In the season opener, Carter quarterback Jarvis Phillips scored a game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock. A week later, it looked like time had run out on Carter's season.

Or at least Carter's hope for a season that would stretch into December.

Phillips, the player Carter couldn't do without, had suffered a broken arm.

"He's the motor to the engine," Carter coach Allen Wilson said. "He's the guy who kind of makes it all work."

It's worked well through two rounds of the playoffs, as Phillips has returned to guide Carter (7-5) to its deepest run since 2003. Carter is joined in the third round by three other Dallas ISD schools: Skyline (5A), South Oak Cliff (4A) and Roosevelt (3A).

"I honestly can't remember when we were this deep with this many teams at different levels," DISD athletic director Jeff Johnson said.

If it ever did happen, it was before the quarterbacks of the remaining DISD football teams were born. And there's some significance to that, because the dual-threat quarterbacks are a big reason why their teams are pursuing the district's first UIL state football title since 1950.

Senior Troy Stoudermire (Skyline), senior Garry Jefferson (South Oak Cliff), senior Vincent McNeil Jr. (Roosevelt) and Phillips, a junior, are the motors.

Stoudermire (5-10, 175) leads Skyline (11-1) in rushing with 974 yards, averages 8.1 yards per carry and has improved as a passer. Phillips (6-0, 185) is Carter's top rushing threat, and in just seven games, has rushed for 10 touchdowns and passed for four. Jefferson (5-9, 185) has thrown for 1,463 yards and 19 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He's also averaging six yards per carry, making him an effective combo with cousin Tim Jefferson, who leads SOC with 1,290 yards rushing.

And McNeil, a 6-2, 190-pound football and basketball star, has been unstoppable. He's rushed for 1,469 yards, passed for 1,807 and has been a part of 51 touchdowns.

"The biggest thing is that they're so versatile," Skyline coach Reginald Samples said of the quarterbacks. "They can run, and they can pass, which makes it really hard to prepare for them."

And for the guys coaching the quarterbacks, they make it easier to prepare. Because once the coach selects the quarterback, he can give him the offensive reins and then stock the defense with most of the best athletes.

"That's what we always do," Wilson said. "What you kind of want to do is identify which kid is going to be your quarterback. Then we play the better kids on the defensive side of the ball."

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

Despite playing in only seven games, Carter's Jarvis Phillips (2) has rushed for 10 touchdowns and passed for four.

That's not to say the teams don't have terrific athletes on offense. They also have good offensive lines, which their coaches point to as another reason for this year's success.

But if the quarterbacks are the motors to the engine, the defense is the fuel.

"If they can't score," Wilson said, "they can't win."

That was obvious last week, when South Oak Cliff (9-3) held Ennis to five points and Roosevelt (11-1) held Royse City, which averaged 47.5 points per game in the regular season, to 22. Carter held Garland Naaman Forest star running back Jonathon Miller to 40 yards, and while Stoudermire was helping the Skyline offense roll up big numbers against Rowlett, the defense was fretting about giving up one touchdown.

"We don't want to give up points to anyone," Skyline linebacker Spencer Reeves said after that 49-7 victory. "The mind-set is to go out there and shut down the opponent and shut them out."

Each of the teams has done that this season, and speed is a big reason. That's what SOC coach Chris Gilbert looks for on his defense.

"To play on our defense," he said, "you've got to be able to run."

You also have to be able to tackle, of course. So Gilbert said his defense features his "best 11 athletes who have a defensive mind-set."

Samples said the key is finding those guys as freshmen. That way they have a chance to develop into stars such as Reeves and fellow Skyline linebacker Keanon Cooper. Reeves (6-2, 210) and Cooper (6-1, 200) are tall, rangy athletes.

Now they are a dominating duo on a defense that allows only seven points per game. Since a 17-7 loss to Arlington Bowie in September, Skyline hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 10 points.

That gives Stoudermire a good measuring stick for his offense.

"We have such a great defense," he said, "if we can score on them in practice, that's how I know we're getting better."

Skyline seems to be getting better as the season progresses, and the same can be said for Roosevelt (nine-game winning streak), South Oak Cliff (seven-game streak) and Carter, whose only loss since September was to Skyline.

But are they good enough to end DISD's drought? Can the combination of motor and fuel power a Dallas team to a state title?

At least one player is confident.

"We're coming on up in Dallas," Reeves said. "People aren't giving us respect, but we're going to show them we should be respected.

"We're not done yet."

Roosevelt vs. Gilmer: Class 3A Division I, Region II final , 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Mesquite Memorial Stadium

Carter vs. Pflugerville: Class 5A Division II, Region II semifinals, 2 p.m. Saturday, Waco ISD Stadium

South Oak Cliff vs. Highland Park: Class 4A Division II, Region II semifinals, 7:30 p.m. today, Texas Stadium

Skyline vs. Round Rock: Class 5A Division I, Region II semifinals, 1 p.m. Saturday, Waco's Floyd Casey Stadium

THE MOTORS

The quarterbacks of the remaining DISD playoff teams are key to their success. Their statistics:

THE FUEL

The quarterbacks take care of the offense, and the defenses takes care of the opponents. Opposing offenses had trouble scoring last week against the DISD defenses: