Carthage look to win 11th state championship under Scott Surratt

CARTHAGE, TX (KTAL/KMSS) — The Carthage Bulldogs are on the brink of winning back-to-back state championships under head coach Scott Surratt.

Under the helm of Surratt the Bulldogs are a perfect 10-0 in state championship games. Carthage is looking to make it 11 on Friday.

“Our winning percentage this year, this week is the same as West Orange’s. Both of us have a zero winning percentage, it’s a one game take it all, and you know that’s our mindset. Let’s win today, if we can win today, we’ll win tomorrow,” Surratt said.

The senior class for Carthage has been on this stage before, winning it all their freshman and junior season.

“I think it helps a ton. There’s guys on this team, several guys on this team that started as sophomores and played some in that game as a freshman, so this will be their third time in the stadium to play. So, I think that helps tons, and I know it’ll be West Orange’s, those guys’ first time to play in the stadium in a long time, so none of their players will have played. That should be an advantage for us because it’s a big stage,” Surratt stated.

One of those seniors is Surratt’s son and starting quarterback Jett, who’s going to cherish the last game with his father.

“Definitely wrapping up playing football for my dad. I’ll miss football, but I’ll also miss just being able to talk about each play and stuff like that, at home,” Jett Surratt said.

“It’s always gonna be special when your son’s a quarterback and it’s his senior year, but this senior group, you know, I watched them play from seventh grade all the way up and every game, because I traveled with them and I watched them at home, so that’s special, it’s a special group,” Surratt said.

This team is on a mission to maintain the standard within the football community in Carthage.

“I mean, that’s kind of been our motto this year is just defend the standard, you know, winning it last year, you know, that’s the standard and that’s the goal around here is winning state. So no, just defending that. So really those are the big things for us,” senior linebacker Carson Crawford said.

“I mean, just overall, just looking back, the football community we got in Carthage. Everybody just want to see Carthage football. I mean overall, just want to see the kids win in their own division at whatever school you want to go to. I mean, this town just want to see guys win and do good,” senior running back KJ Edwards said.

It’s safe to say that the town of Carthage has seen a lot of winning. As dominant and successful as the team has been, the nerves are still there.

“The older you get, the more nerves you have, but because you don’t ever know when the last one’s coming or how many more opportunities you’re gonna have. So, we’re excited about this. We’ll all be nervous, but we’ll settle down and play well,” Surratt said.

The Bulldogs will face West Orange-Stark in the 4A Division 2 state championship on Friday, December 19 at 3 pm at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

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