UNIVERSITY PARK - Southlake Carroll's football team racked up 532 yards of total offense Saturday in its UIL Class 5A Division I quarterfinal against DeSoto at Ford Stadium on the campus of SMU.

One more yard would have given them the win.

Quarterback Kenny Hill was stuffed at the 1-yard line on three consecutive plays, the last as time expired in the fourth quarter and the Dragons came up short against the Eagles in a thrilling contest, 49-45.

"I'm so proud of how our kids played their hearts out," said Hal Wasson, Carroll head coach. "At the end of the day, that's all you can ask. We didn't want to have any regrets about not playing hungry and we did exactly that. You just have to try and put a smile on your face and move on. But it's very disappointing."

In the same stadium where Carroll shocked Skyline with a stunning last-minute comeback in the state semifinals last year, it looked as if the reigning champs had the postseason magic working again on the hilltop after Carroll had forced a turnover on downs giving the Dragons life trailing by four with 2:05 remaining.

But this time there would be no game-saving onside kick. No game-winning touchdown from Hill and no silver fox streaking down the sideline.

Instead, DeSoto sets up a battle of Eagles with a spot in the finals on the line as they face Allen Saturday at 6 p.m. from SMU.

"At the end of the day, there wasn't a dry stitch on me," Wasson said. "It was just the ultimate game from start to finish. DeSoto was athletic and fast and that didn't surprise us. We needed to catch some breaks and knew it would be the type of game that came down to the last possession."

Carroll claimed an early 24-6 advantage before settling for a 24-21 lead at the break. A third quarter that featured 21 points on each side set the stage for a fourth quarter full of momentum swings.

In the end, DeSoto quarterback Desmon White and running back Dontre Wilson had the answers.

Missing much of the second quarter after getting banged up on the defensive side of the ball, Wilson kicked it in high gear in the second half, scoring on a 28-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to pull DeSoto within three at 38-35.

Later, an interception by Carroll's Tanner Jacobson set up Hill's fifth touchdown run of the game (6 yards) to put the Dragons back up by 10. However, Wilson responded on the ensuing play from scrimmage hauling in a 76-yard touchdown reception.

Wilson finished with 74 rushing yards and a score to go with 118 receiving yards and touchdown. White threw for 376 yards and four scores and picked up a game-high 139 yards on the ground with another touchdown.

DeSoto then forced a punt and a 40-yard scramble by White followed by a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rickey Daniels gave DeSoto its first lead since the 9:17 mark of the first quarter.

"Talent-wise and team-speed wise, DeSoto is one of the most talented groups of football players I have every played or coached against," Wasson said. "Athletically, they're the most prolific assemblage of talent I've seen since Miami Northwest (which Carroll came up short against in a game televised on ESPN in 2007)."

As was the case throughout, Carroll immediately began driving but a fumble gave the Eagles possession at their 28-yard line. DeSoto then needed just a single yard to seal the game, but the Dragon defense rose to occasion, making the tackle and earning a measurement that was deemed short.

On third-and-14 of Carroll's final drive, Hill found Luke Timian for 14 on the button to keep the chains moving. Moments later, Hill converted a fourth-and-1 to earn a new set of downs and the Dragons were in business with 18 seconds left when Hill again connected with Timian - who had four catches for 75 yards on the night - for 22 yards setting up first-and-goal at the DeSoto 3-yard line.

Armed with a pair of timeouts, Hill - who led Carroll with 99 yards on the ground but needed 40 carries to get there - picked up 2 yards but fell just short of the goal line. Another keeper saw the Texas A&M signee stuffed just shy setting up a third-and-goal from inches away with three seconds left. But again the DeSoto defense didn't budge and after a few moments of deliberation from the officials, the DeSoto players stormed off the sideline in celebration.

"There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to go down and score," Wasson said. "We wanted to run the clock to the final seconds and score and not give DeSoto any time on the clock. That was our plan and strategy and it worked to perfection until the very end. We ran our best offensive player three times. What else are you going to do? It has worked 100 percent of the time for three years, so we were going to play those odds. We just came up a little short this time."

Hill's final high school game saw him throw for 339 yards with no interceptions, while Ryan Weigel recorded a team-high seven catches and 127 yards. Mike Gardiner also had 73 receiving yards, including an acrobatic 30-yard catch in the end zone while he was draped by a defender to put the Dragons up, 38-28.

"The greatest compliment you can give a player is that he is a great teammate," Wasson said. "That's what Kenny is. The bigger the stage, the higher the level he plays at. The more we need him, the more he responds. We went against the No. 1 team in the state and the No. 1 team in the nation and he played a great game."

It appeared Carroll would have its hand full on the defensive end early, as the Eagles needed just 1:15 on the opening possession to find the end zone when White hit Brandon McDowell for a 61-yard touchdown pass. Consecutive runs by Wilson and White of 11 and 45 yards, respectively, had the Eagles on the move on their second possession but a sack on fourth-and-six from the 15-yard line forced a turnover on downs.

The Eagles wouldn't threaten again until late in the second quarter when already trailing, 24-7. But DeSoto got back in the game quickly, cutting the deficit to 10 on a nifty 18-yard touchdown run by Wilson before pulling to within a field goal on a 2-yard touchdown dive by Jatory Brown with 44 seconds left in the half.

The Eagles did most of their work in the second quarter without the services of Wilson, who was previously injured while breaking up a pass in the end zone from Hill to Mike Gardiner. The Dragons still ended up capitalizing on the drive, though, as a 16-yard completion on a toss-reverse-pass to Ryan Agnew - who was belted while making the catch - on third-and-17 set up a fourth-and-one, which Carroll converted and later punched in the end zone with runs on six of the next seven plays.

Agnew had a key play on Carroll's opening scoring drive as well, rushing for 32 yards on third-and-14 to the 2-yard line setting up the first of Hill's three first-half touchdown runs.

But while Hill had three rushing scores in the half, the DeSoto defense managed to limit the Dragons to 73 yards on 25 carries, including just 30 yards on 19 attempts for Hill.

Carroll's rush defense was equally effective as the Eagles picked up 109 yards on 24 carries and 56 of those yards were on consecutive plays in the first quarter.

While the run defense was up to par for both squads, receivers were running rampant. Hill threw for 194 yards, while White totaled 188 yards in the half. The two passers combined for 10 pass plays of more than 15 yards in the first two quarters.

Carroll also forced the lone turnover of the half, a fumble on a third-down play in which DeSoto had picked up the necessary yardage. The Dragons cashed in with a 27-yard reception by Weigel setting up a 28-yard field goal by Drew Brown for a 10-6 advantage.

No more field goals would be necessary, though, as both defenses had difficult times getting the stops they needed until the final two minutes.

"After the game, it was a somber dressing room and I was honored to be in it," Wasson said. "We wanted to focus on the life lessons we learned and focus on the great things we did in the season and the great things we did in that game, as tough as it was. I told the guys it's OK to be disappointed and it's OK to be frustrated. Those are natural emotions. But how you handle those situations is critical and I thought we responded like Dragons."

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