Stewart Johnson
When asked of the season’s goals during his days as the Dragons’ quarterback, Riley Dodge would promptly say, “to practice on Thanksgiving.” Now as the team’s head football coach, he should be proud to say that goal has been met each and every one of his first five seasons where he’s posted a 65-6 (.923) record.
With the return of the school’s all-time leading rusher and starting quarterback in Owen Allen and Kaden Anderson, all eyes were on the Dragons to vie for another state championship. After an undefeated run of 13 straight games, the Dragons finally met their match in Denton Guyer. The Dragons fell to the No. 10 nationally-ranked Wildcats 45-21 and finished the season with a 13-1 record.
It’s worth noting the Dragons powered their way through an impressive district schedule while managing injuries to key players. Kaden Anderson was on a roll, throwing for 1,130 yards and 14 touchdowns before falling to injury mid-season.
Yet behind one powerful offensive line, Owen Allen continued to put the team on his shoulders with the most prolific output of his standout career. The senior averaged over 150 yards per game, good for 2,226 yards and 37 touchdowns on the season. For his career, Allen rushed for 7,600 yards, besting the school’s prior all-time record holder Tre Newton by 2,805 yards.
In mid-October, junior quarterback Graham Knowles picked up right where Kaden Anderson left off, allowing the team to keep on the winning track while gaining valuable experience along the way. Knowles finished the season as the team’s leading passer with 1,851 yards and 18 touchdowns.
With a team-leading 67 receptions for 1,225 yards and 16 touchdowns, the speedy junior wide-out Jacob Jordan was the go-to target for both quarterbacks. Fellow juniors Clayton Wayland (39-657-5 TD), Caden Jackson (43-422-2) and the versatile James Lehman lead an impressive group who will have a lot of chemistry together next season.
Defensively, the Dragons held their opponents to just 15 points per game. Junior defensive end Dustan Mark stuffed the line and the stat sheets for the Dragons, amassing 85 tackles (11 tackles for a loss) and a team-leading 13.5 sacks on the season. Junior Linebacker Aaron Scherp led the team with 98 tackles with five sacks of his own. The duo of juniors will no doubt lead the way in 2023.
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