Before, she was a Research & Archives Associate and wrote about the historical happenings from the The News' archives. ESPN has set a late August premiere date for a documentary about one of the most infamous high school football teams in Texas history. / CBS Texas. And none of the players convicted in the robberies were ever charged with another crime again. But eventually, retirement got him. The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. Davis High School Panthers. Greg Abbott says if these corporate tax breaks return, renewable energy should be excluded, At these old-school restaurants in Texas, you feel like its an extension of your home, Gulf of Mexico warming at faster rate than global ocean, study finds. More recently its taken him as a high school football coach from Grand Prairie to Frisco to Mesquite. A still from the 2015 movie 'Carter High' about the 1988 Dallas-area football team mired in controversy. 1985 Yates vs. 1988 Carter would have been a fitting showcase for two of the greatest teams in what was, for my money, the best era of the modern high school game, the years from 1982 through 1989 . Comments (-1) Tweets by DALLASCARTERFB. To Hootnick, some of the story's unsung heroes are the parents who fought to keep the team in the playoffs. "To tell you the truth, I'm just like I was in 1989," says Evans, 37. Unofficially, they would be the second team to do so, after the Dallas Carter Cowboys beat Converse Judson at Texas Stadium 31-14 in 1988. The team made famous by Buzz Bissinger's book "Friday Night Lights" faced enormous expectations. But he was also known for his compassion and dedication to get students on track to college and some even to the NFL. The 1988 Carter High School football team seemed invincible. Historical Coaches: Don Shula, George Halas, Tom Landry, Curly Lambeau. "When you look back over 20 years, there's a reason for everything," West says. The 1988 Carter football team was at the top of its game. hide caption, The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. Right now to this day, we're still talking about that class, 1988 Carter quarterback Robert Hall told WFAA in 2013, when he was an assistant coach at Mesquite Horn. He says the robberies were "a black eye for the community," but adds, "I think those who were around and are still around feel they got a raw deal - that the justice system extracted more than a pound of flesh from them.". Are ticket costs pricing Houston Astros fans out of Opening Day? "That was just four years I kind of wasted," he says. All of the once-incarcerated Carter players interviewed say their criminal records have presented obstacles, but Campbell has been the most affected. The work of education requires support from the entire community, and Carter High is committed to partnering with businesses, nonprofits, civic clubs, religious organizations and other groups that want to invest their time, talent and resources in students. Kendall declined to be interviewed for this story, other than to compliment the skills of defense attorneys West and Creuzot. With Charles S. Dutton, Vivica A. After nearly 55 years of marriage, the two still love to tease each other. The official 2019 Football Roster for the . Nothing could deter the Cowboys on their way to winning the state championship that year. Hide/Show Additional Information For Jay Carter . "Somebody like Jessie, he doesn't worry because he's probably got enough money," Evans says of Armstead, who played 12 NFL seasons and is a New York Giants special assistant. "The number of scholarships they got, the number of guys who went on to play some form of professional football by every measure this was one of the greats," Hootnick says of the school's reputation. Campbell and Evans were the last Carter players released from prison. Full Bio. It was not until football was removed and the hedge, so to speak, was removed that they ventured out and did what they did.. He worked for a chemical company in Garland for six years. "There is no question that if Carter had been one of the predominantly white schools that was always there, everything would have been handled differently," Hootnick says. Campbell served seven years, four days. You've got to sugarcoat it to get it in the paper. It is my extreme pleasure to serve as your site Principal. Before he signed with Tennessee while sitting in a Jacuzzi, he was pursued by the likes of USC, UCLA and Nebraska. It would have been a great game, featuring accomplished, underrated quarterbacks and defenses that were downright scary. Previous Seasons All-Time Roster. as a senior, was selected as an All-Area honoreeplayed in the 2022 Minnesota High School All Star Gamea six year starter for the Bears wrestling . Official website; This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 04:04 (UTC). And at a time when it seems the game is always in the cross-hairs, director Arthur Muhammad says Carter High isnt trying to show football in a bad light. I had to pull myself away because I know if I didn't, I would have wound up getting back to that mode.". The legacy . "I didn't need to be rehabilitated because I was aware of my mistakes and knew I would never do anything like that again. Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives. July 21, 2021. W.H. He joined the Houston Chronicle in 1990 after stints at the Dallas bureau of United Press International (1984-90), the Waco Tribune-Herald (1978-84) and the Tyler Morning Telegraph (1975-78). I was younger, he says. Site Map. Carter won the state title but the story doesn't end there. Urban and suburban schools had just begun to play each other, he said, which brought out racial tensions. Houston, Texas. 2021 Texas Standard. (Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer). Evans, 44, who in 1988 was talented enough to be considered one of the nation's top high school defensive backs and flamboyant enough to sign his letter of intent while sitting in a hot tub in . Overall Score 40.47 /100. He signed with the University of Houston. When the University Interscholastic League investigated a tip that Carter player Gary Edwards had not passed algebra, West said, the political atmosphere was one where this team was being done wrong because it was African-American.. In truth, the football team from Carter High School was a . The defendants were hustled from the courtroom by sheriff's deputies and did not comment. Keith Campbell received the harshest prison sentence, 25 years, and the sharpest rebuke from Judge Kendall. 0 by Odessa Permian, 1994; Arlington Lamar, 1988; Aldine MacArthur, 1986; Abilene Cooper, 1969 and Galena Park, 1964 CLASS 5A RECORDS, 1951-2022 Originally 3A (1951-79), then 4A (1980-2013) and now 5A (2014-22) The documentary points out many inaccuracies in the ways the Dallas Carter story has been told over the years. "The other thing is, for everything that I think I could have been excellent at doing, I can't be. David W. Carter (Dallas, TX) Alumni Pro Stats. "The embarrassment I caused to myself, my family, my church family, my coaches and the University of Houston, that was enough.". The Cowboys captured the city with their talent as they fought their way through the regular season and the playoffs. State District . And so to fall from grace like that, that's a long way down.". This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Campbell said he hopes the film, which was shown to a crowded audience of young athletes, sends a strong message to them about the importance of making the right decisions. At the courthouse, it simply doesnt matter that you can run the football. The Cowboys were stripped of the State title after it came to . One Gets 20 Years. There are too many to declare which is best, but ESPN's latest "30 for 30" documentary on the 1988 Dallas Carter high school football team is equal to any of the previous award-winning episodes. Spring Sports. The greatest high school football team that has ever been assembled. Instead, his grades were changed to make him pass that class. He says, "These guys talk about the fact that no matter how far they went after playing big time Texas high school football, there was no crowd that felt more intense, there was no game that felt bigger than their biggest games in their Texas high school careers. But nobody has any ill effects about it.". Carter met Converse Judson at Texas Stadium, winning the Class 5A Championship, 31-14, to capture the first title for the Dallas ISD since 1950. All of us can think back to when we were teenagers and the decision processing of teenagers, Ellis says, that part of our brain is not fully developed until youre about the age 25.. Football is about making good decisions and gambling dont build character. @Vol_Football. For the last year, he has worked on a soon-to-be-released book, Carter Boyz. The documentary remembers the 1988 Dallas Carter high school football team which beat Permian High in Friday . 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, At least 5 dead following year's first severe spring weather outbreak, 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood. The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. 'If stupidity were a crime, you would all deserve life without parole,' Kendall said. The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. In 14 seasons as the head coach at Carter, he went 122-22-3. https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https://bit.ly/3CUlFTZ The Kennedale (TX) varsity football team has a home conference game vs. Carter-Riverside (Fort Wor. I guess it was kind of mutual between Derric and I because we were so close. The Mesquite Horn offensive coach and quarterback who once led Carters team to victory remembers his high school days fondly it was the time, he says, he really felt like he was playing for the community. With the Thursday night premiere of the ESPN documentary "What Carter Lost," the time has come to revive one of the great sports bar/barbershop debate topics of Texas high school football. I think we in the media, we created an environment that Texas high school football players, if they dont have it, theyre gonna take it. The huge amounts of devastation and loss experienced by Dallas Carters high school football program were only heightened by the UIL stripping the schools state title not long after the sentencing. He believed the judge would have alerted the attorneys if he planned to give prison time so that they could consider a jury trial. "I tell people all the time, I was like Michael Jordan and he was like Scottie Pippen," Armstead says. As for any school, for kids that are young and immature, youre gonna see some great things athletically and then youre gonna see some decisions that were made due to greed and things that were not positive, he said. ET Thursday on ESPN and will take a detailed look at the fabled 1988 Dallas Carter High School football team. 'When I compare you with a typical young offender who comes before me, you are especially without excuse,' Kendall added. She graduated from the University of North Texas in 2017. The film is centered on the 1988 Cowboys of David W. Carter High School in Dallas, a team that fought through racial prejudice and a grades controversy to claim the 5A state title, only to be rocked when six of their players were involved in an armed robbery and the grades issue stripped them of their title. The other, mostly white schools fought a legal battle to kick Carter out of the playoffs. 'Most of you have had religious and moral training, the opportunity for a decent education, and some of you have even been given by God athletic talent that would enable you to receive a free college education. "After the roller coaster of this season and postseason," Hootnick explains, "you had a few guys on that team really, to my mind, inexplicably going and joining an armed robbery ring for pretty much no reason. Brad Townsend, Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA. ET on ESPN. It didnt matter where. The 1988 Cowboys playoff season was highlighted by accusations of grade manipulation of a player, the team being declared ineligible several times during the . Beginning days after the championship and continuing into the summer, several players, along with other Carter students and graduates, committed a string of armed robberies that would cut their futures short. And whether SOC wins or loses Saturday morning against Liberty Hill, Dallas ISD will always have an unofficial state championship. "It was a talented team with very talented individuals, many of which went on without blemishes on their records and are productive citizens in our community," says Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, the attorney who represented Edwards during the grade controversy and criminal trial. ', Noting that six of the defendants were members of a Carter football team that experts rank as one of the best in Texas of the 1980s, Kendall said, 'The typical American male lives vicariously through the lives of football heroes. Though West said he and Kendall are friends today, he said he did not speak to Kendall for two years after that. Eva-Marie Ayala/Staff Writer, Mesquite Horn offensive coordinator Robert Hall during football practice at John Horn High School in Mesquite. . MAXPREPS; CBSSPORTS.COM; 247SPORTS; Football. Over the years, he has been asked whether the more headstrong Evans coaxed him into the 33-day spree in which they committed four robberies together. He knows Evans lives in Houston, but little else. So the way that those parents were undercut after everything they did to keep that team on the field and to try to put forward their version of who they were to have that all undone, you know, I think that's the story that's never been told.". As he issued each sentence, screams rang out from the courtroom. Carter High School Football; Football All-Time Roster; Carter Football History. "I didn't see how they could do that. The Lone Star Football Network Online Now: 454 Visitors. A 12th still faces sentencing. "I'm glad I did go to prison," he says. You dont even get a chance to think about the past, trying to think about the present, he said. Yates' coach Luther Booker was a molder of men. Not the ensuing legal battle that nearly kept them out of the playoffs. HISTORIC TEAM: 1985 Yates team was one for the ages. 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Governor of Philippine province, 5 others killed in gun attack. With ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary What Carter Lost screening Aug. 24, audiences are primed to remember the glory and scandal that surrounded Dallas Carter High School's football team nearly 30 years ago.The 1988 Carter football team was at the top of its game. for hosting @CarterHSFB Coach Freddie James retired from the Dallas school district two decades ago, off to travel and finally work on his wifes honey-do list. There's some debate as to whether that team is better . He and wife Eva spend most of their time at church functions. Sixty-two varsity players thrilled and galvanized and brought pride to their community, but six of them caused embarrassment and grief. It was a historic season that included a national football championship for the predominantly black school, but not without controversy. I move on." I think at some level they were chasing a rush.". It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations. But that Dallas Carter team had its title stripped in 1990 after a Texas University Interscholastic League investigation determined Edwards should have been ruled ineligible to play during the Cowboys playoffs run because of an algebra II grade. Edwards served four years in prison. Not the ensuing legal battle that nearly kept them out of the playoffs. I was still feeling the sting of that decision, he said. Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25, Why The Race Of The New Football Coach At University Of Texas Matters. Instead of going off to play for college teams,those players went to prison. March 4 (UPI) -- Bempedoic acid taken alone reduces cholesterol and heart attacks in patients who can't tolerate statins, according to a clinical research published Saturday in New England Journal of Medicine.. Five, including 2 children, killed in early morning New York house fire. Her media guide bio lists Derric as her father. The official 1986 Football Roster for the University of North Carolina Heels . Carter High is a football movie. It was like, 'Hey, I'm down with you for whatever because I know you're down with me.' March 4 (UPI) -- Australian police on Saturday revealed the details of an operation that intercepted $1 billion worth of cocaine in the country's biggest-ever drug bust. If you even have any thought of having a family, you need to make sure you watch every decision that you make now - because your children will also pay the consequences for what you do.' He has five children, the second-oldest having been born while he was incarcerated. Courtesy of ESPN Films Check out the 1988 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Roster, Players , Starters and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com. In my eyes, I'd say we were the best ever," defensive back Gary Edwards told WFAA in 2013. It was the first in nearly two dozen robberies connected to some players on the team. He also coaches a youth league football team. DALLAS The drama surrounding the 1988 Carter Cowboys took over 25 years to go from the high school football field to the big screen. "Am I proud?" Evans got 20 years. UT And OU Want Out Of The Big 12. Some in the community agreed with West that prison sentences seemed harsh for young men who had made mistakes. Only Gov. A high schoolstatefootball championship in Texas is arguably about more than just temporarybragging rights. The official 1989 Football Roster for the University of North Carolina Heels Who wouldn't be proud?". From changing grades and playing ineligible players to substance abuse and violence, these five scandals marred the face of the king of all sports in Texas. "I really don't give a [expletive] what people say about me, whether it's true or false.". D.W. Rutledge, whose Judson team lost to Carter in the 1988 final, gives Carter the nod, and so does Dan Hooks, whose West Orange-Stark team lost to Yates in 1985. DALLAS (CBS11) A private screening of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "What Carter Lost," was held at the Texas Theatre on Wednesday night. AT HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Debate class - Yates or Carter? (Ben Torres/Special Contributor). Lincoln Heights, OH / 2: Roney Harris: QB: 6-1: 180: So. During a phone interview, Evans says there is a reason he has rebuffed reporters since giving prison interviews to The Dallas Morning News in 1989 and 1991 and to author H.G. It would be difficult for anybody. Some who meet Campbell remark that he would have made a good attorney. 2017: Redshirted as a true freshman. Dayton High School Broncos. But as he did welding work for the next couple of weeks, Campbell recalls that "he and I had no conversation. NFL Coaches. March 4 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania woman missing for more than 30 years was found living in a nursing home in Puerto Rico, her family and police said. Twenty years ago, they were Carter High's Three Amigos. White High School; W.W. Samuell High School; Walnut Hill Elementary School; West Dallas STEM School Program at Pinkston; Whitney M. Young Jr. The reality of the Carter High School football team, often described as one of the most talented collections of players in the history of football-crazed Texas, is told in "What Carter Lost ," an ESPN 30 for 30 film directed by Adam Hootnick and airing at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. The book "Friday Night Lights" is about a group of high school football players in Odessa, Texas, a town where football is king and Friday evenings are gospel. Evans, who was paroled Aug. 22, 1996, says his co-workers don't know about his football or prison past. I was voted 11th Region Boys Co-Coach of the Year in 2001 and 16th Region Boys and Girls Coach of the year in 2012. Australian cops announce $1B cocaine seizure, country's biggest bust ever. But its really the kind of movie that lets people know that you can make it if you try. Eva-Marie Ayala/Staff Writer, Dallas-set football drama 'Carter High' hits Netflix Novemeber, 2016, Former Carter High star football player Jessie Armstead reflects on the past, Carter High tackles Dallas teams woes head-on, Over two decades later, a chance for public redemption, Scandal taints memories of 'best ever,' the 1988 Carter football team, Robbery spree was 'just for kicks' for 1988 Carter football team, Former players on 1988 Carter football team tried to move on, but shaking past wasn't easy. It set the whole city on fire," said defense attorney John Creuzot, who represented one of the players. The following appeared as Part III in a three-part series on the Dallas Carter High School 1988 football team in the Nov. 11, 2008 editions of The Dallas Morning News. "We were young. Initially, Evans seemed glad to see him. That team was, resoundingly, one of the best high school squads ever assembled. Hide/Show Additional Information For Jay Carter . It Was Money for Prom Night, Some of the youths had testified that they had committed at least one robbery each so they could have extra money for prom night. So I dont feel anything in particular," Russeau said. After looking this up it sure seems to be 100% accurate. By DAVID BARRON. "I think that fight for them was not just about wanting to see their football team win, but about resisting being caricatured in a way, and saying, 'We're not cheaters. Some, such as Tony Canadeo of Steinmetz, Vic Markov of Lindblom, Leo Nomellini of Crane, Pete Pihos of Austin and Hugh Gallarneau of Morgan Park, never made the Chicago Public League all-star list. Most prominent among those sentenced were Evans, who was picked by UPI as one of the nation's top 100 college football prospects last spring and signed with the University of Tennessee, and Edwards, the center of a grading controversy that almost cost Carter its chance at the 5A playoffs last season. Rocky Mount, NC / 2: East Carter had boys team before 1992. It would be the first of 21 robberies that police connected to 15 Carter neighborhood teenagers, including six from the football team. "My kids are like, 'Dad, you know everybody.' 28 - universal randolph, 1963-90 28 - dallas carter, 1982-09 27 - wichita falls, 1937-63 *26 - southlake carroll, 1997-22 Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives. Find Texas High School Alumni, Reunions, Yearbooks and Class Photos! Even though he still has scars from it, he hasn't allowed those scars to dictate the rest of his life.". Part of his beat was covering the Dallas Carter Cowboys, who are the subject of an ESPN documentary set to air this week ( What Carter Lost, Thursday 9:30 p.m. EST). View career profiles, stats, photos and video highlights. Ellis said his interest in this film was what it could teach. The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "What Carter Lost" premieres at 9:30 p.m. 2022 Football Roster. Two months ago, he joined a mentorship program at Carter started by assistant principal Stonie Arbuckle, a classmate in 1988. Those memories, though, were soon overshadowed by bigger games at Texas Tech. August 16, 2017 / 9:40 PM Sitting at the kitchen table of his DeSoto home, he patiently retraces the grade controversy, the robberies, prison. Dallas Carter, 1988? This is the 6th year for our courts at ECMS. @luc_brian @Coach_Blocker @LehmanForrest. FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth. 1988 ODESSA PERMIAN PANTHERS . Thats been so long ago, almost 30 years. That team, with 21 players who were offered college scholarships, is being called one of the best high school . . Russeau was invited to a Dallas showing of the movie but said he wasnt contacted about the film prior to that. "The story is so much that you can't print," he says. Keith Campbell was one of those players. "Everywhere we go, somebody knows me," he says. Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives.Two months after the big championship win at Texas Stadium, and after overcoming legal challenges . Carter High School. And I think we share in some of the responsibility for that a great deal, actually. He was surprised a film was made so long after the fact and that he and others still in the area weren't contacted about the script. Odessa Permian 1988 Roster. A protective father figure to his Carter players, he led them on to be one of the nation's best high school teams. Starred for Smyrna High School on both sides of the ball and was named Class 6A Mr. Football after a phenomenal 2022 campaign Selected as the Region 6-6A Defensive MVP this past fall Posted 92 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, five passes defended, three forced fumbles and one interception his senior season Health issues have slowed the 91-year-old down, but Russeau usually makes it to his Thursday night bible classes and the occasional fundraising gala. Not just the best in Dallas or Texas, I would like to say we're the best team ever assembled.. Pat Culpepper, an all-Southwest Conference defender for Darrell Royal at Texas and coach of the Lufkin team that lost to Carter in 1988, gives the edge to Carter on defense. You know, like football as long as they were doing football and in football it kept them away from making such bad decisions and choices. When Derric Damon Evans entered prison on Sept. 22, 1989, he left behind more than a rescinded college scholarship. "They talk about that high school team that kicked everybody's ass," he says. Ever, TCU alum and former San Diego Chargers running back LaDanian Tomlinson said in the same documentary. He scored 30 or more points on three occasions, including a career-high 33 points in the Raiders' 75-59 win over Slippery Rock Dec. 3. But it only took two weeks to make it from Hollywood to