Fort Worth Southwest in driver’s seat for final playoff berth after win over Poly

Fort Worth Southwest (4-5 overall, 3-3 district) took sole possession of fourth place in District 4-5A Division 2 after taking down Fort Worth Polytechnic 33-7 on Thursday night at Scarborough-Handley Field.

“I hope we demonstrate our efforts early on in the game against the Parrots.” Southwest head coach Daron Franklin said. “The biggest thing today is that we know the urgency of the game. It’s a big playoff implication.”

To start off the night, Southwest senior Cyndric Gilbert drove the ball down the field for a Raider touchdown with 8:36 left on the clock in the first quarter. Also, during the first quarter Quincy Carter scored the only touchdown for the Parrots (3-6, 2-4).

Just before the half, the Raiders were able to put up two back-to-back touchdowns on the board, one by freshman quarterback Raylon Carter and the other by junior LeVonta Marshall that made it 19-7.

As things started to heat back up, Gilbert took the ball down for another Raider touchdown to start the second half with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter.

Trickling down the time, the Southwest defense continued to play physical with tackles for losses by junior Timothy Jackson, pass break ups by senior Zion Sullivan and sacks by senior Travis Dykes with the help of senior Malachi Robinson.

The refs called the game shortly after a fight broke out with 2:33 left in the third quarter. Players are being evaluated for ejection from the incident and may affect play in future games in the season.

Southwest can clinch a playoff berth with a win next week against Fort Worth North Side (2-4 in district).