He was a wide receiver who served seven-and a-half years of a 25-year sentence for armed robbery. Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives.Two months after the big championship win at Texas Stadium, and after overcoming legal challenges . as a senior, was selected as an All-Area honoreeplayed in the 2022 Minnesota High School All Star Gamea six year starter for the Bears wrestling . Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. So the way that those parents were undercut after everything they did to keep that team on the field and to try to put forward their version of who they were to have that all undone, you know, I think that's the story that's never been told.". Staff researcher Molly Motley Blythe contributed to this series. 'Derrick got five years. ET Thursday on ESPN and will take a detailed look at the fabled 1988 Dallas Carter High School football team. He scored 30 or more points on three occasions, including a career-high 33 points in the Raiders' 75-59 win over Slippery Rock Dec. 3. First published on August 16, 2017 / 9:40 PM. Just days after winning the state championship, a handful of Carter High players robbed a fast food joint. Clarence Russeau Jr. near Routh Street in the State Thomas neighborhood where he grew up. March 4 (UPI) -- Protestors took to the streets of Tehran Saturday amid reports that dozens more Iranian schoolgirls were hospitalized in what the government calls a series of mysterious suspected poisonings. @Vol_Football. With ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary What Carter Lost, audiences are primed to remember the glory and scandal that surrounded Dallas Carter High School's football team nearly 30 years ago. The film's director, Adam Hootnick, said he made the documentary because he felt the Carter story was never fully told. But its not the kind of football movie that Dallas-based writer and director Arthur Muhammad ever imagined hed be making. The team initially had to forfeit the games Edwards played in, but its playoff eligibility was reinstated for the first postseason game. The sentences were handed down before a courtroom packed with relatives of the 12 defendants, one of whom received a deferred sentence and one of whom was sent to a Texas Department of Corrections 'boot camp' for 75 days. In a previous photo caption, filmmaker Adam Hootnick's last name was misspelled as Hootnik. The Colleyville Heritage Steroid . Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25, Why The Race Of The New Football Coach At University Of Texas Matters. It would be the first of 21 robberies that police connected to 15 Carter neighborhood teenagers, including six from the football team. In 18 years as the head coach at Yates, Booker compiled a 168-37-6 record and guided the Lions to 13 district titles, three state semifinal appearances and one memorable state championship in 1985. ", In the film, Hootnick interviews Texas high school football stars who went on to play professionally. In my eyes, I'd say we were the best ever," defensive back Gary Edwards told WFAA in 2013. He received a 20-year term for his involvement in four robberies. Longtime Illinois high school sports historian Robert Pruter reminds that many college and NFL Hall of Famers were not high achievers in high school. According to Hootnick, it was "mostly two-parent families, mostly professionals. No one would have fathomed that the state title victory on Dec. 17, 1988, would be Evans' last organized game. The Cowboys have 832 players on their Football all-time roster. Parents, teachers and school officials fought back, and in the end Carter was allowed to play. A high school state football championship in Texas is arguably about more than just temporary bragging rights. Dallas remembers this team, but the record books dont, 71-year-old man with dementia missing in Fort Worth, Expect mostly sunny skies this weekend after severe weather hits North Texas, South Oak Cliff heads to the 5A state championships this weekend, officially be the first Dallas Independent School District team to win a state championship since 1958, defensive back Gary Edwards told WFAA in 2013, a 2017 ESPN documentary about the Cowboys 1988 season, Southern Methodist University "pay-for-play" scandal that resulted in the program's so-called "death penalty" in 1987, 'It's time to kick in the door': Here's South Oak Cliff's matchup for the Class 5A state championship, South Oak Cliff defeats Lubbock-Cooper 44-10 for a trip to the state championship, South Oak Cliff community sends team off in style for first semifinals game in decades. For the last year, he has worked on a soon-to-be-released book, Carter Boyz. WHERE ARE THEY NOW - Chronicles life after Permian High School for past players and coaches. The documentary points out many inaccuracies in the ways the Dallas Carter story has been told over the years. He played two seasons but left after a coaching change and didn't graduate. But in a sentencing memorandum he wrote at the time, he explained that he would not give special treatment because the defendants played football and would issue a sentence consistent with other offenders who had committed multiple robberies. But the record books dont tell the story of their success. After nearly 55 years of marriage, the two still love to tease each other. ', Noting that six of the defendants were members of a Carter football team that experts rank as one of the best in Texas of the 1980s, Kendall said, 'The typical American male lives vicariously through the lives of football heroes. To know that I broke some hearts really has been a bother over time. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Davis High School Panthers. We put em on a pedestal, and then we wonder why they fall off, Hansen said in What Carter Lost.. Russian defense minister visits front lines as Ukraine's hold on Bakhmut slips. "Other than Nebraska, when I was coaching at North Texas, I never coached against a faster team," Parker said. Williams met and married his wife, Latrina, soon after his release - and his return to the church. I guess it was just for paper.". Emily Ochsenschlager and Jessica Smith produced and edited this interview for broadcast, and Nicole Cohen adapted it for the Web. The official 2019 Football Roster for the . The seven others sentenced to prison were given terms ranging from 2 to 16 years. Garrick Damon Evans-Williams was born 13 days later. The official 1989 Football Roster for the University of North Carolina Heels I guess it was kind of mutual between Derric and I because we were so close. Actors will portray well-known local figures, including former state District Judge Joe Kendall and now-state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas. We won a championship together and there wasn't a DB, I say, who would have been better than him in the pros.". Sports. In 1988, however, he was the sports editor for the Grand Prairie News. This Reporter Wants To Bridge The Gap. Dawson High School Bulldogs. I had to pull myself away because I know if I didn't, I would have wound up getting back to that mode.". March 4 (UPI) -- Roel Degamo, the governor of the Philippines province of Negros Oriental, was assassinated and five others also died Saturday in an attack by gunmen, officials said. Brad Townsend, Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA. Not an investigation into their leading scorers algebra grade. hide caption, The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. Much of his reluctance has to do with his job, which he will only say involves working in a warehouse, mostly night shifts. A new film, written and directed by a former player for Carter High, details their triumphant road to the 1988State Championship and the controversy that surrounded the team after they won. We always thought that, Wow this would be a great movie, somebody needs to make a movie about this,' Muhammad says. Published August 25, 2017. Carter was stripped of its championship after a court found that it had indeed violated the no-pass, no-play law. First Last Height lbs. Garrick Williams, who attended DeSoto, is a redshirt freshman linebacker at Texas A&M. Carter later was forced to forfeit the 1988 season, in which it won a state title, for grade tampering. "But I havent thought about it really. "I don't think you can fall much further," Hootnick says, "and I say that in part because of the level of the pedestal that, as a Texas high school football star, that's almost as big as it gets. We had the first girls team in 1992. we also had a boys team that year. Chelsea Watkins. March 4 (UPI) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to frontline troops in Ukraine on Saturday as Kyiv's grip on the embattled city of Bakhmut appeared to be slipping. By Laura RiceDecember 22, 20159:45 amArts & Culture, Sports. I just love it, he said. "Yeah. ESPN's latest 30 for 30 film, What Carter Lost, premieres Thursday at 9:30 p.m. For one, they beat Odessa-Permian in the state semifinals, not the championship. All Teams Schedule: Week of Feb 20 - Feb 26 . Evans, who was paroled Aug. 22, 1996, says his co-workers don't know about his football or prison past. March 4 (UPI) -- Five people, including two children, were killed in an early morning house fire in Rockland County, N.Y., authorities said Saturday. The others got anywhere between 13 to 25 years. The Cowboys captured the city with their talent as they fought their way through the regular season and the playoffs. Millions of Texans have rare diseases. It was a historic season that included a national football championship for the predominantly black school, but not without controversy. Kendall, a former Dallas County prosecutor, lectured the 12 teenagers for 10 minutes before sentencing them for a string of 21 armed robberies committed last spring. In 2004, I joined the Rialto Unified School District after teaching for four years within the Los Angles Unified School District. Advocates are pushing for legislation to help them. "I didn't have respect for the law at that time and now I look at life in a more humble way," said Campbell. 'Most of you have had religious and moral training, the opportunity for a decent education, and some of you have even been given by God athletic talent that would enable you to receive a free college education. ', "I ask them, 'Do you want children once you get grown? Right now to this day, we're still talking about that class, 1988 Carter quarterback Robert Hall told WFAA in 2013, when he was an assistant coach at Mesquite Horn. Others reacted with joy because they believed young troublemakers had gotten what they deserved. Muhammad was on that 1988 state championship team. Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 04:45 PM CST. Twenty years ago, he was 6-3, 190 pounds and had once run a 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds. Australian cops announce $1B cocaine seizure, country's biggest bust ever. Health issues have slowed the 91-year-old down, but Russeau usually makes it to his Thursday night bible classes and the occasional fundraising gala. Among those sentenced by state District Judge Joe Kendall were Parade magazine All-American defensive back Derric Evans, who was sentenced to 20 years on each of four armed robbery counts, and running back-defensive back Gary Edwards, who received three 16-year terms. I was still feeling the sting of that decision, he said. In fact, five players served time and one got probation. David W. Carter High School; Downtown Montessori at Ida B. Comments (-1) Tweets by DALLASCARTERFB. Get your Permian football updates by valid e-mail address. Evans got 20 years. All of us can think back to when we were teenagers and the decision processing of teenagers, Ellis says, that part of our brain is not fully developed until youre about the age 25.. July 9, 2021. The official 2020 Football Roster for the Skip To Main Content . And whether SOC wins or loses Saturday morning against Liberty Hill, Dallas ISD will always have an unofficial state championship. The book "Friday Night Lights" is about a group of high school football players in Odessa, Texas, a town where football is king and Friday evenings are gospel. While the official record books wont remember the 1988 Carter Cowboys, Dallas definitely does, and continues to tell the teams story. David Barron reported on sports media, college football and Olympic sports for the Houston Chronicle until his retirement in January 2021. Among those sentenced was Derric Evans, 17 years old, an all-America defensive back last year at Dallas Carter High School who lost a full scholarship to the University of Tennessee. The 1988 Carter High School football team seemed invincible. "The story is so much that you can't print," he says. I think at some level they were chasing a rush.". Sitting at the kitchen table of his DeSoto home, he patiently retraces the grade controversy, the robberies, prison. I move on." Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? A 12th still faces sentencing. He was surprised a film was made so long after the fact and that he and others still in the area weren't contacted about the script. Former state District Judge Joe Kendall in his sentencing of Carter High players. The defendants were hustled from the courtroom by sheriff's deputies and did not comment. From changing grades and playing ineligible players to substance abuse and violence, these five scandals marred the face of the king of all sports in Texas. That team, with 21 players who were offered college scholarships, is being called one of the best high school . 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, At least 5 dead following year's first severe spring weather outbreak, 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood. That team was, resoundingly, one of the best high school squads ever assembled. "They talk about that high school team that kicked everybody's ass," he says. Frankly, I was shocked, recalled West, who also represented Edwards in his criminal case. The greatest high school football team that has ever been assembled. Find Classmates and Graduates from TX Share this Find Your School . Browse through the photos above for a comparison between the 1985 Houston Yates team and the 1988 Dallas Carter team. The success and failures in life are a lot of times in our control, he said. "Was it difficult? Former Dallas Cowboy Greg Ellis worked as executive producer, and former Carter High football player Arthur Muhammad wrote the script. Full Bio. The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. Interviewing teammates and researching old newspaper stories led him to reflect - which, naturally, he also did in prison. The 1988 Carter High School football team seemed invincible. WHERE ARE THEY NOW - Chronicles life after Permian High School for past players and coaches. "I'm getting a chance to give back to the community that I brought shame to, once upon a time," he says. A protective father figure to his Carter players, he led them on to be one of the nation's best high school teams. He and wife Eva spend most of their time at church functions. The huge amounts of devastation and loss experienced by Dallas Carters high school football program were only heightened by the UIL stripping the schools state title not long after the sentencing. "There is no question that if Carter had been one of the predominantly white schools that was always there, everything would have been handled differently," Hootnick says. One player famously signed his letter of intent to play college ball while lounging in a hot tub, adorned in gold jewelry. ". Nothing could deter the Cowboys on their way to winning the state championship that year. But that 1988 Permian Panthers . is the saga of that team, the 1988 Dallas Carter Cowboys. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin | Contact us, A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, Grand Jury on Sandra Bland Case: No Indictments, But Case Not Over Yet, The Moyers on Addiction & Sobriety: A Public Family Talks About A Private Problem, This Years Top News Along the Texas Valley Border, Austin Will Require Fingerprint Checks For Uber & Lyft Drivers, Whats Okay, And Not Okay, When God Shows Up On License Plates, The Moyers on Addiction: A Public Family Talks About A Private Problem, In a Central Texas county, high schoolers are jailed on felony charges for vaping what could be legal hemp, As Texas STAAR test goes fully online, teachers feel defeated, Texas Education Agency projects confidence. https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https://bit.ly/3CUlFTZ The Kennedale (TX) varsity football team has a home conference game vs. Carter-Riverside (Fort Wor. Beginning days after the championship and continuing into the summer, several players, along with other Carter students and graduates, committed a string of armed robberies that would cut their futures short. Reporters noted that another Dallas high school star in the early 1980s, Charles Washington, had his college career interrupted by a prison sentence but went on to graduate from college and be drafted by the Indianapolis Colts last spring. He has five children, the second-oldest having been born while he was incarcerated. "A couple of guys I was locked up with, I guess they heard it on the news or the radio," he says. ". Before, she was a Research & Archives Associate and wrote about the historical happenings from the The News' archives. Carter High in Dallas took the state championship in 1988, but this new film about the team is not all about victory. He also coaches a youth league football team. Bissinger for the 1990 book Friday Night Lights. Those memories, though, were soon overshadowed by bigger games at Texas Tech. But the long retired Russeau doesnt spend his time dwelling on the past. It set the whole city on fire," said defense attorney John Creuzot, who represented one of the players. It was real hard then, and I hope that people pick that up, she said. I was voted 11th Region Boys Co-Coach of the Year in 2001 and 16th Region Boys and Girls Coach of the year in 2012. This is a carousel. 10 Texas Athletes Are Sentenced to Jail Terms for Robberies, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/24/us/10-texas-athletes-are-sentenced-to-jail-terms-for-robberies.html. Divorced last year, Campbell brags about 10-year-old daughter Kourtney and 8-year-old Kyle, pulling out a scrapbook to show off Kourtney's academic certificates. But before Carter could even make it to the title game, it was hit with a roadblock off the field. The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "What Carter Lost" premieres at 9:30 p.m. There's high school football, and then there's Texas high school football. Carter was ultimately stripped of its 1988 state title, and there's no doubt that the Carter community's fight to defend its reputation got a lot harder because of what those young men did. Greg Abbott says if these corporate tax breaks return, renewable energy should be excluded, At these old-school restaurants in Texas, you feel like its an extension of your home, Gulf of Mexico warming at faster rate than global ocean, study finds. Sleva authored one of, if not the best, rebounding seasons in Raider history, pulling down a PSAC-leading 12.4 boards per game. So thats the impact that I wanted to leave.. Her media guide bio lists Derric as her father. But that Dallas Carter team had its title stripped in 1990 after a Texas University Interscholastic League investigation determined Edwards should have been ruled ineligible to play during the Cowboys playoffs run because of an algebra II grade. Check out the 1988 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Roster, Players , Starters and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com. Site Map. It's on film. Campbell and Evans were the last Carter players released from prison. Prior to that he worked at The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Light. The 1988 Dallas Carter High School football team is receiving some notoriety this week as ESPN's 30 for 30 about the team debuts Thursday. Its a story thats been re-told in Dallas over and over, and on the national stage, too: first in Buzz Bissingers book Friday Night Lights, which chronicles the Odessa-Permian Panthers 1988 season, which saw them defeated by Dallas Carter in the state semifinals; then in the 2004 film adaptation of Bissingers book, which arguably painted the Cowboys as more villainous than they actually were; then in Carter High, a 2015 film about the 1988 season from the Cowboys perspective; and finally, in What Carter Lost..