Photo courtesy of Rex Teter Photography.
Playoff Preview:
Dragons vs. Midland Lee in 2nd Round
As the sense of playoff urgency builds in Dragon Country,brHal Wasson's ball club looks to continue playing at a higher level as SouthlakebrCarroll (10-1) takes on another familiar opponent, Midland Lee (9-2), in tonight'sbr5A area round playoff matchup.
“The whole team knows that during the playoffs, we have tobrhit another level,” said running back A.J. Ezzard. “We play our best footballbrof the year.”
Beating the Rebels 63-14 in week two of the regular season, thebrDragons know they'll be facing a better Rebel squad from their earlier meeting.br“They are a much-improved team, and so are we,” said senior linebacker Steven Bergmark.br“We've been preparing all week. No matter the circumstances, we will playbrDragon Football.”
Although there have been a few growing pains replacing 15brstarters from last year's 12-2 team, Coach Wasson's ball club hasn't had too manybrproblems in the leadership department. As many new Dragon starters are gainingbrvaluable on-field experience for the first time this season, leadership from playersbrlike Ezzard — a three-year starter and one of the few players on the Dragonbrroster that remains from Carroll's 2011 state championship team — has helpedbrthe learning curve for newer contributors.
“We have a lot of guys who have been through some toughbrplayoff games before, so we know the intensity we have to play with,” Ezzardbrsaid. “As far as leadership, we just try and continue to teach the younger guysbrthat we all have to do whatever we possibly can to help this team be the bestbrit can be.” Powering a Dragon run game that has been dominant recently,braveraging 272 yards per contest on the ground in the last four weeks, Ezzardbrhas been the key cog to a relentless rushing attack that has helped keep thebrDragon defense off the field.
Having had Midland Lee's number in its last two previousbrmatches — holding the Rebel offense to only 8.5 ppg — the Dragons look tobrcontinue dominance against an offense led by senior quarterback Caden Coots andbrjunior running back Aron Dobbins that racked up more than 560 total yards inbrtheir 47-28 first-round win against El Paso El Dorado. After a strongbrperformance in last week's blowout playoff win against Arlington Bowie, Carrollbrlooks to continue a physical style of play that has created turnovers and keptbropposing offenses in check.
“Each week, we're looking to be more physical,” Bergmarkbrsaid. “If we can eliminate their offense's big plays and come up with our ownbrbig plays, we make life easier for our offense.”
Kickoff for the game begins at 7 p.m.
Photography courtesy of Rex Teter Photography.
Robert Halliman is a senior journalism major and political science minor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. A 2010 Carroll Senior High graduate, Robert played defensive tackle for coach Hal Wasson from 2007–2010. An aspiring sports agent and media personality, Robert is also a member of the Lehigh University Business Careers and Entertainment Club.