Carthage head coach visits with the local media on Monday in Carthage. (Meredith Shamburger/Panola Watchman)

Carthage (14-1) vs. Waco La Vega (12-3)

When/Where: 11 a.m. Friday/ Friday/AT&T Stadium, 1 AT&T Way, Way, Arlington, 76011

At stake: Class 4A Division II State Championship

Notable

Carthage: OL Kash Courtney … OL Jeremiah Jones … OL Brandon Allison … OL Tyler Ortigo … OL Colt Hodges … Jett Surratt (227 of 344, 3,266 yards, 51 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) … KJ Edwards (124 carries, 1,601 yards, 21 TD; 29 catches, 378 yards, 3 TD) … Benny Smith (132 carries, 1,258 yards, 19 TD) … Junior Henderson (60 catches, 1,008 yards, 16 TD) … Cade Ross (34 catches, 507 yards, 7 TD) … Cale Preston (29 catches, 388 yards, 6 TD) … Bryston Price (27 catches, 379 yards, 4 TD) … Klayton Ingram (87 tackles, 25 TFL, 16 QB pressures, 4 sacks) … Tylin Williams (71 tackles, 2 interceptions) … De’Quives Beck (92 tackles, 18 TFL, 29 QB pressures, 4 sacks, 14 QB hits) … Carson Crawford (82 tackles, 18 TFL, 19 QB pressures, 7 sacks, 15 QB hits) … Leo Brown (65 tackles) … Zee Pearley (59 tackles, 2 sacks) … Ethan Portley (2 sacks) … James Morrow (68 tackles, 29 TFL, 18 QP pressures, 9 sacks, 16 QB hits) … Colt Hodges (52 tackles, 16 TFL, 27 QB pressures, 5 sacks) … Braylin Allison (59 tackles, 18 TFL, 18 QB pressures)

La Vega: Kourtney Parr (132 of 196, 2,076 yards, 18 TD, 5 interceptions; 7 TD rushing) … Bryson Roland (223 carries, 2,045 yards, 30 TD; 28 catches, 374 yards, 6 TD) … Ray’quan Kennedy (66 carries, 506 yards, 5 TD) … Elbert Jones (31 carries, 212 yards, 10 TD) … Jabarie Thornton (75 catches, 1,350 yards, 15 TD) … MarQwae Willis (71 tackles) … Antwon Gude (94 tackles) … Ge’unte Thomas (80 tackles) … Brydrick Scott (121 tackles) … Caden Roland (147 tackles) … Warren Richardson (90 tackles, 13 sacks)

Did you know: Carthage is 99-31 all-time in the playoffs, with a runner-up finish in 1991 and state championships in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022 … Carthage coach Scott Surratt has more state championships (9) than playoff losses (82-8) in his coaching career … Carthage and Waco La Vega have met three times in the playoffs, including once in a state championship game. Waco La Vega defeated Carthage 39-3 in a Class 4A Division I state semifinal in 2015. Carthage defeated Waco La Vega 46-39 in a Class 4A Division I state semifinal in 2017, and defeated Kennedale 49-21 the next week for the state championship. In 2019, Carthage defeated Waco La Vega 42-27 in the Class 4A Division I state championship game … La Vega has outscored opponents 604-316 this season and has won 10 in a row since falling 38-28 to Stephenville back on Sept. 27 … Carthage has won 14 in a row since falling to 4A Division I state finalist Kilgore 20-15 in the season opener back on Aug. 30.

How they got here: Carthage def. Spring Hill (49-0), Krum (56-13), Pleasant Grove (28-7), Van (53-14) and Brock (45-17); La Vega def. La Grange (56-2), West Orange-Stark (42-20), Silsbee (49-21), Sealy (48-30) and Wimberley (62-35)