who, in addition to his kickoff return, caught eight passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Wide receivers Clayton Wayland and Caden Jackson each caught four passes for 89 and 47 yards respectively.
Not to be outdone, Owen Allen rushed 16 times for 103 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and four scores. Allen also showed some backfield versatility catching four balls for 34 yards.
With just three returning starters, the Dragon defense was looking for some new players to step up. And step up they did, with Logan Lewandowski leading the team with five tackles. Mitchell Paulson, Jack Petkus, Nigel Fodor and Dustan Mark also logged four tackles each. Overall, the team forced four turnovers while holding the Troopers scoreless throughout the second half.
The Dragons (1-0) will now head on the road to play Flower Mound Marcus (0-1), who lost in Week One to Highland Park 38-24. The game will be played on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. at Marcus Marauder Stadium.
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