Ten years ago Carroll and Trinity met in the second round of the Texas High School State playoffs at the old Texas Stadium in front of over 46 thousand fans. This was believed to be the second-largest crowd to ever witness a high school game in the state. These two teams have a deep history that has continued to burn year after year.
This Friday in Southlake, TX the rivalry continues as Trinity travels to Carroll in hopes of continuing their undefeated season. And, with the goal to avenge the soul crushing loss that the Trojans saw back in 2006; when Carroll’s quarterback Riley Dodge scored with only 37 seconds left to give the Dragons the playoff win.
Since that epic game, each team has had a long line of success.
For Carroll they’ve gone on to amass an impressive record of 101-19 with a State Championship in 2011. Trinity has been right there with them going 113-15 with state titles in 2007 and 2009.
This season the dominating play has remained the same for the two powerhouses from 6A’s Region I District 5. Each team has given up only seven points in their lone district game, and have matched each other offensively, putting up over 40 in their opener.
However, there’s one small blemish that puts one team over the other heading into their meeting. Carroll had a small hiccup when they opened their season losing on the road in Oklahoma to Union, 21-10.
Each squad has their strengths; and their weaknesses.
For Carroll to put themselves at the top of the district they will have to rely on their air attack. They are currently averaging 244.5 yards per game through the air with senior Mason Holmes leading this Dragons offense. However, while they are dominating the airspace, they have only been able to find the end zone just once while passing.
If Trinity is going to focus on stopping Carroll’s leading scorer, senior Audricke Gaines, it will put a focus on Holmes to figure out how to keep up with a Trojans’ offense averaging 35 points per game.
While Carroll can air it out, Trinity has been struggling to find any passing offense. You could blame the 69 yards per game on outscoring their opponents 143-71, and winning by double-digits in three of their four contests. But, if Carroll is going to stuff a rushing attack averaging 230 yards per game it could expose a weakness that no other team has been able to exploit.
Carroll and Trinity have a storybook history that’s going to have another epic chapter written on Friday night. This certainly won’t be the last in what will be a long saga with many more twists and turns. Who knows, this may not even be the last time these two rivals meet this year.
We may just get one more meeting; just like in 2006.
