By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
U.S. Marine Sgt. Mike Placentia has had stints all over the world - Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq.
Inevitably, discussion amongst troops leads to glory days and American high school gridirons.
"I'll tell someone I played at Southlake Carroll (Texas) and it definitely gets their attention," said Placentia, a smallish 5-foot-10, 200-pound lineman on the 1993 state 3A championship team. "No matter where you go, it seems like everyone's heard of Southlake Carroll."
The Dragons' tale will grow profoundly with a win Saturday night against Northwestern of Miami (Fla.) at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Before a projected capacity crowd (32,000) and a national-televised audience (ESPNU), Carroll (1-0), ranked No. 1 in most national polls including MaxPreps Inc., takes on a Florida team for the first time, one which claims at least 10 Division I-A college players and is considered one of the most talented high school team ever assembled.
Northwestern (2-0), the defending Florida state 6A champion, is No. 2 in most of the national rankings.
It's only the third time the nation's top two teams go head-to-head, the other two games pitted California powers De La Salle-Concord and Long Beach Poly in 2001 and 2002, both De La Salle victories.
"It's the most talented team in the country against the best team," CSTV recruiting expert Tom Lemming said.
Since De La Salle's national record 151-game win streak was snapped to start the 2004 season, Carroll has earned the distinction as nation's top program by dominating the big-school division of the country's most storied football state like no other.
The Dragons have won three straight 5A titles, four in five years and a remarkable 80 of 81 games since moving up to the top division in 2002. Their only loss in that time was 16-15 to Katy in the 2003 state-title game.
If victorious Saturday, they'll have won their 50th straight game, breaking the state big-school record of 49 set by Abilene more than five decades ago (1954-57).
In a state that has featured some of the country's most famous programs over the years, Plano, Wichita Falls, Celina, Brownwood and even Permian-Odessa, which made Friday Nights Lights flicker, Carroll is on the brink of reaching truly lone star status.
"If they win Saturday and then run the table this season then this will go down as arguably the greatest (football) dynasty of all-time (Texas prep history)," Fort Worth Star-Telegram staffer and Carroll beat writer Trae Thompson said.
That seemed preposterous back when Placentia played.
Make no mistake, Carroll was one of the state's toughest and most respected programs. Under legendary coach Bob Ledbetter the Dragons had a state-record 72-game regular-season winning streak from 1986 to 1993 when it won three state crowns (1988, 1992 and 1993).
But that was at the 3A level when Southlake was a smaller, more rural community of about 7,000 in Northeast Tarrant County roughly 30 miles northwest of downtown Dallas.
Like much of the rest of the state, the Dragons relied on grit and power and a smashmouth attack utilizing the famed wishbone attack.
Like the Southlake community the teams were tight-knit and Ledbetter ran a tight ship.
Placentia compared Ledbetter, a father figure to most, to Jon Voight's character in the movie "Varsity Blues," coach Bud Kilmer. Not in terms of Kilmer's unethical nature in the film, but his power and influence over a community.
"On several occasions when players were misbehaving on the weekend, the police wouldn't always tell the parents but instead tell coach Ledbetter," Placentia said. "And boy would coach make those guys pay at practice."
"He was a great man and a great coach and got us started on the map."
Carroll borders Grapevine, where most of Placentia's family attended school, including his mother and aunt. His cousins constantly ribbed him for attending the smaller, more upscale school. Placentia said he always knew Carroll was special.
"The talk was always that Southlake only played small schools so they weren't legit," Placentia said. "My cousins would always say we could never compete in 5A like Grapevine. If we did, they'd say, `we'd smoke y'all.' "
Well Southlake, like the rest of North Tarrant county, grew. And grew and grew.
After Ledbetter retired in 1995, the Dragons moved up to the 4A level where they had four uneventful seasons (29-17-1) under Tom Rapp.
Though powerhouse status fizzled, enrollment and population continued to pop. More important, the town of 20,000 by the turn of the century (it now has 25,000) stayed united, voting to keep its one public K-12 school instead of building another like so many others had in the county.
"That kept the teams and players and community cohesive," Texas recruiting analyst Randy Rodgers said. "That kept the feeder system flourishing. The young guys always wanted their place in green and white on Friday nights."
There was one drastic move at this time. Ledbetter, who turned athletic director, hired Todd Dodge as his new head football coach.
"That changed everything," Thompson said.
Said Placentia: "Once he got there it was like Southlake Carroll just got crazy. It's gone out of control."
Dodge, a prep quarterback legend in the state - the first to ever throw for 3,000 yards in a season - didn't have nearly such impressive numbers as a coach.
He won seven games combined in two previous seasons at Fossil Ridge in Keller. But Ledbetter, who could have picked anyone just short of Tom Landry, liked Dodge's style and manner.
He would love his results.
Utilizing a spread, fling-it-at-all-cost-and-all-downs offense, the Dragons slayed their opponents with floods of flair and touchdowns.
"When Dodge arrived and he put in the spread it was jaw-dropping," Thompson said. "Nobody had seen anything like it."
Carroll lost its first three games under Dodge, but Ledbetter stuck by his man, and the Dragons won seven straight regular-season games before losing in the state quarterfinals in 2000.
Carroll then won nine more games in 2001 before moving up with the big boys.
The Dragons have lost just one game since led by remarkable quarterback play, none better than Chase Wasson who threw for a state record 4,822 yards and 54 touchdowns in 2002.
That's the season Dodge further spread the spread, by implementing Middle Tennessee State's no-huddle approach. The offense lined up, glanced to the sideline where Dodge and staff would flash a series of signals.
"If you've never seen it before it's like watching an air-traffic controller directing a plane," Thompson said.
It worked as the Dragons piled up more than 500 points and won by more than 37 points per game while going undefeated in their initial season at 5A.
"Dodge Ball" - a moniker coined by sports writers - had officially arrived.
But they didn't win three more state titles in the next four years by the gimmicky offense alone. Far from it.
Experts cite unparalleled facilities, which includes a $15-million, 11,500-seat stadium and a 45,500-square foot indoor facility that has been borrowed by the Dallas Cowboys, along with meticulous coaching and abundant community support as more keys to Carroll's success.
"You won't find any better coaching in the country," Lemming said.
The school excels in all areas - it ranked 422nd academically in the country by Newsweek - and No. 8 nationally athletically (for all sports) by Sports Illustrated. The school has also claimed state crowns in soccer, theater, swimming and diving, cross country, robotics and accounting.
In a superlative August article in D Magazine titled "Southlake: Welcome to Perfect City, USA," the school sits in a pristine town compared to Pleasantville.
"They're good at everything in Southlake," author Paul Kix writes. "The streets are cleaner than your streets, the downtown more vibrant, the students more courteous, their parents more prosperous. Everyone is beautiful in Southlake. Everyone smiles in Southlake. Everyone is a Dragon in Southlake."
Said Rodgers: "There's a distinct drive to succeed and it's likely discussed at every dinner table. It's real important to be real good at whatever you do there."
On the football field, that means athletic, fit players are punctual, precise and driven.
"I wouldn't call them over-achievers," prepnation.com publisher Jamie DeMoney said. "They definitely have kids with athletic ability. But they're smart kids who don't beat themselves."
Said Thompson: "They're very disciplined players who totally believe in the team concept. And they're deathly afraid to look past any team. They'll play a winless team and treat them like the '85 Chicago Bears."
With a new coach - Wasson's father Hal Wasson - and Dodge's son, reigning MaxPreps National Player of the Year Riley Dodge, leading the way, Carroll looks primed for another state title shuffle in 2007.
Coach Wasson was the SLC's offensive coordinator when his son was quarterback before taking the head coaching duties at Fossil Ridge, where he went 28-15 in four seasons including a District 6-4A championship last year.
Riley Dodge, listed at 6-foot, 180 pounds, threw for 4,184 yards and 54 touchdowns last year when he also rushed for 1,119 yards and 13 scores. He opened the season last week by throwing for 331 yards and four scores in a 42-10 win over Lake Highland.
Riley Dodge first orally committed to Texas in Austin, but then changed his mind to join his father, who left Carroll to take the head job at the University of North Texas. His footwork is impeccable, he runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and he knows the offense, well, like his dad.
"If he (Riley Dodge) was 6-2, he'd be the No. 1 quarterback (recruit) in the country," Lemming said.
He has a slew of support, led by running back Tre' Newton, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 20 scores last year. Newton, the son of former Cowboys' standout Nate Newton, had 110 yards rushing and two TDs against Lake Highland.
Three potential Division I players anchor the offensive line while returning receivers Blake Cantu, Ethan Cunningham and Chris Brainard combined for 132 catches last season.
The offense should be as good as any SLC has ever had, but the defense is somewhat untested with just three returning starters.
The Dragons, no matter what happens on Saturday, will be favored to win their fourth straight state crown. That favorite's role, however, is a large burden to bear.
"One loss and this season is a failure," Riley Dodge told Kix. "I don't want to think about it."
Coach Wasson said thinking about it is counterproductive.
"If we start start concerning ourselves with what some people might think, we'll lose focus," the coach told the Dallas Morning News. "I'm confident enough to know these players are going to step up and play every night no matter who we play."
Wasson said that the school's reputation - no matter how far-reaching, even Iraq or Japan - should serve as an inspiration not a burden.
"It's a reminder of the foundtion, and each day, you want to build on that foundation," he said.
Placentia, now stationed in Honolulu, said his feet are still firmly planted on that base.
"They say that once you're a Marine you're one for life, which is true," he said. "I feel the same about Carroll. Once a Dragon, always a Dragon."
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
Senior writer Mitch Stephens and senior photographer Todd Shurtleff will be in Dallas starting Thursday for live blogs and photos. More storylines to look forward to:
Tuesday: The long and bumpy road to Dallas for Northwestern-Miami
Wednesday: Sunshine versus the Lone Star. Bragging rights between two state powers.
Thursday: Where Northwestern and Carroll stand 48 hours before kickoff.
Friday: The breakdown between the two squads.
Saturday: Live blogs from SMU with up-to-the-minute game detail.
Sunday: The Aftermath: How will each team react to post Titanic syndrome?
