Fort Worth council members celebrate North Crowley’s first championship berth since 2003
It’s been 21 years since the North Crowley Panthers won a high school football state championship.
Fort Worth council member Chris Nettles would know — he was there.
Nettles was a part of the 2003 North Crowley Panther team that came back from a 1-4 start to upset reigning champion Texarkana in the semifinals before beating Bay City in the 4A Division 1 championship game, 20-6.
He was confident this year’s team would go all the way after it defeated 6A Division 1 defending champ Duncanville, 36-34, on Dec. 14.
North Crowley will play Austin Westlake for the 6A Division I championship at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at AT&T Stadium.
“They had a bad taste in their mouth from last year when Duncanville beat them, and the year before when Prosper took them out,” Nettles said.
The Panthers, 15-0, have outscored opponents by 37 points per game on their way to a No. 3 national ranking.
This year’s team has put the Crowley school district on the map, Nettles said, which he believes will drive up enrollment and encourage more people to come to the southwest Fort Worth suburb to play football.
Fellow council member and North Crowley alum Jared Williams said he was ecstatic about the Panthers making it to the championship.
When schools are able to accomplish something of this magnitude, it contributes to a culture of excellence both for athletics and academics, he said.
Williams was in eighth grade the last time North Crowley won the state championship. He remembered going to the games and the parade, and said this season has a lot of the same energy as 2003.
“Hopefully it ends the same way,” Williams said.
He also highlighted how the team has taken on the mantle of representing the broader community by emblazoning the 817 area code on their helmets.
“There’s a lot of pride with North Crowley being a part of the city of Fort Worth, and representing the 817 very well,” he said.
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