ARLINGTON, Texas – As expected, the matchup of the last two Class 5A Division I state champions was loaded with heavyweight punches Saturday. The difference for
Trinity (Euless) in its 37-35 victory over
Allen, played in front of about 40,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium, was that the Trojans had the biggest haymaker:
Do-it-all senior
Brandon Carter.
Brandon Carter was everywhere.
File photo by Keith Owens
Carter threw two touchdown passes, one as a quarterback and one when he took a pitch after he was lined up as a receiver. The Oklahoma commit also caught four passes, returned a kickoff 67 yards and rushed for 82 yards, including the 16 biggest of the night.
The 16 yards came on third-and-15 on Trinity's final drive, when the Trojans were trying to run out the final minute. Carter took a quarterback draw up the middle and got just enough for the first down to help Trinity (12-0) escape a big effort from Allen (10-2).
"Coach just told me to hang on to the ball and get the first down," Carter said. "I knew where the first down marker was."
Carter made most of the big plays for Trinity, which will face Arlington Martin (10-2) in the third round of the 5A Division I playoffs. He played defensive back on Allen's final drive, and he was on the field when Allen tried an onside kick after it cut the lead to two with 2:23 left.
Carter wasn't just on the field for the kick; he made the play. The kick bounced high and Allen players had a chance at it until Carter leaped into the air and tapped it backward and out of bounds so Trinity would get possession.
"Knowing to knock it out of bounds, I didn't teach him to do that," Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver said. "He's a really savvy player."
Every time Allen tried to steal the momentum, Carter was there to protect
MaxPrep's top-ranked team. After Allen's Paul Walker scored on a 52-yard run to cut Trinity's lead to 24-21 late in the third quarter, Carter returned the kickoff 67 yards to set up a touchdown.
Allen cut the lead to 34-28 with five minutes left, but Carter made another big play on the next possession. On second-and-12 from the Allen 44, he scrambled for 32 yards to set up a field goal.
"We're a good team without him," Lineweaver said of Carter. "But we're a special team if we use him correctly."
And Trinity certainly is a special team. With a 78-6 record and three state titles in the last five years, Trinity has few teams it can call a rival. Allen, however, is one of those teams. Allen, the 2008 5A Division I state champion, beat Trinity in the regular season last year and is the only team to beat Trinity in the playoffs in the last four season.
Allen came close Saturday by scoring 35 points against a team that was allowing 10 points per game.
"Allen was a very good hard fight," Carter said. "We needed that. Now when we're in tough games in the playoffs, we know what we need to do."
