By Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
Southlake Survives Showdown
ESPN may need to devote some time to high school football this week. There probably isn't a better candidate for the network's "Instant Classic" program than Southlake Carroll's 22-21 victory over Euless Trinity in the Texas 5A state playoffs.
Drama? Check. Dragon quarterback Riley Dodge scored the game winner on a two-yard keeper with just 37 seconds remaining.
Memorable plays? Check. Trinity head coach Steve Lineweaver made a gutsy, but unsuccessful, attempt to keep the ball out of Southlake Carroll's hands in the closing minutes with a fake punt from his own 35-yard line.
Fans? Check. The pairing of defending state 5A champions drew over 46,000 of them to Texas Stadium. It marked that venue's largest crowd for a high school football game since 1977, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The only thing disappointing about the game is that it didn't come deeper in the 5A bracket. The Dragons and Trojans are in all likelihood the state's two best teams, and neither deserved to be bounced in the second round.
The win extends Southlake Carroll's win streak to 44-straight games and keeps hopes for a third-straight state title alive. Up next for the Dragons is Odessa Permian.
For Euless Trinity and head coach Steve Lineweaver, the 2006 season was supposed to be a bit of rebuilding year after losing stars Trevor Vittatoe (UTEP) and Dimitri Nance (Arizona State) off of the 2005 state championship team. But the Trojans didn't miss a beat, blasting opponents by an average score of 38-9 up until the Southlake Carroll showdown. Trinity might be in it for the long haul in the state's 5A ranks.
The Jackrabbits are Back
We should have known better. After three losses a year ago, and another to open the 2006 season, many scratched Long Beach Poly's name from the list of legitimate contenders for the state's first State Championship Bowl Games months ago.
But in a span of two weeks, the Jackrabbits have gone from afterthought to front runner in the race for Southern California's Division I bowl berth.
In the opening round of the Pac-5 Division playoffs, Poly upended Mater Dei, 10-0. The Jackrabbits followed Friday by stunning previously undefeated Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks, 31-21.
Against Notre Dame, Poly rallied in the second half behind a 215-yard passing performance by senior Gabriel Thomas and 129 yards on the ground from Johnny Toloumu, his fifth 100-yard performance in the last six games.
Despite all the positive momentum, the road to a bowl game appearance won't be an easy one. Nationally-ranked Orange Lutheran sits in the Jackrabbits' way Friday, while Edison and Santa Margarita - with a combined record of 20-4 - are battling on the other side of the Pac-5 bracket.
"When I saw the brackets, I said, `Oh my goodness,'" Long Beach Poly head coach Raul Lara told Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times. "But it's helping us stay focused every week, so thank you, CIF."
Heading into the third weekend of postseason action, Poly does hold a significant edge over Canyon in Ned Freeman's Division I South ratings, but the Jackrabbits must win their section title to be eligible for inclusion in the bowl.
Nationwide State Playoff Notes
After defeating St. Xavier a week ago, many believed it to be a foregone conclusion that Colerain would go on to win a second Division I title in three years in the state of Ohio. But Hilliard Davidson had other plans. The Wildcats handed Colerain a 10-6 loss - just the Cardinals' third in their last 41 games - and will move on to meet Mentor for the state title Saturday.In Texas, perennial power Lufkin saw its hopes for a 5A state title come to a bitterly disappointing end at the hands of Round Rock, 38-25. The Panthers went from looking as good as they have all year in a 72-24 first round thrashing of Klein, to arguably their worst performance of the season. Round Rock quarterback Brent Hotard led the way for the Dragons with 255 yards passing and rushing. Round Rock will face Allen Saturday...Washington's Friday pairing of Bellevue and Auburn garnered "Game of the Year" hype, but instead turned into another testament to the strength of the state's mightiest dynasty. Bellevue, seeking its fifth state title in six years, easily dispatched the upstart Trojans, 47-0, limiting Auburn to just 42 totals yards in the process. Auburn entered the game on as much of a roll as anybody in the state, averaging over 50 points per game in its previous 10 contests.
Championship Salute
Congratulations to the 53 state champions crowned in 12 different states over the weekend. Follow the links to see the road each of them took during the 2006 season (2006 record in parenthesis);
Arizona
2A: Thatcher (11-3)
3A: Coolidge (12-1)
Arkansas
6A: Texarkana (11-2)
7A: Southside (9-4)
Colorado
1A: Akron (13-0)
2A: Faith Christian (13-0)
A-6: Idalia (11-0)
A-8: Granada (13-0)
Illinois
1A: Tuscola (13-0)
2A: Maroa-Forsyth (14-0)
3A: Plano (14-0)
4A: Driscoll Catholic (13-1)
5A: Sacred Heart-Griffin (14-0)
6A: Normal (14-0)
7A: St. Rita (13-1)
8A: Wheaton-Warrenville South (14-0)
Indiana
1A: Sheridan (15-0)
2A: Harding (12-3)
3A: Bishop Chatard (14-1)
4A: Indianapolis Cathedral (13-2)
5A: Warren Central (15-0)
Kansas
2-1A: Smith Center (13-0)
3A: Silver Lake (14-0)
4A: Andale (14-0)
5A: Blue Valley (13-0)
6A: Hutchinson (13-0)
Michigan
Division 1: Dakota (13-1)
Division 2: Muskegon (14-0)
Division 3: East Grand Rapids (13-1)
Division 4: Zeeland West (13-1)
Division 5: Menominee (14-0)
Division 6: Nouvel Catholic Central (12-0)
Division 7: Muskegon Catholic Central (12-2)
Division 8: New Lothrop (14-0)
Minnesota
9-Man: Stephen-Argyle (11-0)
A: Rushford-Peterson (13-1)
AA: Triton (13-0)
AAA: Glencoe-Silver Lake (13-1)
AAAA: Totino-Grace (14-0)
AAAAA: Eden Prairie (14-0)
Missouri
Division 1: South Shelby (13-1)
Division 2: Blair Oaks (13-1)
Division 3: Harrisonville (14-0)
Division 4: Webb City (14-0)
Division 5: Raymore-Peculiar (10-3)
Division 6: Blue Springs South (13-0)
New Mexico
2A: Lordsburg (12-0)
New York
A: Corning-Painted Post East (13-0)
AA: Auburn (10-3)
B: Geneva (11-2)
C: Dobbs Ferry (12-0)
South Carolina
A I: Carver's Bay (12-1)
A II: Lake View (12-2)
Team of the Week: Warren Central, Ind.
Warren Central became the first Indiana school to capture four-straight state titles Saturday with a 35-14 win over Carmel at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The Warriors, who finished 15-0 under first-year head coach Steve Tutsie, will go down as perhaps the most dominant team in Hoosier State history.
"It was history or hype, and we didn't want anybody to think of us as paper champions," Warrior senior Bryce Stone told the Indianapolis Star. "We wanted to be real champions."
Led by senior running back Darren Evans, the Warrior offense averaged 48 points per game in 2006, while the defense - led by Michigan-bound safety Jerimy Finch, among others - yielded just over eight points per contest.
Going back to Evans, count on him being on the MaxPreps All-American team when that is announced in mid-December. The Virginia Tech commitment piled up 2,806 yards on the ground and a state record 61 touchdowns.
Whether this is the end of an era for Tutsie and the Warriors, or just another chapter, remains to be seen. Warren Central is 56-4 during its four-year championship run, and will enter the 2007 campaign riding a 21-game win streak.
Max Performer of the Week: Marcus Wright, San Antonio Reagan, Texas
Thanks in large part to the efforts of junior running back Marcus Wright, the Rattlers of San Antonio's Reagan High might be the hottest team in the country right now.
A month ago, the Rattlers were plodding along with a .500 record at 4-4. But stunning wins over state powers Smithson Valley and Converse Judson lifted Reagan to the postseason, where it knocked off Seguin in the opening round. Then there was Saturday. The decade-old school was involved in a game for the ages, taking a 49-47, quadruple-overtime victory from local rival, O'Connor.
Wright played a big, no, make that huge, role in the playoff classic. The 5-7, 175-pound junior carried the rock 41 times for 267 yards and six touchdowns - including a 25-yarder to tie the game at 47 in the fourth overtime, then adding a two-point conversion for the game-winning points.
"There's no doubt, he's a special player," Reagan coach David Wetzel told the San Antonio Express-News. "When something has to happen for us, he has to have the ball."
Along with the Bothell-Pasco (Wash.), nine-overtime marathon a week ago, the Reagan-O'Connor shootout would have to garner serious consideration in the "Game of the Year" category. Tied at seven late in the third quarter, the teams proceeded to trade touchdowns on 12 of the game's final 14 possessions, including overtime.
Wright, one of the Lone Star State's best kept secrets, has rolled up 1,935 yards on the ground to go along with 22 touchdowns this season.
Bulletin Board
- Lufkin High (Texas) head coach John Outlaw to Josh Havard of the Lufkin Daily News on his team's stunning, 38-25 playoff loss to Round Rock;
"We didn't make any plays on offense in the first half. And we didn't make very many plays in the second half either, so that's hard to overcome."
Photo: Long Beach Poly's Donovan Warren. (By Kevin Islander)
