'Derrick got five years. August 16, 2017 / 9:40 PM Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. Gary Edwards, 17, a football player who played a prominent role in Carter's drive for a state championship, was sentenced to 16 years on three counts. 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.'. Tanell Evans, a standout track performer for Lancaster, now competes for Sam Houston State. The Cowboys have 832 players on their Football all-time roster. The Cowboys captured the city with their talent as they fought their way through the regular season and the playoffs. Not the ensuing legal battle that nearly kept them out of the playoffs. March 4 (UPI) -- Five people, including two children, were killed in an early morning house fire in Rockland County, N.Y., authorities said Saturday. By Laura RiceDecember 22, 20159:45 amArts & Culture, Sports. 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. @luc_brian @Coach_Blocker @LehmanForrest. The success and failures in life are a lot of times in our control, he said. Find Classmates and Graduates from TX Share this Find Your School . Carter High, a movie based on Carter's 1988 football team. 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. No one would have fathomed that the state title victory on Dec. 17, 1988, would be Evans' last organized game. Thats definitely still part of the film, but its not the main focus. AT HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Debate class - Yates or Carter? David W Carter High School Cowboys. The lanky pass rusher recorded 85 tackles, 25 1/2 for losses, and 20 sacks over the past two seasons. (2-17-22) If you plan on watching the movie Carter High and hope for an inspirational endingabout a Dallas Texas High School football team that was deemed as the best ever to come out of Texasthen you might want to pass on it.. . Longtime Houston coach Ray Seals, whose Milby team lost 51-0 to Yates and who scouted the Cowboys in 1988, gives the nod to the Lions. He and wife Eva spend most of their time at church functions. He knows Evans lives in Houston, but little else. "No, no, no, I was never bitter," he says. Are ticket costs pricing Houston Astros fans out of Opening Day? . Instead, his grades were changed to make him pass that class. The school's grading system was called into question when Carter's starting cornerback Gary Evans' algebra grade was altered from a 68 to 72 due to what was deemed as a teacher violating grading procedures. 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. 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. 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. Not just the best in Dallas or Texas, I would like to say we're the best team ever assembled.. DALLAS As South Oak Cliff heads to the 5A state championships this weekend, many in Dallas are celebrating, but its also reminding a lot of people of David W. Carter High School, commonly referred to as Dallas Carter. It's been 30 years since the 1988 Permian Panthers football team took the field. In a previous photo caption, filmmaker Adam Hootnick's last name was misspelled as Hootnik. Frankly, I was shocked, recalled West, who also represented Edwards in his criminal case. This Reporter Wants To Bridge The Gap. Before, she was a Research & Archives Associate and wrote about the historical happenings from the The News' archives. Her media guide bio lists Derric as her father. The Mesquite Horn offensive coach and quarterback who once led Carters team to victory remembers his high school days fondly it was the time, he says, he really felt like he was playing for the community. Carter later was forced to forfeit the 1988 season, in which it won a state title, for grade tampering. "I didn't have respect for the law at that time and now I look at life in a more humble way," said Campbell. But the long retired Russeau doesnt spend his time dwelling on the past. The official 2019 Football Roster for the . He lives in Garland, but hasn't strayed far from his high school roots. Only Gov. Sixty-two varsity players thrilled and galvanized and brought pride to their community, but six of them caused embarrassment and grief. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. ESPN has set a late August premiere date for a documentary about one of the most infamous high school football teams in Texas history. Ann Richards declined to sign. Volume 2 30 for 30: Shorts Full Schedule ESPN Films. Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top." Courtesy of ESPN Films hide caption DALLAS The drama surrounding the 1988 Carter Cowboys took over 25 years to go from the high school football field to the big screen. And whether SOC wins or loses Saturday morning against Liberty Hill, Dallas ISD will always have an unofficial state championship. "Other than Nebraska, when I was coaching at North Texas, I never coached against a faster team," Parker said. To Hootnick, some of the story's unsung heroes are the parents who fought to keep the team in the playoffs. First published on August 16, 2017 / 9:40 PM. A native of Tyler, he is a graduate of John Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College and The University of Texas at Austin. He played two seasons but left after a coaching change and didn't graduate. Others reacted with joy because they believed young troublemakers had gotten what they deserved. You stay pretty busy. Millions of Texans have rare diseases. That team was, resoundingly, one of the best high school . "For every action there is a consequence good bad or indifferent," said Campbell. 1994 Roster # Player Position Birthday Hometown High School Height Weight; 1: DeWayne Carter: WR: 4/21/1973: Orchard Lake, MI: St. Mary's Prep: 6'1" 192: 2: Ty Howard: CB, DB: 11/30/1973: 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. Actors will portray well-known local figures, including former state District Judge Joe Kendall and now-state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas. I've always thought that the presence of the late, great Johnny Bailey would have turned the tide in Yates' favor. 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. "To tell you the truth, I'm just like I was in 1989," says Evans, 37. "They talk about that high school team that kicked everybody's ass," he says. "I dont let anything worry me.. Now, a new movie chronicles the teams against-all-odds rise and its steep fall. Ellis, the executive producer, told The Monday Morning Quarterback that he hopes viewers will take a similar message away from the film. Russian defense minister visits front lines as Ukraine's hold on Bakhmut slips. Clarence Russeau Jr. near Routh Street in the State Thomas neighborhood where he grew up. On offense, he said, Yates likely would have had a slight edge. Dallas, Texas. Jessie Armstead says the last time he talked to Derric Evans was the day he drove past Evans' grandmother's house and saw him outside, playing dominoes. Judge Kendall said he was a ringleader. Permian won 12 games, while suffering three losses, in the 1988 season. When the ensuing trial was over, Edwards was sentenced to 16 years in prison. "Quite frankly, you scare me," Kendall said, recalling a psychologist's testimony that Campbell had sociopathic tendencies. The 1988 Carter football team was at the top of its game. ET Thursday on ESPN and will take a detailed look at the fabled 1988 Dallas Carter High School football team. Longtime Illinois high school sports historian Robert Pruter reminds that many college and NFL Hall of Famers were not high achievers in high school. The Colleyville Heritage Steroid . "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 REAL 1988 Mojo from Friday Night Lights movie. Keith Campbell, 18, received a 25-year term for his involvement in four robberies. "Nothing wrong with that. We won a championship together and there wasn't a DB, I say, who would have been better than him in the pros.". 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. Since 2004, I have served the Rialto Community in a plethora of assignments, including 8th Grade . Five days after winning state, three football players robbed a Jack in the Box at 2:30 a.m., pantyhose pulled over their heads. That team, with 21 players who were offered college scholarships, is being called one of the best high school . When the University Interscholastic League investigated a tip that Carter player Gary Edwards had not passed algebra, West said, the political atmosphere was one where this team was being done wrong because it was African-American.. But eventually, retirement got him. 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. Before he signed with Tennessee while sitting in a Jacuzzi, he was pursued by the likes of USC, UCLA and Nebraska. 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. Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives. Not the ensuing legal battle that nearly kept them out of the playoffs. 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 . Published August 25, 2017. We try to tell our young kids now, the decisions you make are going to affect you a long time.. 0 by Odessa Permian, 1994; Arlington Lamar, 1988; Aldine MacArthur, 1986; Abilene Cooper, 1969 and Galena Park, 1964 CLASS 5A RECORDS, 1951-2022 Originally 3A (1951-79), then 4A (1980-2013) and now 5A (2014-22) Evans, 44, who in 1988 was talented enough to be considered one of the nation's top high school defensive backs and flamboyant enough to sign his letter of intent while sitting in a hot tub in . Today they are coaches, businessmen, NFL retirees, youth ministers, policemen and convicted felons. ESPN Films continues a busy summer of sports documentaries on Thursday, August 24, with a 30 for 30 documentary about the highs and lows of the 1988 Dallas Carter High School football team."What Carter Lost," directed by Adam Hootnick, will air at 9:30 p.m. Yeah, it was difficult. Elementary School; William A. Blair Elementary School; William Anderson Elementary School; William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically . 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 . Eight-time APSE award winner; 2016 National Headliner Award; 2018 Celeste Williams Texas Sportswriter of the Year; 2021 NSMA Texas Sportswriter of the Year. During a phone interview, Evans says there is a reason he has rebuffed reporters since giving prison interviews to The Dallas Morning News in 1989 and 1991 and to author H.G. Mojo made it to the State Semifinals, where the playoff run would come to an end with a 14-9 loss to Dallas Carter at Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. In truth, the football team from Carter High School was a . 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. 'But he (Washington) got six months,' Creuzot said. It was the first in nearly two dozen robberies connected to some players on the team. It would be difficult for anybody. '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. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. 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. 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. 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! While the official record books wont remember the 1988 Carter Cowboys, Dallas definitely does, and continues to tell the teams story. Each had faced a maximum sentence of 99 years. Spring Sports. / CBS Texas. God has a plan for my life, and this is it.". And at a time when it seems the game is always in the cross-hairs, director Arthur Muhammad says Carter High isnt trying to show football in a bad light. 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. Chelsea is an Audience Journalist who promotes Dallas Morning News content on various social media platforms and manages the homepage. 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. ''In six months' time,'' the judge said Friday, the teen-agers ''committed more armed robberies than Bonnie and Clyde did in a lifetime. The others got anywhere between 13 to 25 years. Comments (-1) Tweets by DALLASCARTERFB. March 4 (UPI) -- Bempedoic acid taken alone reduces cholesterol and heart attacks in patients who can't tolerate statins, according to a clinical research published Saturday in New England Journal of Medicine.. Five, including 2 children, killed in early morning New York house fire. "P.K., I'm so proud of you," the coach said. West, who represented the school in its legal battle to make the playoffs, remembers the politically charged atmosphere at the time. A still from the 2015 movie 'Carter High' about the 1988 Dallas-area football team mired in controversy. 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. The legacy . represented Evans, said they were shocked by the stiff sentences. Evans says. 61. 1988 ODESSA PERMIAN PANTHERS . It started as a nonfiction book, then it became a movie (with Billy Bob Thornton as the coach) and finally a TV series. I think at some level they were chasing a rush.". Garrick Damon Evans-Williams was born 13 days later. If you even have any thought of having a family, you need to make sure you watch every decision that you make now - because your children will also pay the consequences for what you do.' Get your Permian football updates by valid e-mail address. Campbell and Evans were the last Carter players released from prison. Official website; This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 04:04 (UTC). "I said, 'I guess it's time for me to get a job and make my own money.' ". By DAVID BARRON. hide caption, The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. It didnt matter where. In 2004, I joined the Rialto Unified School District after teaching for four years within the Los Angles Unified School District. Previous Seasons All-Time Roster. Former Dallas Cowboy Greg Ellis worked as executive producer, and former Carter High football player Arthur Muhammad wrote the script. 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. I don't want to tell my story that way. He believed the judge would have alerted the attorneys if he planned to give prison time so that they could consider a jury trial. His last full-time employment was a year ago, although this summer he was camp director at Friendship West Baptist across the street from Carter. Chelsea Watkins. "It was a talented team with very talented individuals, many of which went on without blemishes on their records and are productive citizens in our community," says Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, the attorney who represented Edwards during the grade controversy and criminal trial. The official 2019 Football Roster for the Skip To Main Content . Unofficially, they would be the second team to do so, after the Dallas Carter Cowboys beat Converse Judson at Texas Stadium 31-14 in 1988. It would be the first of 21 robberies that police connected to 15 Carter neighborhood teenagers, including six from the football team. 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. View career profiles, stats, photos and video highlights. There's some debate as to whether that team is better . Yates' coach Luther Booker was a molder of men. Odessa Permian 1988 Roster. "He works for an office supply company, I think.". The team initially had to forfeit the games Edwards played in, but its playoff eligibility was reinstated for the first postseason game. In my eyes, I'd say we were the best ever," defensive back Gary Edwards told WFAA in 2013. Russeau was invited to a Dallas showing of the movie but said he wasnt contacted about the film prior to that. Talented and bold, the Oak Cliff team ruled high school football in Texas. The players were arrested, tried and convicted. Please enter valid email address to continue. "Yeah. We do not share addresses with any third parties. The other, mostly white schools fought a legal battle to kick Carter out of the playoffs. 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 seven others sentenced to prison were given terms ranging from 2 to 16 years. 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. The film featured Dallas' 1988 Carter High School football season. "I really don't give a [expletive] what people say about me, whether it's true or false.". Over the years, he has been asked whether the more headstrong Evans coaxed him into the 33-day spree in which they committed four robberies together. "I'm proud of Gary. I never even knew that that stuff was going on until its like they were actually out and basically confessed to the crimes.. 1988 Schedule. 5. "What Carter Lost" (CBS11) It was a historic season that included a national football championship for the predominantly black . Find Texas High School Alumni, Reunions, Yearbooks and Class Photos! TIME CAPSULE . He received a 20-year term for his involvement in four robberies. His bio doesn't mention a father, but Evans says he has attended several A&M games this season. Hide/Show Additional Information For Jay Carter . : 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. The Panthers lost to Marshall 13-12 in a non-district game. "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. "When you look back over 20 years, there's a reason for everything," West says. He has long been devoted to his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, overseeing the local chapter's economic development dealings. Eva-Marie Ayala/Staff Writer, Mesquite Horn offensive coordinator Robert Hall during football practice at John Horn High School in Mesquite. But the last thing he told me was, 'Don't take it personally, man.' Gary Edwards says he talks to Evans a couple of times a year. Gary Salyer and Charles Baker were the coaches. Eva James says the movie tells people how it really was back in the late 1980s. David Wendel Carter High School (commonly referred to as Dallas Carter) is a public high school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, . Before the crossing guard gig, James would organize outings for neighborhood seniors so they could pass the time telling stories to each others. Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top.". Sitting at the kitchen table of his DeSoto home, he patiently retraces the grade controversy, the robberies, prison. It was not until football was removed and the hedge, so to speak, was removed that they ventured out and did what they did.. is the saga of that team, the 1988 Dallas Carter Cowboys. That team was, resoundingly, one of the best high school squads ever assembled. Did ESPN's 30 for 30 get it wrong? "We were . Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This is one of the best teams in high school football history and yet this is a team that nobody knows from Friday Night Lights," said Hootnick. "Was it difficult? The official 2020 Football Roster for the . In the film, Thornton tells his team that to win state, they'll have to beat "a team of monsters" from Carter High School in Dallas (which they fail to do). Brad Townsend, Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA. Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? Rumors at the time were that he had fathered two children with different Carter cheerleaders. But I think they weren't ready for the adventure to be done. We're not thugs.' Dallas Carter High School players Gary Edwards (left) and LeShai Maston celebrated their team's victory over Odessa Permian during the State UIL semi-final game in Austin on December 10, 1988. He was a wide receiver who served seven-and a-half years of a 25-year sentence for armed robbery. 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. Urban and suburban schools had just begun to play each other, he said, which brought out racial tensions. He wonders what might have happened if Judge Joe Kendall had given him probation, or if he had gotten out of prison in two years. 1985 Yates vs. 1988 Carter would have been a fitting showcase for two of the greatest teams in what was, for my money, the best era of the modern high school game, the years from 1982 through 1989 . So thats the story, the good and the bad. Director Author Muhammed definitely did a good job with this film and I hope that people . Muhammad was on that 1988 state championship team. Carter was stripped of its championship after a court found that it had indeed violated the no-pass, no-play law. The team made famous by Buzz Bissinger's book "Friday Night Lights" faced enormous expectations. 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. Evans got 20 years. But its not the kind of football movie that Dallas-based writer and director Arthur Muhammad ever imagined hed be making. Anyone can read what you share. "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. So the level of attention and adoration and intensity around that experience for a lot of people, that's the top. Unofficially, they would be the second team to do so, after the Dallas Carter Cowboys beat Converse Judson at Texas Stadium 31-14 in 1988. 'I do not know anybody who has gone off to TDC who has come back and become a productive citizen.'. "A couple of guys I was locked up with, I guess they heard it on the news or the radio," he says. Overall Score 40.47 /100. The film airs on ESPN Thursday, August 24. If youd asked him then, heknew the story had potential. He also coaches a youth league football team. Australian cops announce $1B cocaine seizure, country's biggest bust ever. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. A 22-21 district loss to Midland Lee resulted in a coin flip to decide post-season advancement. He worked for a chemical company in Garland for six years. References External links. "It wasn't a rumor, so what?" for hosting @CarterHSFB This was one of the issues that later led Carter to being stripped of its title. Actions have consequences, Kendall wrote. After nearly 55 years of marriage, the two still love to tease each other. Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top." A lot of people already know the story of . 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