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ARLINGTON — It’s not very often Southlake Carroll has its back against the ropes — its undefeated record is a reflection of that — but McKinney (8-5) put the defending regional champions to the test Friday.
Carroll rose to the challenge, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the second half in a come-from-behind 42-35 win over McKinney in the Class 6A Division II Region I semifinal at Choctaw Stadium
“Going into it [McKinney] scared the crap out of me, to be honest with you,” Carroll coach Riley Dodge said. “I got to see them first-hand in the first round and, what a physical ballclub. … That’s a very talented football team that started playing their best football toward the end of the year, and we knew what we were getting coming into it.”
Behind the trio of 3-star SMU pledge Keldric Luster, 3-star running back Bryan Jackson and tight end Tyler Stanley, the McKinney (8-5) offense put pressure on Carroll (13-0) early by way of some sneaky tricks and quick thinking.
Graham Knowles connected with Jacob Jordan on a 39yd pass to get Southlake to the 5, then Owen Allen finished it off with a short TD run. XP is good.
— Arianna Vedia (@nanavedia) November 25, 2022
We’ve got a tie game pic.twitter.com/DbbgjHcW1f
With seconds in the clock, McKinney does it again. 3-star SMU pledge Keldric Luster finds Khali Best down the field for the TD and the lead.
— Arianna Vedia (@nanavedia) November 25, 2022
14-7 McKinney with 7 seconds to play in the half pic.twitter.com/802ZnML340
McKinney’s defense wasn’t making it easy for the Dragons, either, as it held the Dragons to just one touchdown in the first half alone — not to mention Carroll’s offense also saw as many penalties in the first half (eight) as it had in their previous two games combined.
“Offensively, we couldn’t play any worse than the first half. Just penalties after penalties,” Dodge said. “We were doing good stuff, it was just — positive yards, then a setback — like a yo-yo effect.”
Carroll trailed by two touchdowns early in the second half, but then it found its groove — or “Dragon Magic,” as Dodge says — and continued the back-and-forth fight until finally finding an out.
With the game tied at 28-28 in the fourth quarter, Carroll forced a McKinney fumble inside its own 20, then scored a few plays later. McKinney responded on the ensuing drive, but Owen Allen, the area’s leading 6A rusher, ran in the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute on the clock to seal the win.
That’s #TXHSFB for ya. Tie game, less than 60 seconds on the clock and the season on the line
— Arianna Vedia (@nanavedia) November 25, 2022
Touchdown, Owen Allen
42-35 Carroll pic.twitter.com/53HJvHOfph
Carroll faced a lot of adversity Friday. But with a little bit of this — Graham Knowles passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns — and a little bit of that — Allen rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns — plus some “Dragon Magic,” Southlake Carroll survived to fight another day.
“[Dragon Magic is] hard to explain. You don’t really know when it’s coming, but once it’s there, you know it,” Allen said. “We were feeling it tonight and I think everybody was, too.”
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