Argyle heats up after slow start to season, knocks off unbeaten Lake Dallas

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LAKE DALLAS — Argyle faced its first test of District 3-5A Division II play Friday night against an undefeated Lake Dallas squad, and Argyle more than passed that test with one of its better games of the season in a 52-21 victory at Falcon Stadium.

Argyle (3-2, 2-0 in 3-5A Div II) racked up 529 yards in offense and scored touchdowns in every quarter in the impressive win, doing so without starting quarterback John Gailey for most of the game after he left with a leg injury in the second quarter.

“It was one of better games of the season, and our guys kept their focus when Gailey went down,” said Argyle head football coach Todd Rodgers. “And I can’t say enough about the play of our defense, they played tough and physical football the entire game.”

Lake Dallas (6-1, 2-1) never could get in sync against that tough Argyle defense, as they trailed the entire contest and managed just 169 total yards.

“We just made too many mistakes, and you can’t do that against a team like Argyle,” said Lake Dallas head football coach Jason Young. “I was proud of our effort, but we have to execute better and capitalize on the chances we get.”

Argyle couldn’t have asked for a better start in the contest, scoring on each of its first two drives to take a 14-0 lead with 4:21 left in the opening quarter. Jake Krekeler capped both drives with touchdown runs of seven and 15 yards, respectively, finishing with a game-high 128 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Lake Dallas showed some life on its second drive, going 64-yards on 10 plays to cut the lead to 14-7 on a four-yard run by Cade Bortnem.

Argyle kept the pressure on to open the second quarter, despite the loss of Gailey on the ensuing possession, pushing its lead to 21-7 on a one-yard scoring plunge by Devon Owen. The Owen score capped an impressive 12-play, 88-yard drive.

Argyle added two more touchdowns before wrapping up the half, including a slick eight-yard scoring throw by backup quarterback Maguire Gasperson to Hunter McFaul and a 26-yard field goal by Anthony Ruvalcaba to take a 31-7 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Lake Dallas again showed some spark on the opening kickoff with Sam McAfee scoring on an 85-yard return to cut the deficit to 31-14.

However, Argyle struck back with a nine-play 72-yard scoring drive, with Gasperson throwing a five-yard scoring pass to Braden Beck to take a 38-14 lead to the final quarter.

Gasperson finished with 145 yards passing in relief of Gailey, with top target Will Krzysiak finishing with seven catches for 125 yards.

Lake Dallas got no closer than that the rest of the way, despite a late three-yard touchdown catch by Keonde Henry, with Argyle adding fourth quarter touchdowns from Krekeler and a 35-yard interception return by Nathaniel Bruce.

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