After multiple weather delays, the highly anticipated match featuring two undefeated teams from neighboring towns kicked off in the rain-soaked Dragon Stadium. Again, head his coach Riley Dodge as the Dragons (9-0, 6-0) remain undefeated and upstart trophy club his Byron Nelson (8-1, 5-1).
The old adage that “the best offense is a good defense” has been heard. Instead, Dodge’s plan was to prove that an offensive line of dragons led by Jake Hall, Drew Perez, and company was the best defense. He dominated the Cats, rushing the ball 44 times and controlling the clock to keep the state’s most prolific offense off the field for much of the game.
Led by quarterback and 6A passing leader Jake Wilson, who threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns, the Bobcats jumped out to an early 13-0 lead. But that’s when Dragon’s methodical ground-and-pound game began.
Dragon Pride Player of the Week Owen Allen Saved his most prolific scoring of the senior night. Allen’s number was called his 34th time for 216 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. Many of his greatest gains have always been a direct take-over to the quintessence of the Bobcats’ defense that he has been waiting for, even if completely unprepared. And even when the Bobcats thought they could take a breather from Allen’s tough run, Junior his running his back James his Lehman stepped in with his 9-plus yards per carry and the final score was 10. set Allen as a critical score in the second half.
The Bobcats’ versatile offense remained effective behind Aaron Durden, who rushed for 131 yards, and wideout Gavin McQuarrie, who caught eight balls for 112 yards and two points. Ultimately, the Bobcats outscored the Dragons by 414 to 393 yards, scoring his 19th for the Dragons from 20 first downs.
It wasn’t just clock management that kept the Bobcats’ offense in check, they averaged over 55 points per game. Coachley’s man defense kept Jake Wilson under pressure all night. Four Dragons, Aaron Sherp, Dastan Mark, Cade Parks and Kyle Middleton, recorded sacks and Nigel Fodor added 10 tackles.
With the district championship secured, the Dragons set their sights on the Panthers of Keller Fossil Ridge (5-4, 3-3) in a 35-7 victory over Keller Central. The regular season finale will be held at Keller on Thursday, November 3rd.
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