‘Fight for every yard’: Arlington Heights’ defense shines in win against Fort Worth Wyatt
The Yellowjackets showcased their toughness under the Friday night lights.
Arlington Heights (4-1, 2-0) came out on top in a huge District 4-5A D2 matchup, defeating Fort Worth Wyatt (4-1, 1-1) 20-6. It was a ranked Fort Worth-area Class 5A contest at Clark Stadium.
Head coach Curtis James, who was promoted to head coach in July, said the win was gritty. James added he wants to see his team clean a few things up in the next couple of weeks.
“We’ve got to be able to throw the ball a little bit better,” James said.
Senior quarterback Eric Orozco was set to lead the Yellowjacket offense, but suffered a season-ending knee injury. Quarterback Allen Banks stepped up in his place, and James said he’s doing a good job managing the team.
James said one of his main messages to the team is to “fight for every yard.” The ground and pound approach worked against the Chaparrals.
“Just pound the ball,” James said. “They believe. It was negative? Pound it again. We call the same play? They knock us back and we say ‘pound it again’. As long as we keep pounding and the clock keeps running and we keep gaining yards, we’ll find a way to win.”
Guidry, an all-around, versatile athlete, put up a monster statline. He powered the Yellowjackets with a 68-yard receiving touchdown, a 60-yard pick six and a 70-yard punt return. He completed the football hat trick, scoring on offense, defense and special teams.
“I’ve been telling him that for three years now that he can be that type of guy,” James said. “He can be a dog for us. He’s a dog in track. He’s a dog in basketball. He’s a dog out here on this field and tonight was pretty spectacular.”
Heights scores in flashes
Wyatt started the game with a long, 11-play scoring drive following a 39-yard kick return by Daniel Hardy. A handful of Chaparrals took turns making small, effective gains until Jorvoski Lane finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown. Wyatt’s 2-point conversion attempt was no good.
The Yellowjacket offense took the field and responded in a hurry. Quarterback Allen Banks threw a pass right down the middle of the field, finding Keith Guidry for a 68-yard touchdown.
Heights went for two but couldn’t complete the pass. A defensive holding penalty, however, allowed them to retry and runningback Latreal Brooks took it in for 2-points.
The rest of the first half, both defenses shined. The Yellowjackets and Chaparrals took turns attempting to create scoring opportunities with the ground game, but nothing was working.
The next eight drives resulted in punts or turnovers on downs, and neither team got within 15 yards of the red zone.
Since Heights’ first offensive play, both teams struggled to gain yardage through the air. Good defensive coverage was a factor, but receivers on both sides dropped catchable passes.
On the last play of the half, Wyatt quarterback Jorvorski Lane Jr. was facing pressure with zeros on the clock. Instead of taking the loss and heading to halftime, he heaved a desparation Hail Mary in an attempt to score.
It was picked off by Guidry, who returned it 70-yards for a touchdown. The heights 2-point conversion, however, was not successful.
Wyatt head coach Zach Criss said Lane Jr. told him his first thought was to “make something happen” but that he should’ve accepted the loss.
“You don’t try to make something happen,” Criss said. “You execute. And that’s what we didn’t do.”
Heights defense stays strong
In the second half, Heghts’ defense did more than enough to keep Wyatt off the scoreboard. In the Chaparrals first offensive possession in the third quarter, junior Lamont Mantilla hauled in an interception.
The Yellowjackets started their next drive in the red zone, but things quickly went awry. Quarterback Allen Banks threw an interception, giving the ball right back to Wyatt.
“You take ours away, we take yours away,” the Clark Stadium PA announcer said.
Both teams traded punts after quick drives. Wyatt regained possession and badly needed some momentum. Another dropped pass and a sack forced them to punt, once again.
The Yellowjackets’ special teams ensured the second half would have at least one score. Guidry returned a punt 70-yards, shaking defenders on his way to the end zone. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good.
Wyatt, in it’s final drive of the game, made one last attempt to cut the Yellowjacket lead. To conclude a nine play drive, the Chaparrals failed a fourth down conversion with 8:36 remaining in the game.
Arlington Heights took over, keeping the ball for the rest of the contest in a long, 11 play drive kept alive by three Wyatt penalties. The Yellowjackets got to the 1-yard line but chose to take a knee to end the game.
What went wrong with Wyatt?
Wyatt head coach Zach Criss said his team didn’t do a good job of overcoming the injuries sustained to the team earlier in the week. The Chaparrals were playing without starting quarterback Kaid Barrett.
“Tonight was a mental game,” Criss said. “It was a point of us coming out here and being mentally tough. Trusting in the guys ahead to substitute for those other guys. That’s what we did not do tonight. We didn’t play a bad football game. We made a few key mistakes. But over and all we did not compensate for some guys not being here, and that’s what hurt us.”
Criss said he believes in having a gameplan that depends on what the defense allows. Tonight, there were certainly plenty of run opportunities.
“We did a pretty good job of running the ball tonight,” Criss said. “We needed to do some throwing in order to keep them honest on the run game, and that’s where we had our letdowns tonight. ... We’re going to come out and play a better ballgame next week.”
Next week, Arlington Heights will face Trimble Tech on Thursday and Wyatt will face Fort Worth North Side on Friday.
This story was originally published September 30, 2023 at 12:18 AM.
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