Davis Penn takes increased role, leads Southlake Carroll football to victory over Keller

Junior running back Davis Penn realizes his workload is now increased after Southlake Carroll senior running back Riley Wormley suffered a season-ending knee injury last week against Keller Timber Creek.

Penn exploded for 138 yards on 15 carries and four touchdowns, as Southlake Carroll erupted for 28 third-quarter points enroute to a 52-21 pounding of Keller in a District 4-6A high school football matchup at Keller ISD Athletic Complex on Oct. 4.

“It was a very unfortunate loss for us,” said Penn of losing his running mate for the season. “Rest of us have to step up. I am prepared and ready for the challenge,” added Penn, who recorded his first 100-yard rushing game this season, after compiling 1,577 yards on the ground in 2023, scoring 30 TDs.

Wormley, a USC pledge, scored three rushing TDs last week before going down with the injury on a sweep midway through the third period. Wormley recorded 11 rushing TDs in five games, and was the team’s second leading receiver.

Southlake Carroll head coach Riley Dodge says his team will “obviously miss such a great player in Wormley” but that he and the staff have tremendous confidence in Penn.

“Davis (Penn) had a huge year last season for us,” said Dodge. “So we know what he is capable of doing.”

The first half began with Southlake taking early control.

Placekicker Gavin Strange staked Southlake to a 3-0 lead with a 25-yard field goal on its opening offensive series.

On the ensuing series, Dragons defensive back Taevin Kunz came up with an interception at their own 47. Southlake capitalized on the turnover, as Penn rambled in for a six-yard TD run. Quarterback Angelo Renda kept the drive alive with an eight-yard run on fourth-and-eight at the Keller 36, making the first down by inches.

Penn, a Baylor pledge, pushed the Southlake lead to 17-0 with a 14-yard TD scamper just over a minute into the second stanza.

Keller responded with a one-yard TD plunge by Quintin Shropshire that capped an 11-play 75-yard drive, highlighted by a 31-yard Shropshire run to the Southlake five.

The Dragons answered right back on its ensuing possession, with Renda connecting with TCU commit Brock Boyd on a 56-yard TD on the first snap of the series.

The Indians recovered a muffed Southlake punt return at the Dragons 33 with 51 seconds left before halftime to give them new life. Quarterback Beckham Robinson tossed a seven-yard TD pass to Brock Meek with 20 seconds left to the break, narrowing Southlake’s lead to 24-14 at intermission.

The Dragons came out breathing fire to start the second half. Needing just five plays to go 81 yards, Renda hit Boyd with a 23 yard TD strike. Forcing punts on Keller’s next two series, Davis Penn had a 61-yard TD burst on a one-play drive, then capped a 78-yard drive with a 13-yard scoring run.

Forcing a three-and-out on the next Keller possession, a bad punt snap, gave Southlake the ball at the Indians 16. Renda hurled a 16-yard TD pass to Brody Knowles on the first play to extend the lead to 52-14.

“We did some good things in the first half,” said Coach Dodge. “And we made a few adjustments at halftime and got it going in the third quarter.”

Keller backup signal-caller Brock Burkett raced 32 yards for a TD -- one a fourth-and-two -- early in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.

Renda completed 16 of 21 passes for 245 and three TDs in another stellar performance. His favorite target, Boyd totaled a game-high six catches for 148 yards and the two scores, after recording seven catches for 213 yards and a pair of TDs in last week’s win over Keller Timber Creek.

The Southlake Carroll defense held Keller without a pass completion in the second half, as the Indians were 0 for five the last two periods.

Southlake Carroll played without Tennessee pledge Jack Van Dorselaer, who made the transition from Tight End to Defensive End just before the regular season began.

Van Dorselaer led the team in tackles through five games with 43, but sat out this game due to what Coach Dodge called a “minor injury” this week in practice. Coach Dodge said of Van Dorselaer, who is No. 8 on the Star-Telegram’s top 100 pre-season area player list, and No. 36 on the 247Sports state-ranked 2025 prospect class, should return to action soon but did not elaborate on a time frame.

Keller did rush for 276 yards on 53 attempts. Burkett eclipsed the 100-yard plateau with 112 yards on the ground in 10 carries, while senior Kyle Owens added 89 rushing yards on 19 attempts.

Southlake Carroll (6-0, 4-0), No. 2 in the Star-Telegram’s 6A area rankings and No. 6 in the 6A state poll, hosts district foe Haslet Eaton 7 pm next Thursday night at Dragon Stadium.

Keller (3-3, 2-2) travels to Trophy Club Byron Nelson (3-2, 1-2) in a key district matchup next Friday night with a 7 pm slated kickoff. Trophy Club Byron Nelson picked up its initial district win with a 27-7 triumph over Keller Timber Creek Thursday night.