Senior Boston Knowles scored on runs of eight and 21 yards on his way to a 178 yard rushing night on 28 carries but North Rock Creek answered with North Texas commit Caleb Hawkins and defeated the Dragons, 42-21 last Friday night.

Hawkins gained 250 yards on 22 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead the Cougars to victory.

Braylon Francis scored Purcell’s third touchdown of the night on a three-yard carry with Devan Martin booting all three points after.

As a team, Purcell rushed for 319 yards and passed for another 103 for a 422 night.

“Any time you rush for over 300 your offensive line has played well,” head coach Aaron Dillard said. “Boston had a tremendous night and up front Kaden Pliler played really well at center.”

Dillard also praised the line play of Carter Thomas, Dylan Smith, Brian Bernal and Landry Bacon.

Through seven games, Knowles already has rushed for over 1,000 yards.

“That’s pretty good,” Dillard said. “Deaken Dobbins had a pretty good game running the offense. He made some good throws but missed a couple. Oscar Wren had a good game with two caches for 66 yards.”

Bodie Meyer came down with an interception and was solid in his pass coverage all night long, the coach reported. “Boston had a good game at safety making seven tackles and Jonathon Minor had a tackle for loss and recovered a fumble.”

Up next for the Dragons is a home game with Star Spencer Friday at 7 p.m.

The Bobcats run a spread formation on offense and operate out of an even front on defense.

“They have a really good receiver who kinda’ makes them go,” Dillard said. “He’s a big, tall, athletic fast kid that is hard to cover.

“Their quarterback has a strong arm and they like to go deep,” the coach said. “They’ve lost three or four in a row and are desperate for a win.”

Dillard said keys to a Purcell victory are limiting turnovers and finishing drives on offense and not let them make big plays when the Dragons are on defense.

“We need to score points early,” he said.

Dragon notes:

Head coach Aaron Dillard nominated Boston Knowles as the Offensive Player of the Week. Knowles rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.

Nominated as the Defensive Player of the Week was Bodie Meyer who had an interception and three tackles against North Rock Creek.

Kaden Pliler was nominated as the Offensive Lineman of the Week. He graded out at  81 percent against the Cougars.

Jonathon Minor was nominated as the Defensive Lineman of the Week. He had five tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.