Then after the championship win, the title and all of the accolades were stripped from the team when six of it's players were convicted and sentenced in a string of robberies throughout the Dallas area. Yeah, it was difficult. Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 04:45 PM CST. The seven others sentenced to prison were given terms ranging from 2 to 16 years. It was a historic season that included a national football championship for the predominantly black school, but not without controversy. Hello, and welcome to Wilmer Amina Carter High School (CHS). Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25, Why The Race Of The New Football Coach At University Of Texas Matters. I tell them, 'Nobody knows me for the reasons I would like them to know me. Sports. The Cowboys captured the city with their talent as they fought their way through the regular season and the playoffs. The case went before Kendall, who rejected pleas for leniency and ordered most of the defendants to prison for sentences that ranged from two to 25 years. ET. : 1985 Yates vs. 1988 Dallas Carter, Dallas Carter 34, Dallas South Oak Cliff 7, (Penetrations tied 4-4, Duncanville led in first downs, 12-10), Bi-district: Dallas Carter 21, Plano East 7, Region semifinal: Dallas Carter 31, Lufkin 7, Region final: Dallas Carter 22, Marshall 18, State semifinal: Dallas Carter 14, Odessa Permian 9, State championship: Dallas Carter 31, Converse 14, DL Santana Dotson (1992-2001 - Buccaneers, Packers), RB Johnny Bailey (1990-95 - Bears, Cardinals, Rams), RB LeShai Maston (1993-98 - Oilers, Jaguars, Washington), LB Jessie Armstead (1993-2003 - Giants, Washington), DB Clifton Abraham (1995-97 - Buccaneers, Bears, Panthers), DB Derric Evans, Tennessee (pictured above signing his letter of intent in a hot tub), Went to Texas A&I and played six seasons in the NFL. By Laura RiceDecember 22, 20159:45 amArts & Culture, Sports. Evans says. Mojo's state title run was cut one game short after a 14-9 playoff loss to Dallas Carter. Carter High School. Russeau was invited to a Dallas showing of the movie but said he wasnt contacted about the film prior to that. Did ESPN's 30 for 30 get it wrong? But if you look at the real team's journey to the 1988 state title, you'll find a story about race and the pressures young athletes face a story Adam Hootnick explores in his documentary What Carter Lost. Part of his beat was covering the Dallas Carter Cowboys, who are the subject of an ESPN documentary set to air this week ( What Carter Lost, Thursday 9:30 p.m. EST). Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top." The documentary points out many inaccuracies in the ways the Dallas Carter story has been told over the years. At the end of his term, Campbell was sent to the Allred Unit near Wichita Falls, where he saw Evans for the first time in nearly seven years. Campbell served seven years, four days. During the 1980s Carter High School in Dallas, Texas was a football powerhouse. Many of them talk in the documentary about how much they lost and how they've tried to rebuild their lives. 'I do not know anybody who has gone off to TDC who has come back and become a productive citizen.'. I just love football.. Campbell and Evans were the last Carter players released from prison. The 1988 Carter High School Football Team were first featured in a 2004 film called "Friday Night Lights" in which they were not portrayed very well in the film because they were portrayed . Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top.". NFL Coaches. His last job was with a firm that assists in litigation document preparation. "Some people probably were living their dreams through us. The Panthers lost to Marshall 13-12 in a non-district game. One player famously signed his letter of intent to play college ball while lounging in a hot tub, adorned in gold jewelry. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Today, two are close and the other is an enigma. It's on film. Dallas, Texas ( Other Texas schools) 16 total players, 0 active players. This is the story of four of the student athletes whose off the field activities cost them their future. March 4 (UPI) -- Australian police on Saturday revealed the details of an operation that intercepted $1 billion worth of cocaine in the country's biggest-ever drug bust. LEADER OF THE LIONS: Yates' coach Luther Booker was a molder of men. 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.. Hometown / High School; 1: Bill Franklin: DB: 6-2: 190: Fr. White High School; W.W. Samuell High School; Walnut Hill Elementary School; West Dallas STEM School Program at Pinkston; Whitney M. Young Jr. "I really don't give a [expletive] what people say about me, whether it's true or false.". It was the first in nearly two dozen robberies connected to some players on the team. Sleva authored one of, if not the best, rebounding seasons in Raider history, pulling down a PSAC-leading 12.4 boards per game. Find Classmates and Graduates from TX Share this Find Your School . One Gets 20 Years. 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. UT And OU Want Out Of The Big 12. WHERE ARE THEY NOW - Chronicles life after Permian High School for past players and coaches. See the article in its original context from. ". "The number of scholarships they got, the number of guys who went on to play some form of professional football by every measure this was one of the greats," Hootnick says of the school's reputation. The greatest high school football team that has ever been assembled. Example video title will go here for this video. Muhammad was on that 1988 state championship team. Active Coaches: Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll. That team was, resoundingly, one of the best high school . "We were young. If thats told, hopefully some high school kids that are watching it learn from some of those mistakes and say, thats not a road I want to go down. Kristen Taketa/Staff Writer, Former Carter High School coach Freddie James at the premiere of Carter High at Studio Movie Grill in Dallas. The official 2020 Football Roster for the Skip To Main Content . Urban and suburban schools had just begun to play each other, he said, which brought out racial tensions. The official 2019 Football Roster for the Skip To Main Content . Who wouldn't be proud?". Courtesy of ESPN Films "A couple of guys I was locked up with, I guess they heard it on the news or the radio," he says. @Vol_Football. Instead, his grades were changed to make him pass that class. This Reporter Wants To Bridge The Gap. DALLAS (CBS11) A private screening of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "What Carter Lost," was held at the Texas Theatre on Wednesday night. "I think that fight for them was not just about wanting to see their football team win, but about resisting being caricatured in a way, and saying, 'We're not cheaters. "P.K., I'm so proud of you," the coach said. Hundreds of friends and relatives of the defendants wedged into a corridor outside the courtroom, and several began screaming and throwing their hands into the air after the sentences were announced. Keith Campbell received the harshest prison sentence, 25 years, and the sharpest rebuke from Judge Kendall. He played two seasons but left after a coaching change and didn't graduate. Permian did end up winning a state title the following year, going 16-0 in 1989. Actions have consequences, Kendall wrote. . 2021 Texas Standard. 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The official 2019 Football Roster for the . "The other thing is, for everything that I think I could have been excellent at doing, I can't be. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth. Thats the reason executive producer Greg Ellis signed on. So I dont feel anything in particular," Russeau said. Evans, who was paroled Aug. 22, 1996, says his co-workers don't know about his football or prison past. But the long retired Russeau doesnt spend his time dwelling on the past. Football is about making good decisions and gambling dont build character. Its your choice.. Check out the 1988 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Roster, Players , Starters and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com. Come out and support Carter High School Cross-Country!!! Emily Ochsenschlager and Jessica Smith produced and edited this interview for broadcast, and Nicole Cohen adapted it for the Web. Talented and bold, the Oak Cliff team ruled high school football in Texas. ESPN's latest 30 for 30 film, What Carter Lost, premieres Thursday at 9:30 p.m. Record: 14-0-1 Head Coach: Freddie JamesWK Team SC Team SC ; 9/2 : x Dallas Carter 3: 21: P Tyler d: 7: 9/10 : x Dallas Carter v: 25: T Killeen v: 24: 9/16 : x Dallas Carter v: 31: m FW Wyatt y: 0: 9/30 : x Dallas Carter v: 34: T Dal South Oak Cliff d: 7: 10/8 : . Coach Freddie James retired from the Dallas school district two decades ago, off to travel and finally work on his wifes honey-do list. March 4 (UPI) -- China needs to increase its military budget to "fulfill its responsibility as a major country," a Beijing official said Saturday ahead of the nation's annual National People's Congress. Carter High School is really an afterthought in Friday Night Lights -- the evil, thug-like team that stole a championship. Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. Fox, Pooch Hall, David Banner. Not the ensuing legal battle that nearly kept them out of the playoffs. Thats definitely still part of the film, but its not the main focus. "All my friends had already gone to college and were working," he says. 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. Staff writer Brad Townsend conrtributed to this report. Not just the best in Dallas or Texas, I would like to say we're the best team ever assembled.. If SOC wins Saturday morning, it would officially be the first Dallas Independent School District team to win a state championship since 1958. With Charles S. Dutton, Vivica A. Sophomore Stoughton, Mass. The players were arrested, tried and convicted. Kendall declined to be interviewed for this story, other than to compliment the skills of defense attorneys West and Creuzot. My story is unedited.". 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. The 1988 Permian Panthers finished with a 5-1 record (12-3 overall) and were District Champions. Those memories, though, were soon overshadowed by bigger games at Texas Tech. Even though he still has scars from it, he hasn't allowed those scars to dictate the rest of his life.". But its really the kind of movie that lets people know that you can make it if you try. Eva-Marie Ayala/Staff Writer, Dallas-set football drama 'Carter High' hits Netflix Novemeber, 2016, Former Carter High star football player Jessie Armstead reflects on the past, Carter High tackles Dallas teams woes head-on, Over two decades later, a chance for public redemption, Scandal taints memories of 'best ever,' the 1988 Carter football team, Robbery spree was 'just for kicks' for 1988 Carter football team, Former players on 1988 Carter football team tried to move on, but shaking past wasn't easy. Test scores were among the lowest in the district and . When the ensuing trial was over, Edwards was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Russeau, who rose from a shoe shiner to a teacher and administrator, was inducted into the local African American Hall of Fame for his contributions to Dallas education. "They talk about that high school team that kicked everybody's ass," he says. "We were . "It wasn't a rumor, so what?" You dont even get a chance to think about the past, trying to think about the present, he said. So though hes 78 and often uses a cane to walk, James has spent the last three years working as a school crossing guard in South Dallas, a few miles east of his beloved Carter High. It would be difficult for anybody. Carter High is a football movie. That firestorm began when Russeau moved player Gary Edwards from one algebra class where the teacher insisted Edwards was failing to another that used a school improvement plan system implemented by the principal. Of those 28, eight would go on to the NFL, including linebacker Jessie Armstead. 1990 Football Roster; 1989 Football Roster; 1988 Football Roster; 1987 Football Roster; 1986 Football Roster; Search for: 1994 Ohio State Football Roster. Governor of Philippine province, 5 others killed in gun attack. She graduated from the University of North Texas in 2017. ". ', "I ask them, 'Do you want children once you get grown? It would have been a great game, featuring accomplished, underrated quarterbacks and defenses that were downright scary. The official 1989 Football Roster for the University of North Carolina Heels I know I have the ability to grow beyond it, but it remains there.". "He works for an office supply company, I think.". So thats the impact that I wanted to leave.. However, when it comes to violating the law, at the courthouse it simply doesn't matter than you can run the football.'. Keith Campbell, 18, received a 25-year term for his involvement in four robberies. "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. "I dont let anything worry me.. The documentary remembers the 1988 Dallas Carter high school football team which beat Permian High in Friday . Dawson High School Bulldogs. Eight-time APSE award winner; 2016 National Headliner Award; 2018 Celeste Williams Texas Sportswriter of the Year; 2021 NSMA Texas Sportswriter of the Year. Carter met Converse Judson at Texas Stadium, winning the Class 5A Championship, 31-14, to capture the first title for the Dallas ISD since 1950. But that 1988 Permian Panthers . "I said, 'I guess it's time for me to get a job and make my own money.' Advocates are pushing for legislation to help them. 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. I guess it was just for paper.". Single, he attends several Carter games a year and lives down the street from Cowboys teammate Clifton Abraham. Now, a new movie chronicles the teams against-all-odds rise and its steep fall. The 1988 Carter High School football team seemed invincible. 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. Former Dallas Cowboy Greg Ellis worked as executive producer, and former Carter High football player Arthur Muhammad wrote the script. 2017: Redshirted as a true freshman. Campbell said he hopes the film, which was shown to a crowded audience of young athletes, sends a strong message to them about the importance of making the right decisions. Staff researcher Molly Motley Blythe contributed to this series. Editor's note: This story was published as the movie 'Carter High' was set to hit theaters. "After the roller coaster of this season and postseason," Hootnick explains, "you had a few guys on that team really, to my mind, inexplicably going and joining an armed robbery ring for pretty much no reason. Since 2004, I have served the Rialto Community in a plethora of assignments, including 8th Grade . It was just the part about the football team and the adversity that we had to overcome, he says,that alone was a movie in and of itself.. MLB legend makes surprise appearance at Astros' Spring Training, Houston is ugly, and I've never felt more at home, This is what Houston looks like from space, Oops! Adamson High School; W.H. The joke was the student parking lot was a heck of a lot nicer than the teacher parking lot.". Two months ago, he joined a mentorship program at Carter started by assistant principal Stonie Arbuckle, a classmate in 1988. Since 2004, he has worked for the city of Dallas as an environmental specialist, inspecting facilities to make sure they are in code compliance. March 4 (UPI) -- Texas Republicans on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to censure U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales over votes supporting same-sex marriage and gun control bills that broke party lines. Chelsea is an Audience Journalist who promotes Dallas Morning News content on various social media platforms and manages the homepage. "I didn't see how they could do that. DALLAS -- Ten current and former high school students, including five members of Dallas Carter's Class 5A championship football team, were sentenced to prison terms Friday by a judge who told them, 'If stupidity were a crime, you would all deserve life without parole.'. Twenty years ago, he was 6-3, 190 pounds and had once run a 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds. Rumors at the time were that he had fathered two children with different Carter cheerleaders. Carter High, a movie based on Carter's 1988 football team. Twenty-eight players on the 1988 team got collegiate football scholarships. "To tell you the truth, I'm just like I was in 1989," says Evans, 37. "They remember that team, but they don't even know I was part of it.". He has five children, the second-oldest having been born while he was incarcerated. The reality of the Carter High School football team, often described as one of the most talented collections of players in the history of football-crazed Texas, is told in "What Carter Lost ," an ESPN 30 for 30 film directed by Adam Hootnick and airing at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. What It Means For Them, And For Texas' Other Football Schools. With ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary What Carter Lost screening Aug. 24, audiences are primed to remember the glory and scandal that surrounded Dallas Carter High School's football team nearly 30 years ago.The 1988 Carter football team was at the top of its game. But it only took two weeks to make it from Hollywood to 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. (Lisa Davis/Associated Press). Carter High: Directed by Arthur Muhammad.