Southlake Carroll football dedicates field to Bob Ledbetter, steamrolls El Paso Eastwood

Charles Baggarly
·2 min read

SOUTHLAKE — Friday was a good night for Southlake Carroll quarterbacks.

Bob Ledbetter’s family joins him before the game during a ceremony to name the field in his name at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Bob Ledbetter’s family joins him before the game during a ceremony to name the field in his name at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)

Starting QB Graham Knowles, the Star-Telegram Preseason Player of the Year, set the tone in the win. Knowles stole the show with five touchdown passes, while backup quarterback Angelo Renda accounted for two scores.

Third-stringer Carter Lind put an exclamation point on the season-opener victory.

Carroll senior wide receiver Jacob Jordan hauled in three touchdowns, while senior Erik Bussmann caught two touchdowns from two different quarterbacks.

Carroll quarterback Graham Knowles (10) throws a touchdown pass down field in the first half of an UIL football game at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Carroll quarterback Graham Knowles (10) throws a touchdown pass down field in the first half of an UIL football game at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)

After throwing a touchdown pass to senior Caden Jackson on the team’s opening drive, the Knowles-to-Jordan connection led to three touchdowns through the air.

Jordan caught two scores in a 1-minute span, making it 21-0 with scores at the 5:12 and 4:12 mark in the first quarter. Jordan had touchdown catches of 19, 30 and 51 yards.

Carroll wide receiver Jacob Jordan (7) is pursued up the middle for the Dragons third touchdown in the first half of an UIL football game at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Carroll wide receiver Jacob Jordan (7) is pursued up the middle for the Dragons third touchdown in the first half of an UIL football game at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)

On his last drive of the first half, Knowles completed passes to junior tight end Jack VanDorselaer, sophomore wide receiver Brock Boyd and then Bussmann for the score.

“We put in a lot of preparation into this game over the summer so it feels great to go out there and to execute at the level we know we could,” Knowles said.

The Troopers, 9-3 last year, never really challenged the Dragons but scored 14 of their 21 points in the first half. Quarterback Evan Minjarez threw a touchdown to Rudy Garcia and then Jayden Martinez ran in for a score.

Carroll head coach Riley Dodge returns to the sidelines after arguing a no call with officials in the first half of an UIL football game at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Carroll head coach Riley Dodge returns to the sidelines after arguing a no call with officials in the first half of an UIL football game at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Southlake led Eastwood 42-14 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)

“I love how we started the ball game in all three phases,” Dodge said. “We had a couple first-game stuff we need to clean up but I’m really proud of the guys. We didn’t have a lot of film on them so we didn’t have a lot to go on. We wanted to keep it simple and operate.”

Backup quarterback Angelo Renda passed for a score and added a 75-yard run for the Dragons, while Lind added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. No. 4 quarterback Mac Wilson even got time to take a few snaps.

The lopsided outcome gave Carroll a chance to get a lot of player snaps.

“I think it gives us momentum going into next week,” Dodge said. “We got guys’ confidence and knocked some cobwebs off. It was nice to compete with someone else besides ourselves every day.”