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?
Brandon George/Reporter 
at 5:28 PM
