Ever Green: Carroll Claims Another Crown

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Ever green: Carroll claims another crown

QB Dodge sends his father off to college with fourth state title

05:22 AM CST on Sunday, December 24, 2006

By TODD WILLS / The Dallas Morning News

SAN ANTONIO – With the pressure already there to win his father's final game as a high school coach, Southlake Carroll quarterback Riley Dodge found himself facing other obstacles.

There was a rare halftime deficit. There was a churning stomach that caused him to vomit before and after throwing the go-ahead touchdown pass. There was an Austin Westlake team that refused to go away.

And in the end, there was the postgame celebration.

Dodge found a way to rally his Southlake Carroll teammates to a third consecutive state title Saturday night, throwing three second-half touchdown passes in a 43-29 victory over Westlake in the Class 5A Division I championship game at the Alamodome.

Then, he found a way to get to his father and coach, Todd Dodge, who was being carried off the field by his players after his final game as Carroll's coach.

"I was a little tight in the first half," said Riley Dodge, who was named the game's offensive MVP. "It was just the whole surroundings, about being in a state championship. I just had to settle down and realize this was a regular game."

It was an emotional night on several fronts for the Dodges and Carroll. Todd Dodge's teams completed a 79-1 run in Carroll's five seasons in 5A, winning four state titles. Carroll's only loss was a 16-15 heartbreaker to Katy in the 2003 5A Division II state title game.

This victory was special because of the way Carroll won. It overcame a 15-7 halftime deficit after the offense struggled in the first half, scoring for the first time with less than a minute to go before halftime.

"Riley, he's a kid that has more pressure on him than any other kid I've coached, replacing the four quarterbacks before him and being a coach's kid," said Todd Dodge, who's moving to the college level as head coach at North Texas. "I'm so proud of him as a father for the way he stepped up. He had a little bit of a rough first half, but he stepped it up."

Riley Dodge was at his best in the fourth quarter, as he led Carroll on a 10-play, 80-yard drive to take back the lead at 36-29. Dodge capped the drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Ford. Television replays showed Dodge throw up before and after the play.

Carroll's defense then stepped up, forcing a three-an-out from a Westlake offense that had produced three touchdown drives of 10 plays or more. Carroll linebacker Justin Padron was the game's defensive MVP.

Carroll did what just about everyone in the Alamodome thought it might to start the third quarter, coming alive with two touchdowns in the first 2:11.

Riley Dodge hooked up with Blake Tomlin on 30- and 33-yard scoring passes for a 22-15 lead.But Westlake responded with its best drive of the season, an 18-play, 80-yard march that took 8:12 off the clock. Bron Hager scored on a 1-yard run to tie the score, 22-22.

The teams traded touchdowns again. Newton took off on an electrifying 74-yard run only to be matched by Hager's second score.

That set up the finish for Dodge, who led Carroll to touchdowns on its first five possessions of the second half before taking a knee twice on the final possession to capture another state title for his father.

E-mail twills@dallasnews.com

CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES

Here are the coaches who have won the most UIL football championships in Texas history:

Name School(s) No.

Gordon Wood Brownwood, Stamford 9

G.A. Moore Jr. Celina, Pilot Point 8

Todd Dodge Southlake Carroll 4

Art Briles Stephenville 4

Joe Golding Wichita Falls 4

T.J. Mills Sealy 4

D.W. Rutledge Converse Judson 4

Paul Tyson Waco 4