Sacred Ground
12-16-2005, 06:47 PM
Window of opportunity
08:57 AM CST on Friday, December 16, 2005
SOUTHLAKE – Southlake Carroll can cement its status as one of the top high school football dynasties in state history tomorrow.
Carroll (15-0) can win its third state title in four seasons with a victory over Katy (14-0) in the Class 5A Division II final. Carroll would also clinch its second consecutive mythical national championship.
A win would avenge Carroll's only loss since 2001. But Carroll's players, proud as they are of the program's tradition, aren't thinking about the past. Or the heartbreaking, one-point loss to Katy in the 2003 final. Or the wins in the other 62 games as a 5A program.
Only Katy, a perennial power, has kept Carroll from perfection the last four seasons. "We want to go out there and win our state championship," said quarterback Greg McElroy, a senior in his only season as a starter.
Carroll would join a couple of elite clubs by doing so.
Carroll, which won 3A titles in 1988, 1992 and 1993, would become the eighth program with at least six UIL state championships. Plano and Brownwood are the only programs with seven state titles, although Celina can join that group with a win in Saturday's 2A Division II final against Omaha Paul Pewitt.
Only 13 11-man teams have won three UIL titles in a four-year window. Converse Judson and Midland Lee are the only two programs to accomplish the feat as 5A teams.
DMN
THE MATCHUP
Katy Carroll
39.4 Scoring avg. 48.7
10.6 Scoring defense 15.7
209.6 Rushing YPG 192.3
198.3 Passing YPG 323.9
102.3 Rushing defense YPG 101.1
57.2 Passing defense YPG 151.1
WHO'S No. 1?
Tim MacMahon, who writes for The Dallas Morning News, ranks the top dynasties in Class 5A history, which dates to 1980:
1. Midland Lee
Titles: 1998, '99, 2000
Cedric Benson rushed for 680 yards and 15 TDs in state championship games.
2. Converse Judson
Titles: 1992, '93, '95
Judson would top the list if it hadn't lost state finals in 1990, '96 and '98.
3. Southlake Carroll
Titles: 2002, '04
Carroll will vault to the top of the list if it avenges its only loss in last four seasons.
CLASS 5A DIVISION II FINAL
Katy vs. Southlake Carroll, Noon tomorrow Texas Stadium, Irving, FSNSW
08:57 AM CST on Friday, December 16, 2005
SOUTHLAKE – Southlake Carroll can cement its status as one of the top high school football dynasties in state history tomorrow.
Carroll (15-0) can win its third state title in four seasons with a victory over Katy (14-0) in the Class 5A Division II final. Carroll would also clinch its second consecutive mythical national championship.
A win would avenge Carroll's only loss since 2001. But Carroll's players, proud as they are of the program's tradition, aren't thinking about the past. Or the heartbreaking, one-point loss to Katy in the 2003 final. Or the wins in the other 62 games as a 5A program.
Only Katy, a perennial power, has kept Carroll from perfection the last four seasons. "We want to go out there and win our state championship," said quarterback Greg McElroy, a senior in his only season as a starter.
Carroll would join a couple of elite clubs by doing so.
Carroll, which won 3A titles in 1988, 1992 and 1993, would become the eighth program with at least six UIL state championships. Plano and Brownwood are the only programs with seven state titles, although Celina can join that group with a win in Saturday's 2A Division II final against Omaha Paul Pewitt.
Only 13 11-man teams have won three UIL titles in a four-year window. Converse Judson and Midland Lee are the only two programs to accomplish the feat as 5A teams.
DMN
THE MATCHUP
Katy Carroll
39.4 Scoring avg. 48.7
10.6 Scoring defense 15.7
209.6 Rushing YPG 192.3
198.3 Passing YPG 323.9
102.3 Rushing defense YPG 101.1
57.2 Passing defense YPG 151.1
WHO'S No. 1?
Tim MacMahon, who writes for The Dallas Morning News, ranks the top dynasties in Class 5A history, which dates to 1980:
1. Midland Lee
Titles: 1998, '99, 2000
Cedric Benson rushed for 680 yards and 15 TDs in state championship games.
2. Converse Judson
Titles: 1992, '93, '95
Judson would top the list if it hadn't lost state finals in 1990, '96 and '98.
3. Southlake Carroll
Titles: 2002, '04
Carroll will vault to the top of the list if it avenges its only loss in last four seasons.
CLASS 5A DIVISION II FINAL
Katy vs. Southlake Carroll, Noon tomorrow Texas Stadium, Irving, FSNSW