by EJ Holland
Euless Trinity andbrSouthlake Carroll were never in the same district but that doesn’t mean thesebrtwo storied Texas high school football programs don’t have a growing rivalry.
It seems like every year bothbrsquads meet when it matters the most— during the playoffs. It all started backbrin 2006, a year after both teams captured state titles, when the two met in anbrepic playoff game that saw the Dragons come out on top, 22-21, in front ofbr50,000-plus at Texas Stadium.
Southlake Carroll ousted thebrTrojans from the 2012 playoffs, 16-7, and Euless returned the favor ast year,brin a 42-38 heartbreaker at AT&T Stadium. This Friday night will be thebrfirst time the two teams meet in district play. Nobody, including Head CoachbrHal Wasson is taking this lightly. Ultimatelybrthe game could decide this year’s 7-6A champion.
“It's the biggest game ofbrthe year because it's the next game,” said Southlake Carroll head coach HalbrWasson with a laugh. “I would be insulting my players' intelligence if I saidbrthey didn't know how important this game was. Every rep is magnified this week.brWe have to be at our best. We have to give a total team effort for 48 minutes.”
Much like the AustinWestlake game earlier this year Euless Trinity’s head coach Steve Lineweaverbralso has a special connection to Southlake Carroll. Lineweaver was the offensive coordinator for SouthlakebrCarroll’s Class 3A state championship teams in 1988, 1992 and 1993.
But don't expect him tobrtake it easy on the Dragons. Lineweaver's teams are known for their physicalbrplay up front and tenacity in the trenches. Euless Trinity, which is stillbrundefeated and ranked in the top five in the state, always seems to have sizebron the offensive line, and this year is no different.
Texas commit Patrick Vahebrhas been clearing the way all year for stud junior running back Ja'Ron Wilson, whobrhas rushed for 841 yards and nine touchdowns, and dual-threat quarterback TylerbrNatee.
This could be a badbrmatchup, considering the Dragons let Coppell run wild a couple of weeks ago.brBut the Dragons made strides last week, shutting out a run-first Richland team.
“We know Trinity runsbrabout 80 percent of the time. But I think last week does give us confidence.brConfidence is a mindset that comes from success,” Wasson said. “Trinity is abrdifferent opponent. They are as good as there is in the state. Both programsbrhave a lot of respect for each other.”
Offensively, the Dragonsbrcould run the ball a little bit more with Lil' Jordan Humphrey who has beenbrphenomenal this season. After all, Wasson admitted that both teams want to keepbrthe opposing offenses off the field.
Running the ball, however,brmight prove to be difficult against a monster Euless Trinity front seven thatbrfeatures mammoth defensive linemen Tipa Galeai and Chris Daniels.
“We have to play with anbrattitude. Trinity plays with a lot of energy on defense. They are big, strong,brfast and physical,” Wasson said. “We can't match their size, but we can matchbrtheir physical nature. We have to execute and be as good as we can be.”
This game has the makingsbrof a classic. So what do the Dragons have to do to pull out a win and remainbrunbeaten?
“We've got to limit bigbrplays,” Wasson said. “We didn't do that when we played them in the playoffsbrlast year. We need to execute and take care of the ball. Treat every first downbrlike a mini touchdown. Small victories lead to big victories.”
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