After Todd Dodge’s Austin Westlake team defeated Galena Park North Shore in the 2020 state semifinals, the first person he spoke with was his grandson Tate.
“He’s telling me, ‘They finally beat Duncanville. They beat Duncanville,’” Todd said.
Southlake Carroll, where he coached from 2000 to 2006, and where his son Riley is now head coach, had won its state semifinal, too. Their wins set up a father-son face-off for the Class 6A Division I state title.
It’s believed the Dodges made history as the first father and son to coach against each other in a Texas high school football state championship game, a 52-34 Westlake win that was a special moment for the family, regardless of the outcome, Todd said.
The last time they were both in a title game, in 2006, Riley was Carroll’s quarterback, and they won a state championship Todd called “magical.”
When Todd, 61, speaks about Riley, it’s clear he’s proud of his son and the path he’s forging as a coach, which honors his father’s football legacy and the example he has set. They’re united by blood, but also by the sport they love.
“I dreamed of nothing more than to play for my dad,” said Riley, 36, who has two sons and two daughters.
Father and son agree they probably wouldn’t want to be on opposing sidelines again, and it’s unlikely to happen. The elder Dodge, who has won seven UIL state titles, ended his retirement last year to become the coach at Lovejoy, which competes in Class 5A. Last season, Carroll played for the 6A Division II state championship, marking Riley’s second final as a coach.
Ahead of Father’s Day, the Dodges sat down with The Dallas Morning News for a conversation about fatherhood, football and the lessons they’ve gleaned from each.
Born to coach
For Todd, the holiday brings back memories of his first head coaching job in Cameron, Texas.
When Riley was around 4 or 5 years old, they spent “three of the most enjoyable weeks of my life,” Todd said, living together in the fieldhouse while Elizabeth, Todd’s wife and Riley’s mom, finished classes at North Texas in Denton.
“We made a blowout bed for him and a couch for me,” Todd said.
Riley remembers running around the track in the early mornings when Todd was the coach at Carrollton Newman Smith in 1996 and 1997. The football team hyped him up to run a 400-meter dash in front of everyone.
“I think I got sick doing that trying to impress my dad’s football team,” said Riley, who watched Todd coach at Keller Fossil Ridge before becoming Carroll’s coach in 2000.
Until Riley was in ninth grade, Todd was strictly his father, not his coach. But Riley turned out to be a talented quarterback with the potential to help Carroll win more state titles.
Todd, who played quarterback at the University of Texas, ended up being Riley’s head coach and position coach.
“I think I lost my mind for about a year,” he said.
From that experience, he learned how easy it can be for parents to celebrate their kids’ wins too much and emphasize their mistakes. Todd said he wasn’t treating Riley fairly, and some advice from a mentor hit home.
“When you’re his father and you’re his coach, you’re the two most important people in his life,” Todd recalled the mentor saying. “Don’t rob him of either one of those.”
Riley said he expected his dad to coach him hard.
“I really knew nothing else,” he said. “It was an amazing experience and the same thing I want to experience with my boys one day.”
The Carroll coach said his journey molded him into who he is today and prepared him for life.
“The cool experiences that we got to share together, even just being the ball boy on the sidelines in Cameron, Texas. Those are just memories I’ll have for the rest of my life,” Riley said.
Next-generation Dodge
At 29, Riley became the head coach at his alma mater, which he’s led to two state title games and six district championships since taking over in 2018.
Entering his eighth season, Riley has now been at Carroll longer than Todd.
“To see my dad, his staff, the impact that his staff and that he had on young men was just unbelievable,” Riley said. “I’m pretty blessed to be in a household with one of the best of all time.”
Today, Riley’s two boys, Tate and Landry, walk the Carroll sidelines. They serve as ball boys and stand with their dad during the national anthem.
“I feel like my kids are living my childhood,” Riley said. “And it was an amazing childhood.”
Riley hopes one day he can hoist a trophy with his sons, as he did with Todd.
Staff writer Greg Riddle contributed to this report.
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