Carthage (14-1) vs Waco La Vega (12-3), 11 a.m. Friday at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium: 

Carthage will be looking for its 10th state title as it battles Waco La Vega in a rematch of the 2019 state championship game (won by Carthage). 

The Bulldogs rolled to a 45-17 win over Brock last week. RB’s Benny Smith and KJ Edwards led the charge with a combined 215 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. QB Jett Surratt added two touchdown passes.

Waco La Vega jumped out to a 28-7 lead to race past Wimberley, 62-35. RB Bryson Roland ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Pirates, while WR Jabarie Thornton had 141 receiving yards and a score.

Carthage’s defense, led by LB DeQuives Beck, is a force to be reckoned with. I anticipate this unit to be the big difference as the Bulldogs possess the team speed and physicality to keep up with an explosive La Vega attack.

La Vega will need a big game from sophomore QB Kourtney Parr to try and keep Carthage’s defense off balance.

This is an elite coaching matchup as well. We all know Scott Suratt’s resume, but La Vega head coach Don Hyde has state championship pedigree as well as he’s helped the Pirates to state titles as a defensive coordinator and as a head coach. Surratt, though, is 9-0 in state championship games and there’s no way you can pick against that. 

Stepp’s Pick: Carthage by 13

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Carthage

QB Jett Surratt - Surratt grew up watching his father win nine state championships. Now he has a chance to win one for him. He’s led the Carthage offense to 46.2 points per playoff game. Surratt is decisive with the football and displays mastery of an offense he’s studied since elementary school.

LB Klayton Ingram - Ingram is a sideline-to-sideline defender who wins with speed defending both lateral passes and zone runs. He was the District Defensive MVP as a junior and has only improved this season. The Carthage defense has allowed 20 or more points just twice this season.

RB KJ Edwards - Edwards missed some time this season but came back with a bang against Krum with seven carries for 214 yards and 4 TD. He’s a 10-second 100M dash guy who finishes runs like a football player, compiling 26 scholarship offers.

Waco La Vega

RB Bryson Roland - If La Vega is going to keep Carthage from winning its 10th state championship then Roland is going to have to go off. It'll be easier said than done against a very good Bulldogs defense, but the 5-8, 170-pound RB is capable of turning Jerry World into his personal playground.

WR Jabarie Thornton - SEC programs like Arkansas and Ole Miss have taken notice of Thornton's abilities, and he'll need to put them on full display against Carthage. He's a nightmare in space and is a certified house-call if he makes the first guy miss, which often happens.

ATH Warren Richardson - La Vega's defense is going to have to be dialed in for this one, and that starts with its defensive leader Richardson. He'll primarily line up at defensive end and set the edge for a ferocious defensive front. Richardson has crazy speed for a DE; his closing speed is elite.

PREDICTIONS

THE PICK