Photo by Brian McLean
By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
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FORT WORTH— There is a stigma around Fort Worth ISD football teams that they cannot win in the playoffs. While there have been a few outliers, the teams from Cowtown have not traditionally performed well in the postseason. However, on a mission to silence the critics, and fresh off of their first district title since 2015, the Arlington Heights Yellow Jackets won their playoff game.
“When I first got here, I didn’t hear that much about the stigma,” head coach Curtis James said after the win. “I said ‘Guys guess what, just because you live somewhere doesn’t mean that makes you play some kind of football.’ We want to play hard nosed football.”
Under the lights of historic Farrington Field, the Jackets hosted their cross-town rival Brewer Bears in the Class 5A Division I Bi-District round. The game was back and forth from the start, but thanks to the heroics of running back Carson James, Heights snuck away with a 36-23 victory to advance to the second round for the first time since 2022.
“I went into halftime and said ‘I don’t care what they do, feed him,’” James commented about his son’s performance. “He just came out and he delivered for us. Nobody wants to tackle a 220 pound running back, so I said give it all you got and see what happens. It worked out in our favor tonight.”
The Yellow Jackets(10-1) now turn to face the Lubbock Lubbock Monterey Plainsmen(7-4) in the Area round next week.
Carson James finished his night rushing for 286 yards on 37 carries and four touchdowns, but it was how he started the night that really stood out. On the third play from scrimmage, Carson took the handoff around the left side, found a hole and raced 63 yards to the endzone. He then took it in for the two-point conversion to give Heights an 8-0 lead.
The Bears got on the board two drives later when Kameron Coleman punched it in from nine yards out but a bobbled snap on the extra point left the score at 8-6 after one quarter of play.
Early in the second quarter, Brewer took the lead when Santiago Romero Aguilar came on for a 27-yard field goal. Their defense then came up with a big play when Jacket quarterback Carmelo Carter fumbled the ball and Kingston Hurst came up with the ball and ran it back for a touchdown to make the score 16-8 in favor of the Bears.
However, two drives later the Heights defense returned the favor when Dino Walker picked up a fumble, broke two tackles and scored. James then scored the two-point conversion to tie the game at 16 going into the locker room.
Brewer opened the second half with a bang when Colton Ryals threw to Devan Roberts on the screen. Roberts turned up field, broke three tackles and took it 76 yards to reclaim the lead.
The Yellow Jackets responded with a 16 play, 85 yard drive that took over six minutes off of the clock, capped off by a three yard scoring run by James. The extra point tied it back up at 23 a piece at the end of the third quarter.
Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, James broke free and raced 23 yards to paydirt to put Heights ahead for good. However, the missed extra point gave Brewer a chance. With the Bears trying to tie it up, Antonio Johnson came up with a big interception to put the game away. For good measure, James added one more touchdown from 40-yards out, bringing the final score to 36-23 and sending the Yellow Jackets to the second round.
