{"id":427013,"date":"2026-09-05T09:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T09:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/427013\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T09:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T09:12:13","slug":"north-crowley-football-dominates-southlake-carroll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/427013\/","title":{"rendered":"North Crowley football dominates Southlake Carroll"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"North<\/p>\n

North Crowley running back G\u2019yrell Smith (3) runs the ball to score a touchdown during the first half of the game against North Crowley on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

Abigail Dollins<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

FORT WORTH<\/p>\n

In one of the most anticipated regular season bouts of the Texas high school football season, eight time state champion Southlake Carroll aimed to knock off North Crowley.<\/p>\n

But the Panthers proved to be on another level, claiming a dominant 40-10 victory over the Dragons Friday at Crowley ISD Stadium. Trailing by 20 points in the third quarter, the Carroll Dragons (1-1) were doomed by the Panthers\u2019 stout defense that claimed five takeaways.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley celebrates defeating Southlake Carroll, 40-10, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Unforced errors also played a role. A miscommunication on a handoff and Carroll quarterback Hudson Tomcheck wanting more yardage on what would\u2019ve been a first down caused two fumbles \u2014 both were recovered by North Crowley (2-0).<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we can\u2019t turn the ball over like we did,\u201d Carroll head coach Lee Munn said. \u201cWe had way too many mistakes. We played very undisciplined and very uncharacteristic football, and there were a lot of opportunities for us to stay in the game and play the kind of the style of game we wanted, and it got away from us with the turnovers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley defense piles on Southlake Carroll during the first half of the game on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

To further solidify an elite defensive showing, sophomore cornerback Braylen Cunningham hauled in two second half interceptions. Cunningham, who North Crowley head coach DeMarcus Harris credited for having stellar football IQ and being a film junkie, has three interceptions through two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has superpowers,\u201d Harris said. \u201cHe knows routes before they happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

To fizzle what little hope Carroll had left, G\u2019yrell Smith had two second half touchdowns. In the contest, he tallied 113 total yards and a team high four touchdowns, while his running mate Kiante Ingram tallied 90 yards.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley running back G\u2019yrell Smith (3) pushes past Southlake Carroll defense during the first half of the game on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201c[Smith] is a special guy,\u201d Harris said. \u201c[Kiante Ingram and Smith] play off each other well. Ingram is a bruiser. [Smith] can take \u2018em to the house. He is a spark. … He is always working.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crowley ISD Stadium, for the second consecutive week, was jam-packed with fans \u2014 many lingered around standing room only areas to see the state powers clash. They saw a stunning performance from the Panthers, but despite the dominance, Harris\u2019 immediate takeaway was that he wants more.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley celebrates scoring a touchdown against Southlake Carroll during the first half of the game on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to work on,\u201d Harris said. \u201cOur operations are not where I want them to be. … We have a chance to go back to work because we\u2019re not perfect. We\u2019ll watch the tape. I\u2019ll enjoy it tonight, and I\u2019ll probably be mad on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

North Crowley set the tone on its opening drive with a 63-yard strike from quarterback Jacob Torres to wide receiver Kade Smith.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley wide receiver Kade Smith (12) celebrates scoring a touchdown with his coach against Southlake Carroll during the first half of the game on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Tomcheck retaliated with a 32-yard connection to tight end Easton Nied to give the Dragons a brief 7-6 lead \u2014 that was their only score, besides a field goal with the game already out of reach.<\/p>\n

The Panthers went on to take a strong 27-7 halftime lead powered by two touchdowns from Smith of 7 and 35 yards. Receiver Pryce Demerson also made a big play with 19-yard TD reception from junior QB Jahzeel McCradic, who subbed in for Torres.<\/p>\n

Harris said McCradic gave the team a spark, but that Torres is \u201cstill our quarterback.\u201d Both players threw for over 100 yards.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley quarterback Jacob Torres (15) calls out the play during the first half of the game against Southlake Carroll on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody can play on our team,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWe have three quarterbacks that can play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Panthers defensive line made big a huge first half impact, shutting down the Dragons\u2019 run game. The unit had a massive, momentum stealing series by stopping Carroll at the goal line and also recovering a fumble, the first of five takeaways.<\/p>\n

\u201cI brought them in the huddle and said, \u2018These are the [plays] that you\u2019ll remember,\u2019\u201d Harris said. \u201cThat fourth down stop, it really brings you together. Because you know you can do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley Head Coach DeMarcus Harris during the game against Southlake Carroll on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Carroll also stepped on its foot a bit, botching a punt that set up Smith\u2019s first score.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are such a momentum team,\u201d Munn said. \u201c … Part of the reason we turned the ball over was they just took it away, right? Defensively, they are very aggressive and very physical. The punt that went over our punter\u2019s head was on us. But with some, it was them just actively pursuing the football and punching it out. Props to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southlake Carroll could have another opportunity to face North Crowley in the playoffs. It\u2019s a possibility, given their districts and enrollments, that both teams could enter the Class 6A Division II playoff bracket.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley plays Southlake Carroll on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

The Dragons have a young team with room to grow, but will need to make some serious improvements in order to have a chance against the Panthers, who seem to be on a level of their own in the Fort Worth-area.<\/p>\n

A lot has changed since Southlake Carroll and North Crowley\u2019s last matchup in 2021, when the Dragons claimed a 42-20 win.<\/p>\n

Ray Gates was hired as North Crowley\u2019s head coach ahead of the 2022 season and tallied a 54-4 record as the Panthers\u2019 head coach in four seasons \u2014 in 2024, the Panthers won the Class 6A Division I state championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley Head Coach Ray Gates hoists the championship trophy after winning the UIL 6A Division I state championship game against Austin Westlake at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

Now, both squads have newly promoted head coaches who used to be defensive coordinators. In Week 1, Carroll erased a 27-0 deficit to stun Oklahoma power Jenks<\/a> at the Cotton Bowl in a thrilling win. The Dragons didn\u2019t capture the same magic against North Crowley.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Panthers, coming off a shutout against 12-time state champion Aledo<\/a>, established themselves as the team to beat in the Fort Worth-area and handed Carroll its biggest loss since the 2018 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came out with enthusiasm,\u201d North Crowley linebacker Avery Dotson said. \u201cWe came out ready to go and ready to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up, Southlake Carroll will take on state power Allen, a squad that handed reigning Class 6A Division II state champion DeSoto a 50-6 loss. The Panthers are set to face Humble Summer Creek to close out their non-district slate.<\/p>\n

\"North North Crowley linebacker TJ Boyd (13) kneels in prayer before the game against Southlake Carroll on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram \"Southlake Southlake Carroll tight end Easton Nied (14) scores a touchdown during the first half of the game against North Crowley on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram \"Southlake Southlake Carroll quarterback Hudson Tomcheck (3) runs the ball during the first half of the game against North Crowley on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram \"North North Crowley running back G\u2019yrell Smith (3) celebrates a touchdown during the second half of the game against Southlake Carroll on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram \"North North Crowley faces Southlake Carroll during the coin toss on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram \"Southlake Southlake Carroll quarterback Hudson Tomcheck (3) throws a pass during the second half of the game against North Crowley on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 at Crowley ISD Stadium in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

This story was originally published September 4, 2026 at 10:08 PM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360\u2019s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"North Crowley running back G\u2019yrell Smith (3) runs the ball to score a touchdown during the first half…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-427013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}