A lot of people already know the story of Friday Night Lights, in which a West Texas high school fights for the state football title. "We were . The 1988 Carter High School football team seemed invincible. 5. One player famously signed his letter of intent to play college ball while lounging in a hot tub, adorned in gold jewelry. Williams served three years in prison. We always thought that, Wow this would be a great movie, somebody needs to make a movie about this,' Muhammad says. Texas GOP censures Rep. Tony Gonzales over votes on guns, marriage equity. West got early-release signatures from the district attorney, sheriff, board of pardons and paroles and Judge Kendall. 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. Edwards watches today's NFL cornerbacks and is convinced he had the tools to make it. 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. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer). This was one of the issues that later led Carter to being stripped of its title. My story is unedited.". 'Derrick got five years. Sophomore Stoughton, Mass. Dawson, Texas. "Nothing wrong with that. Ever, TCU alum and former San Diego Chargers running back LaDanian Tomlinson said in the same documentary. But I think they weren't ready for the adventure to be done. Rocky Mount, NC / 2: / CBS Texas. The official 2019 Football Roster for the Skip To Main Content . The Colleyville Heritage Steroid . What It Means For Them, And For Texas' Other Football Schools. It was not until football was removed and the hedge, so to speak, was removed that they ventured out and did what they did.. Parents, teachers and school officials fought back, and in the end Carter was allowed to play. He often refers to her as Vivica now, after actress Vivica Fox who plays her in the movie. A few months ago, former Carter coach Freddie James came in to car shop, not realizing Williams worked there. 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. Active Coaches: Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll. Even though he still has scars from it, he hasn't allowed those scars to dictate the rest of his life.". '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. (Ben Torres/Special Contributor). Yeah, it was difficult. Staff writer Brad Townsend conrtributed to this report. AT HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Debate class - Yates or Carter? Permian won 12 games, while suffering three losses, in the 1988 season. This is the 6th year for our courts at ECMS. . Before sentencing, Judge Kendall lectured the youths for about 10 minutes, telling them they had no excuse for committing the crimes. For one, they beat Odessa-Permian in the state semifinals, not the championship. However, when it comes to violating the law, at the courthouse it simply doesn't matter than you can run the football.'. But it only took two weeks to make it from Hollywood to State District . He has five children, the second-oldest having been born while he was incarcerated. Longtime Illinois high school sports historian Robert Pruter reminds that many college and NFL Hall of Famers were not high achievers in high school. MAXPREPS; CBSSPORTS.COM; 247SPORTS; Football. 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. That team, with 21 players who were offered college scholarships, is being called one of the best high school . To know that I broke some hearts really has been a bother over time. Russeau was invited to a Dallas showing of the movie but said he wasnt contacted about the film prior to that. Wells Academy; Dr. Barbara Jordan Elementary School; Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III Global Preparatory Academy at Paul Quinn College . 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. 'When I compare you with a typical young offender who comes before me, you are especially without excuse,' Kendall added. But the long retired Russeau doesnt spend his time dwelling on the past. Now, a new movie chronicles the teams against-all-odds rise and its steep fall. PLAINS, Ga. (AP) When Jimmy Carter stepped onto the national stage, he brought along those closest to him, introducing Americans to a colorful Georgia family that helped shape the 39th president's public life and now, generations later, is rallying around him for the private final chapter of his 98 years. A grade-changing scandal and accusations of player ineligibility tainted their championship run that almost didn't happen, because of rulings made by state athletic officials. The success and failures in life are a lot of times in our control, he said. One Gets 20 Years. Unlike Evans, Edwards did get to play college football. 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 . I think we in the media, we created an environment that Texas high school football players, if they dont have it, theyre gonna take it. Ellis, the executive producer, told The Monday Morning Quarterback that he hopes viewers will take a similar message away from the film. It was the first in nearly two dozen robberies connected to some players on the team. Carter was named PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week three times in 2022-23. "I really don't give a [expletive] what people say about me, whether it's true or false.". Thats the reason executive producer Greg Ellis signed on. "I said, 'I guess it's time for me to get a job and make my own money.' The seven others sentenced to prison were given terms ranging from 2 to 16 years. Garrick Damon Evans-Williams was born 13 days later. 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. "That was just four years I kind of wasted," he says. Freed from the bonds of time and space, who would win a game between the star-crossed 1988 Dallas Carter Cowboys, defrocked Class 5A champions of 1988, and the Houston Yates Lions, undefeated 5A champions of 1985? You stay pretty busy. "I had to get away from the 'hood - I was wa-a-ay over there. Boston College High School. Released from prison on Aug. 13, 1993, he enrolled at Texas Southern. Eva James says the movie tells people how it really was back in the late 1980s. Kendall declined to be interviewed for this story, other than to compliment the skills of defense attorneys West and Creuzot. Carter later was forced to forfeit the 1988 season, in which it won a state title, for grade tampering. "That means a lot to me. Clarence Russeau Jr. near Routh Street in the State Thomas neighborhood where he grew up. TIME CAPSULE . 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. Brad Townsend, Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA. Additionally, the audio story, as did a previous Web version, state that six Carter High School football players served time in prison. The 1988 Cowboys playoff season was highlighted by accusations of grade manipulation of a player, the team being declared ineligible several times during the . 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. The lanky pass rusher recorded 85 tackles, 25 1/2 for losses, and 20 sacks over the past two seasons. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I guess they found somebody thats got my side," Russeau said. Find Classmates and Graduates from TX Share this Find Your School . High Schools. He was a tough disciplinarian who once reportedly dragged a student from a billiards hall back to school. But as he did welding work for the next couple of weeks, Campbell recalls that "he and I had no conversation. Actor Charles S. Dutton definitely owned his role in the film and was very inspiring. With ESPNs 30 for 30 documentary What Carter Lost, audiences are primed to remember the glory and scandal that surrounded Dallas Carter High Schools football team nearly 30 years ago. I just love seeing those little kids coming across and they reach out and catch my hand and I help them across. If you want to see Carter High you may have to search it out its been in limited releaseandproducers are still working on a broader distribution deal. "What Carter Lost . "The embarrassment I caused to myself, my family, my church family, my coaches and the University of Houston, that was enough.". 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. 61. He and wife Eva spend most of their time at church functions. Not the racial tensions of the time. The film featured Dallas' 1988 Carter High School football season. Volume 2 30 for 30: Shorts Full Schedule ESPN Films. Twenty-eight players on the 1988 team got collegiate football scholarships. Adamson High School; W.H. When the ensuing trial was over, Edwards was sentenced to 16 years in prison. I tell them, 'Nobody knows me for the reasons I would like them to know me. At the courthouse, it simply doesnt matter that you can run the football. Football has taken Robert Hall from Texas Tech to Houston, Amsterdam and Canada. Gaston Middle School; W.T. The joke was the student parking lot was a heck of a lot nicer than the teacher parking lot.". March 4 (UPI) -- Five people, including two children, were killed in an early morning house fire in Rockland County, N.Y., authorities said Saturday. 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. Keith Campbell, 18, received a 25-year term for his involvement in four robberies. ET. Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives. Before, she was a Research & Archives Associate and wrote about the historical happenings from the The News' archives. Some in the community agreed with West that prison sentences seemed harsh for young men who had made mistakes. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. In 14 seasons as the head coach at Carter, he went 122-22-3. Hello, and welcome to Wilmer Amina Carter High School (CHS). You know, they were middle-class kids, they had cars, they had all the clothes they want. I think at some level they were chasing a rush.". Its a guaranteed story that will be told for generations, with arecord that will be likely painted up on a water tower or on a cityswelcome sign. References External links. But nobody has any ill effects about it.". "I tell people all the time, I was like Michael Jordan and he was like Scottie Pippen," Armstead says. 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. "I didn't have respect for the law at that time and now I look at life in a more humble way," said Campbell. The other, mostly white schools fought a legal battle to kick Carter out of the playoffs. "I didn't see how they could do that. 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. It is my extreme pleasure to serve as your site Principal. : 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.