Fort Worth North Side hangs on to beat Fort Worth Southwest in district battle

The Fort Worth North Side Steers (6-3 overall, 3-3 in District 4-5A D2) and the Southwest Raiders (3-6, 1-5) each looked to improve their record Friday night at Farrington Field.

The rain delayed the game, but it did not stop the battle. The Steers were fighting to extend their season beyond next week and kept those hopes alive with their 28-23 win.

“Winning this game gives us an opportunity to win next week and hopefully that gets us into the playoffs,” North Side head coach Joseph Turner said.

Southwest’s Donovan Moore made the first score of the night with 10:59 left in the first quarter.

Despite the rainy and cold conditions, the Steers were able to fight back when Brandon Forrest scored a touchdown with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. The extra point wasn’t good, so the Raiders kept the lead 7-6 through the rest of the half.

The next score was not made until 11:43 left in the third quarter when Forrest took it into the end zone for a North Side touchdown. The Steers took the lead 12-7. Oscar Carmona-Cabrera tacked on another two points for North Side, which brought the score to 14-7.

The Steers continued to score in the third quarter, the next touchdown came from Roman Chapa. The Steers extended their lead to 22-7.

The Raiders answered back when Martavious Boswell scored a touchdown of his own.

Another Raider touchdown, this time by Jaylyn Ferguson with 9:50 remaining in the fourth quarter nearly evened the score at 22-21.

“It was like a game of chess, it was a really enjoyable game,” Turner said. “But the boys did not give up one time and that is something we have been fighting all year.”

North Side strengthened its lead with 6:42 left in the game. The Steers led 28-21.

In the Steers’ own end zone, they took a safety to run out the clock and prevent Southwest from being able to score again. The game ended 28-23 with the Steers winning. Coach Turner credited the success to his seniors.

“We’ve been on a roll pretty much all year,” Turner said. “This was their last time being at Farrington, so I am proud of all those guys.”