In a young career sparked by a legacy of championship, the new head coach of Southlake Carroll High School is back where it all began.
“I’m home,” said Riley Dodge. “It’s right where I want to be.”
Riley is in his first job as head coach, but he’s no rookie. Football and coaching are in his DNA.
“I grew up in the Southlake Carroll field house and on the football field,” said Dodge. “My dad Todd Dodge coached the football team, and I played for him all during high school. My mother was a teacher in the [Carroll] Independent School District, and my wife grew up here too.”
He is leading a storied program: the Dragons have earned the title of state champions eight times. As their quarterback, Dodge helped them sail to stardom from 2004 to 2007 in consecutive victories. But it didn’t end there. His father — a legendary coach in his own right — went on to coach football at the University of North Texas, and Dodge followed.
“I played for him at North Texas for three years and finished my last year at McNeese State,” he said. “After college, I coached at Texas A&M and University of Texas for a combined total of five years.”
He has big shoes to fill, knowing that his father compiled a 98-11 record at Carroll, setting the elder Dodge apart as one of the state’s great coaches. But he’s not sweating it. With his feet planted firmly back on the familiar green turf of Dragon Stadium, the young coach is brimming with excitement as he prepares for many winning seasons to come. He’ll pave his own way — creative and competitive in the process — but he’ll bring lessons and experience from the past too.
“One of the big things I’ve learned along the way is that you can’t sweat the small stuff,” Dodge said. “You control what you can, and then you have to let the rest of it go. Right now the team is looking good, and we’re getting where we want to go, fast. But we’ve got a lot of work ahead.”
Dodge is deeply involved in the community and devoted to mentoring all of the upcoming players, from middle school on up.
“You have to look at the big picture, there’s a lot of moving parts, from the students and football players to working with the freshman coaches,” Dodge said. “I love the work — the processes and the schematics of things. But I’m not in it alone. I’m extremely blessed to have a great staff and a lot of guys who have been doing this for a very long time. I am honored to work alongside them, and I’m humbled to be in this position. It’s a dream come true.”
Did You Know?
- Carroll ISD will reach more than 8,600 students by the fall of 2019.
- 5 year growth is projected at 614 students
- 2022/23 enrollment is projected at 8,983 students
- 10 year growth is projected at 1,005 students
- 2027/28 enrollment is projected at 9,374 students
Source: www.southlakecarroll.edu
Number of residents 25 years+ High School graduate or higher: 98.5%
Number of residents 25 years+ with Bachelor’s degree or higher: 67.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Southlake Texas Private and Charter Schools
The Clariden School
100 Clariden Ranch Rd, Southlake
(682) 237-0400
www.claridenschool.org
Fusion Academy Southlake
301 State St., Ste. 200 Southlake
(817) 416-0306
www.fusionacademy.com
Liberty Christian School
1301 S. Hwy. 377, Argyle
(940) 294-2124
www.libertychristian.com
Waypoint Montessori
1513 Hall Johnson Rd., Colleyville
(817) 354-6670
www.waypointmontessori.org