Carroll and Trinity played an epic playoff game in 2006. Expect more of the same this time around.
The year was 2006 and a young Riley Dodge was sporting the traditional blonde hair as the starting quarterback for the Southlake Carroll Dragons and his head coach/father Todd Dodge.
Across the way was a familiar face, one that had ties with Southlake well before kickoff: Euless Trinity’s Steve Lineweaver.
It was the 5A area round, but it felt like a state title game. Both teams won a state championship the year before with Trinity taking the 5A Division I crown while Carroll had won its second-straight and third in four years.
Played at Texas Stadium, which had a capacity of over 65,000, the seats were filled all the way to the upper bowl. A sea of green and white on one side and a sea of red and black on the other as both teams entered 11-0, and No. 1 and 2 in the state.
The official attendance that day was 46,339 — Allen and Pearland’s 5A Division I state title game in 2013 is the state record with 54,347. Allen and Cypress Ranch had 52,308 in their 6A Division I title game a year later.
And surprisingly enough it was the first meeting between the two schools separated just 15 miles apart.
The Trojans held a 21-16 lead with four minutes left in the game after a 69-yard TD from Justise Campbell, as Trinity’s defense was holding Carroll’s potent offense well under its 44-point per game average.
Trinity tried to seal the game with a fake punt, but it didn’t go as planned. Riley would later run it in with 37 seconds left for a 22-21 win, SLC’s 44th straight victory. The Dragons ultimately went on to win another state title.
Fast-forward to Friday’s showdown and it will be the eighth meeting between the two powerhouses. This one will kickoff at Apogee Stadium in Denton at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on TXA 21.
There are still plenty of similarities in this one as there were 12 years ago.
Dodge is still with Carroll, only this time as a first-year head coach. The Dragons are also undefeated and state ranked too.
Chris Jensen is the head coach at Trinity. He was Lineweaver’s offensive coordinator during that 2006 game.
THE MATCHUP
Trinity | Carroll
10-1 Record 12-0
3-6A District Champ 5-6A
2009 Last state title 2011
3 Wins vs the other 4
113 Wins last 10 seasons 114
456 Points For 516
41.2 Per game 43
226 Points Allowed 211
20.5 Per game 17.6
293 Rushing per game 248
136 Passing per game 198
429 Total per game 446
THE PLAYERS
QB: Euless Trinity Laki Ellis (ET)- 1,501 pass, 13 TDs; SLC Will Bowers (SLC)- 2,132 pass, 17 TDs
RB: Euless Trinity Brandon Theus (ET)- 1,402 rush, 17 TDs; SLC TJ McDaniel (SLC)- 1,856 rush, 31 TDs
WR: Euless Trinity Keanu Hill (ET)- 683 rec, 4 TDs; SLC Glenn Mitchell (SLC)- 432 rec, 7 TDs
THE HISTORY
2017: Trinity 21-20
2016: Carroll 42-28
2015: Trinity 37-35
2014: Carroll 10-6
2018 first round: Trinity def Martin 56-34, Carroll def Coppell 54-10
2018 second round: Trinity def Franklin 44-28, Carroll def DeSoto 41-20