Senior running back Boston Knowles scored on cross country jaunts of 73 and 55-yards and quarterback Deaken Dobbins threw three touchdown passes helping to lift Purcell over Lexington last Friday night at Conger Field, 42-21.

Knowles finished the game with 189 yards rushing on 14 carries while Dobbins’ arm was a perfect 3-3 for 143 yards and the three scores.

Oscar Wren hauled in two of the scoring aerials for 34 and 44 yards while Bodie Meyer snagged a 65 yard pass from Dobbins for a six point play.

“He threw the ball well,” head coach Aaron Dillard confirmed.

Senior Devan Martin tallied from 13 yards out and kicked all seven of the points after.

As a team, Purcell rushed 35 times for 281 yards and finished the night with 424 total offensive yards.

“We had a pretty good night,” Dillard said.

He pulled the starters at the end of the third period.

“I thought we did a lot of good things,” he said. “We had a lot of big plays but we had too many penalties.”

The Dragons were flagged 15 times for 150 yards and had five touchdowns nullified by penalties.

“We’ve got to play a cleaner game,” the coach said. “We put the ball on the ground a couple of times and really hurt ourselves with the penalties.

“That has got to be a point of focus going forward,” Dillard said. “We’re going to struggle if we don’t get the penalty situation cleaned up.”

Senior linebacker Christian Kirk continues to haunt opposing offenses. He had 11 tackles and a quarterback sack against the Bulldogs.

“Deaken had a tremendous night in all phases,” Dillard praised of his signal caller. “He had a complete football game. He did a really great job of running the offense and he threw especially well. He had an interception on defense and had a sensational punt return for a touchdown called back.”

The coach said his defense made a lot of mental mistakes like not getting lined up correctly and not fitting the right gaps.

“Lex took advantage of it,” Dillard said. “They played pretty well against us. They have gotten way better. I am impressed with their physicality. They are going to be a tough opponent in 2A for a lot of teams. I commend what their coaching staff is doing over there.”

The Dragons are preparing for a very potent Plainview Indian squad that will roll into town for the 2024 homecoming tilt Friday night. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. with homecoming ticketed to start at 6:20 p.m.

“They are really, really good,” Dillard said of the Indians. “They like to throw the ball around and they have really good receivers. One of them is committed to play at Air Force. Their other receiver is a phenomenal athlete.

“Their quarterback throws well and runs well,” Dillard continued. “They kind of remind me of Washington in a lot of ways how they operate. They are good up front, not huge but solid across the offensive line. They are very physical.”

On defense the Indians will operate out of an odd front.

“They are a really good football team, probably the best defensive team we’ve seen so far this season,” the coach said. “They play super hard, have great size and athleticism. Their free safety is 6’3” and 215 pounds and runs down hill, covers well and tackles well,” Dillard said.

“We’ve got to limit their explosive plays,” he continued. “They like to put together a lot of 10, 12, 14 play drives. Our offense has got to control the tempo of the game. They are on the same page as Washington. It’ll definitely be a challenge.”

Dragon notes:

Purcell Head Coach Aaron Dillard nominated Deaken Dobbins as the Offensive Player of the Week for his 3-3 outing passing the ball, all three for touchdowns. He finished with 143 yards through the air.

Nominated as the Defensive Player of the Week was Christian Kirk who had 11 tackles and a quarterback sack.

Dillard nominated Kaden Pliler as the Offensive Lineman of the Week. He graded out at 79 percent against Lexington.

Getting the nod as the Defensive Lineman of the Week was Rigo Carrillo, who finished the Lexington contest with seven tackles.