Dragons Take Down the Defending State Champs to Advance

The Dragons took on the Desoto Eagles in the Area Round of the UIL 6A Division II Playoffs on Saturday, November 25 at The Ford Center at the Star in Frisco.

The Dragons attacked the Eagles with a balanced offensive game plan and tough defense.

On offense, junior quarterback Will Bowers threw for 175 yards, three passing touchdowns, and ran one in during the game. Junior running back T.J. McDaniel ran for 130 yards, one rushing touchdown and caught one touchdown as well. Bower connected with sophomores R.J. Mickens and Preston Forney for his other two scoring passes.

The Dragon defense shut down the high powered Desoto offense with pressure on the Desoto senior quarterback Courtney Douglas. Douglas was sacked twice by senior linebackers Jacob Doddridge and pressured numerous other times.

Senior linebacker Matty Werner came up with one of the game’s biggest plays. With the game tied up in the second quarter and Desoto moving the ball, Werner stepped in front of and picked off a pass halting the Eagle drive. The play would eventually set up Bower’s 5-yard touchdown run.

The Dragons are on their deepest playoff run since 2014 with this victory and head into a matchup against Arlington next Saturday, December 2 back at The Ford Center at the Star in Frisco.