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"One thing that’s unusual for us this year is that we have some taller outside receivers," said Rogers, whose team competed in the Lewisville 7-on-7 Tournament last Saturday. "They’re taller than I’ve seen in a while."
Carroll’s two tallest receivers this year are Dillon Powell and Ryan Gentry, both 6-4. There are other receivers that stand over six foot as well, but Powell and Gentry have stood out the most, both in their height and their performance thus far.
Powell possesses impressive speed as well as size. The incoming senior competed in track and finished second at district in the 200 meter dash as a sophomore. However, Powell ran into a bit of bad luck midway through his junior year last fall.
"He ran a 22 flat, but he blew out his ACL the week of the Coppell game [last fall]," Rogers said. "The doctor cleared him and he just got back. … [Powell] had a good showing in the Lewisville Tournament [last weekend]. It’s good to see he’s looking strong coming back from that injury."
Gentry is another receiver that’s impressed coaches this spring and summer. Not only has his height come in handy, but he’s learned to further develop his skills while facing challenging tests in practice.
"He’s done some good stuff," Rogers said. "He’s had the opportunity to go against [Carroll defensive back] Kasey Rogers in practice. That’s done nothing but made him better. When you have the chance to go against one of the best in the country, you improve as a receiver."
Final SQT, First League Play
The Dragons’ participation in the Lewisville state qualifying tournament (SQT) last weekend was the team’s last scheduled SQT for the summer. Carroll posted a 2-1 record in pool play.
Because they had already clinched a spot at the 7-on-7 state tournament, which takes place July 10-11 in College Station, the Dragons were not allowed to advance to the playoff round at Lewisville or to compete for the tournament title at the SQT.
Carroll faced some good competition, including a Denton Guyer team that has also earned a trip to the state tournament. Guyer handed the Dragons their only defeat, marching down to score in the final 35 seconds of the game to win a close one, 28-21.
"We had a couple of our guys missing, so it was an opportunity to see what some of our younger kids could do," Rogers said of the performance at Lewisville. "We started off pretty strong and got a little lethargic toward the end, but overall, it was a pretty good performance."
Carroll also competed in its first week of play in the L.D. Bell League last week. The Dragons played four 25-minute games against some competitive teams. Carroll’s best showing was a win over former district rival Grapevine in which the Dragons scored over 50 points.
"It’s going to be real competitive and it ought to get us a good look at some good athletes and see how we’re going to match up," Rogers said of the Bell League, which takes place Tuesdays for JV and Thursdays for varsity. "Right now we’re ahead of schedule and we want to keep on working on becoming consistent and getting better each week."
Carroll’s next varsity game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at the practice fields at L.D. Bell High School in Hurst.
Briefly ...
Despite the recent wave of hotter days this summer, Rogers said his team has played well and does not appear to be suffering from the effects of the intense heat.
"Our guys have held up better than probably most would during this heat," Rogers said. "It’s nice to see that the summer conditioning is paying off."
Get the full version of this article at The Southlake Journal and full Southlake news at www.southlakejournal.com.
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