Southlake Carroll cruises past Keller Timber Creek in battle of undefeated teams

Junior quarterback Angelo Randa passed 240 yards and a pair of scoring strikes to Brock Boyd -- both in the first quarter -- as the Southlake Carroll Dragons pounded the previously-unbeaten Keller Timber Creek Falcons, 44-7, in a District 4-A high school football matchup at Dragon Stadium.

The Falcons took the opening kickoff and methodically moved down the field -- 15 plays and 78 yards -- chewing up 6:33 off the clock, which culminated in a 17-yard scoring pass from Carson Porter to Xavier Lee for an early 7-0 Timber Creek advantage. The drive was kept alive by a 24-yard Porter completion to Caleb Mendji on fourth-and-16 at the Southlake 41.

It did not take long for Southlake to respond. On its first series, on a third-and-10, Renda found a wide-open Brock Boyd on an 80-yard TD strike. After the Dragons defense forced a three-and-out, the Renda-to-Boyd clicked again for a 45-yard aerial score.

“We felt like we could take some shots down the field early on,” said head coach Riley Dodge. “Angelo and Brock have developed great chemistry and we made it work for us tonight.”

Renda echoed his coach’s description of the quarterback/receiver duo.

“We got some good looks, and I have great confidence in Brock,” Renda said.

“We practiced hard this week,” added Boyd. “The scheme their defense was in allowed us to take some shots down the field and we were able to execute.”

The second period belonged to the Southlake running game and defense.

A pair of two-yard TD runs -- one each by Riley Wormley and Davis Penn -- extended the Dragons lead to 28-7.

A 12-yard sack by Jack Van Dorselaer on third down led to a 12-yard punt by Timber Creek, and Wormley sprinted for a 22-yard TD run on the first play of the drive.

A six-yard shanked Timber Creek punt on its next possession again gave Southlake great field position at the Falcons 26. Again, Wormley, on the first snap, raced through the middle for a 26-yard TD run, with 56 seconds left before intermission, as the Dragons took a commanding 41-7 lead heading to the break.

The swarming Southlake defense stiffened, holding the Falcons to just one more first down after that opening drive, the rest of the first half.

Meanwhile, the Dragons offense exploded, scoring TDs on six of its seven first-half offensive possessions, scoring 41 unanswered points to hold a commanding 41-7 lead at intermission. The lone drive it did not score a TD in the opening half was an end zone interception by Timber Creek.

The only score in the second half was a Gavin Strange 28-yard field goal with 6:32 left in the third stanza.

“Our defense played lights out,” said Dodge. “We gave up the quick score early, but cannot say enough about our defense.”

That defensive charge is led by senior Van Dorselaer, a Tennessee pledge, who moved to the defense just before the season began. No. 8 on the Star-Telegram’s area top 100 player list, Van Dorselaer has led the team in tacklers entering the Timber Creek game with 32.

“I am getting more and more comfortable playing defense,” said Van Dorselaer, who credited his coaches and teammates with helping him with the transition. “Our coaches have been unbelievable in helping me get ready, and the teammates as well.”

Van Dorselaer said the best part of playing defense is “hitting people”.

“I like the aggressiveness of playing defense,” he said. “On offense, you know what the play is going to be. But on defense, you have to react on the fly. And I like knowing I have a chance to make a play on every play on defense.”

Coach Dodge added that Van Dorselaer has made a very smooth transition to the other side of the ball.

“He is such a talented athlete,” said Coach Dodge. “He just keeps getting better and better as the season goes along.”

Southlake Carroll, on the stat sheet, was led by Renda, who finished with 240 yards passing (11 completions in 19 attempts with two interceptions).

Boyd had a stellar night as the TCU commit hauled in seven passes for 213 yards and the two TDs.

Riley Wormley, a USC pledge, ran for 74 yards on eight carries and three TDs, while Penn added a game-high 76 yards on eight attempts and one score.

However, Wormley suffered a left knee injury with 9:34 left in the third period and had to be helped off the field and did not return. Coach Dodge said that they do not know the full extent of the injury.

“We will have to wait and see what all the X-rays and doctors say,” Dodge explained.

Southlake Carroll defeated Keller Timber Creek 44-0 a year ago, a game in which the Dragon defense held the Falcons to 128 yards total offense. This year, the Dragons surrendered just 130 yards total offense to Timber Creek.

Quarterback Carson Porter was held to 90 yards passing (eight of 21 with one interception), with wide receiver Xavier Lee grabbing a team-high six receptions for 56 yards.

Running back Jorey Anderson had 71 yards on 10 carries, with 66 of those yards coming on one carry in the second half.

Keller Timber Creek, No. 7 in the Star-Telegram’s area 6A rankings, was 4-0 for the first time since 2017, and was seeking its first-ever 5-0 start since it began playing in 2010, a span of 15 seasons.

Southlake Carroll (5-0, 3-0), No. 2 in the Star-Telegram’s 6A area rankings and No. 6 in the 6A state poll, will face district foe Keller at 7 pm next Friday night at Keller ISD Athletic Complex.

Keller Timber Creek (4-1, 2-1) has a district matchup versus Byron Nelson 7 pm next Thursday night at Keller ISD Athletic Complex.