Desoto Knocks Out Southlake Carroll
The 5A Division I State Quarterfinal matchup between Southlake Carroll and DeSoto will go down as one of the best playoff games in Dallas Metroplex history. This game had it all, wide open offenses, fourth down conversions and stops, star quarterbacks, and a tremendous goal line stand to top it off. In the end DeSoto was able to fend off a thrilling attempt at a winning drive by Southlake. The DeSoto defense stopped SL quarterback Kenny Hill three times at the 3 yard-line to seal the victory as time expired. The 49 to 45 win by DeSoto means they advance to the state semifinal game next week against Allen, another metorplex powerhouse.
The fans at SMU stadium witnessed over a 1,000 yards of total offense between the two teams. Every offensive series, for both teams, was replete with great offensive and defensive plays. The game turned out to be a battle between the star quarterbacks. Desmon White of DeSoto was their leading rusher (139 yards) and leading passer (376 yards). Similarly, Kenny Hill for Southlake was their
leading rusher (99 yards) and passer (339) yards.
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DeSoto had a balanced attack on offense with 244 total rushing yards and 376 yards passing. This game was a good test of DeSoto’s ability to overcome adversity in a big game. Early in the second quarter they were trailing Southlake by 18 points. They were able
to score two touchdowns in the last four minutes of the first half to go in at halftime trailing by 3 points with the score Southlake 24 and DeSoto 21. Both teams scored three touchdowns each in the third quarter. The winning touchdown for DeSoto was a 13 yard pass from QB Desmond White to Rickey Daniels with seven minutes left in the game.
Southlake is known for their ability to come back and pull out a victory in the last seconds of a big playoff game. When Southlake drove down to the DeSoto 3 yard line with, a first down, 12 seconds left, and two timeouts, everyone on the Southlake side felt confident the Dragons could punch it in and move on to the next game. A classic goal line stand by DeSoto proved them wrong as time expired after three failed attempts by Southlake.
This is the deepest DeSoto has ever gone in the run for State Champion. All of the teams they will face from here on out will be similar to Southlake, very experienced in the big game run for the Championship. History shows it is extremely hard to win the state championship your first time making it to the semi-finals and finals. Desoto’s lack of experience playing in the highest level of the playoffs plus a high ankle sprain of their star running back will be two big obstacles they will have to overcome. Win or lose, DeSoto is an exciting team to watch and next week’s game with Allen will be a showcase of outstanding high school football talent.
