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November 23, 2009

Fox Sports Southwest to relive Southlake Carroll-Allen game with one-hour broadcast Thursday

FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Houston will relive Southlake Carroll High School's dramatic 35-34 double-overtime victory over Allen High School in a UIL Class 5A Division II area-round game last Saturday as a "Texas High School Football Classic" on Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9:00 PM CT.

The game, which wasn't televised on Saturday, will be shown in an edited one-hour format using the in-house video feed from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington with Southlake Carroll's radio call featuring Chuck Kelly, Kelly Milligan and Travis Smith.



Video and audio from wild Southlake Carroll-Allen game

By now, most of you have at least read about Southlake Carroll's wild 35-34 double-overtime victory over Allen on Saturday night (well, it didn't end until Sunday morning) before a crowd of about 40,000 at Cowboys Stadium.

If you didn't get to attend the game, here's the audio from Carroll's broadcast and you can see a few YouTube video clips from the game right here and here. Also, I did a video post-game report following the game.

Also, I talked to Allen coach Tom Westerberg and Carroll coach Hal Wasson about their decision-making in the game and you can read that story right here and also see more info on our blog at this link.



Highland Park-Waxahachie matchup is excellent

This week's Highland Park vs. Waxahachie game -- 7:30 p.m. Friday at DISD's Kincaide Stadium -- is a great matchup of teams with great playoff history. Waxahachie has been in the playoffs 20 straight years and Highland Park's streak is at 15.

benton.jpgAfter having a couple of close calls in the middle of district play, Waxahachie (12-0) has been strong in playoff wins over Forney and Texarkana Texas High (an old HP nemesis). Highland Park (11-1) has wiped out McKinney and South Oak Cliff.

Highland Park will be tough to beat, but it will be interesting to see how the Scots' defense holds up against Waxahachie's rushing attack. Led by RB LaJordan Easley and QB Venique Benton, the Indians have 3,457 yards rushing this season -- nearly 300 yards per game.

That could limit the chances for QB Luke Woodley and the high-scoring Scots offense.

(Photo by JOHN F. RHODES/DMN)




Site change for Cedar Hill-Abilene game

The Cedar Hill vs. Abilene game has been moved from Aledo to the Birdville Fine Arts Complex. The kickoff will still be at 2 p.m. on Friday.

The 5A Division II Region I semifinal features a pair of undefeated teams and is one of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend. The winner will take on the winner of Southlake Carroll and Arlington Bowie for a spot in the state semifinals.



Mesquite's Davian Harper orally commits to UT-El Paso

Mesquite's Davian Harper, a 6-3, 200-pound senior, has orally committed to UT-El Paso. His mother confirmed it over the weekend.

Harper was recruited as a receiver, but he played quarterback this season for the Skeeters. He completed 121 of 222 passes for 1,313 yards and five touchdowns. Harper caught six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown last season.



November 22, 2009

Clearing up some questions about Southlake Carroll-Allen

OK, I see there has been some lively debate on the blog about questions surrounding coaching decisions in last night's thrilling Southlake Carroll-Allen playoff game. Carroll won the game in double overtime, 35-34, before a crowd of about 40,000 at Cowboys Stadium. The game didn't end until Sunday morning, and Carroll safety Justin Agnew tackled Allen quarterback Matt Brown on the Eagles' two-point conversion attempt.

I've had lengthy conversations today with Allen coach Tom Westerberg, Southlake Carroll coach Hal Wasson and Carroll safety Justin Agnew about the wild finish in regulation and in double overtime last night and asked the coaches for their explanations on their decisions.

Here are some quick answers:

First, from Allen's Westerberg. He said he doesn't second-guess himself on going for 2 and the win in double overtime. He said he trusts his kids and wanted to put the game in his offense's hands and his best playmaker in quarterback Matt Brown. He said after he called timeout before the conversion try, Allen coaches debated going for the win. They ultimately decided to kick the extra point, so they sent out the Eagles kicker. But then Wasson called timeout, and that changed Westerberg's mind and he decided to go for it then. On the game-tying touchdown to end regulation with 1 second left, Allen wanted to get the ball to 6-2 receiver Jonathan Lee. But Carroll knew that, too, so put safeties on that left side of the field. That's when Brown decided he liked man-to-man coverage on the right side as a better option and hit receiver Chase Gambill for a 27-yard touchdown on a fade pass.

OK, now for Wasson and Carroll. At the end of regulation, with Carroll's punt team sprinting onto the field on fourth down and the Dragons leading, 21-14, Wasson wanted and tried to get a timeout there, he said. Agnew, the gunner on the punt team, said he looked up and saw Wasson screaming, but by that time, the snap had taken place. The snap was high and bobbled a bit, but the punter got the kick off. And Wasson said the punt wasn't partially blocked. The punt went only 16 yards. It bounced and went backward, and Carroll's Andy Meeks downed the ball with 1 second on the clock. Wasson said he never considered taking a safety there and just kicking off for two reasons: 1) He said he trusted his kids and didn't want to put them in a situation where they could lose the game if Allen scored a touchdown; and 2) His best kicker, Cade Foster, had tweaked an injury while playing linebacker midway through the fourth quarter and wasn't available to kick at that point after Carroll would have taken the safety. (You might have noticed that backup kicker John Henson actually kicked the final extra point of the game for Carroll). On the game-tying touchdown for Allen to end regulation, Wasson said it's not as simple as just dropping six players into coverage against Allen's receivers. He said if he would have dropped six players deep, that would have left the middle of the field open and given Brown -- a great runner -- the chance to split a seam and run into the end zone.

Wasson and Agnew also gave a lot of credit to DE Jackson Richards, a Texas Tech commitment, for Agnew's game-saving tackle on Brown to stop the 2-point conversion try. They said Richards fell down at one point, got up and never quit on the play, sprinting down the line of scrimmage after Brown reversed fields and cut off the inside running lane, which forced Brown to try to get by Agnew out wide.

Thoughts?



Southlake Carroll wins double-overtime thriller over Allen, 35-34, before 40,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium

ARLINGTON - The Allen-Southlake Carroll game Saturday night certainly lived up to its billing. And then some.

Carroll appeared to have the Class 5A Division II Region I area playoff game wrapped up in regulation before a botched punt in the final seconds allowed Allen to send the game into overtime.

The double-overtime thriller wasn't decided until Sunday morning, when Allen decided to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt. Carroll stopped Allen quarterback Matt Brown short of the end zone to win 35-34 before a crowd of about 40,000 at Cowboys Stadium.

Carroll (11-1) advances to the regional semifinals and will face Arlington Bowie (9-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at SMU's Ford Stadium.

After Brown pulled Allen to within 35-34 in the second overtime on a 2-yard run, both teams traded timeouts. Allen (10-2), the defending 5A Division I state champion, came out and gambled. Brown kept the snap and ran to his left before doubling-back to the right side, where Carroll cornerback Justin Agnew stopped him at the 3-yard line.

"I love my football team," Carroll coach Hal Wasson said. "We made a great play at the right time. We beat a tremendous football team."



November 21, 2009

Live chat: Dallas Morning News Saturday night high school football

That's right, folks. We're moving the big show to prime time so that we can bring you the big blows from this week's local heavyweight bouts:

6 p.m.: Dallas Skyline (11-0) vs. DeSoto (9-2) @ SMU's Ford Stadium

8 p.m.: Southlake Carroll (10-1) vs. Allen (10-1) @ Cowboys Stadium

We'll also be discussing the day's other action as well as games from Friday night and what lies ahead in the Texas state playoff picture.

So mark your calendars and join me, Brandon George, Matt Wixon and other SportsDay staffers for this special occasion. Most importantly, we want to hear from you ... so get ready to talk some high school football.



Plano 14, Euless Trinity 7 (3:50 in 1st)

Euless Trinity answers with a 5-play, 56-yard drive, culminating in a 30-yard TD run by Brandon Carter on a reverse. Carter actually slowed up at the end so that the safety could hit him. He tumbled into the end zone and popped right back up.

Now that the Cover It Live blog has launched, I'll be moving over to that blog.



Plano 14, Euless Trinity 0 (6:33 1st)

Plano drives 54 yards on five plays, scoring on a 3-yard run by Kirchmeier for an early 14-0 lead. Key play was a 36-yard pass from Michelsen to Robinson on a crossing pattern. ... Plano clearly has the momentum. This would be a huge upset if Plano keeps it up.



Plano forces a punt

Three and out for Euless Trinity. Great start for Plano.



Plano 7, Euless Trinity 0 (9:50 left in 1st)

Plano jumps out on top on a 35-yard TD pass from Connor Michelsen to Robert Robinson. Robinson had 1-on-1 coverage on a deep pass and outleaped the defender to make the catch right at the goal line.



Tyler Lee 23, Garland 17 - FINAL

Derek Johnson reports that Tyler Lee rallied to beat Garland, 23-17, in a Class 5A Division I area-round game. Garland (9-2) led, 17-9, in the second half.



Nice start for Plano

Plano's Jared Kirchmeier returns opening kickoff 32 yards to the Trinity 49. Plano needs a lot of that today.



Trinity-Plano blog

I'm here at Cowboys Stadium to cover the Euless Trinity-Plano game. We're about five minutes from kickoff. Trinity already did its haka dance, so we're all fired up and ready to go!