Arlington Heights RB Carson James dazzles in bi-district win over Brewer
With a 29-23 lead and 1:09 to go in a bi-district playoff game against White Settlement Brewer, Arlington Heights football trusted junior Carson James, its star running back, to seal the deal — that’s just what he did.
He took a handoff and broke away for a 40 yard touchdown, to give Heights a 36-23 victory Friday at Farrington Field. Carson James finished with 288 yards and 4 TDs on 36 carries; he had more rushing yards than Brewer’s entire team had total yards.
Arlington Heights (10-1) head coach Curtis James said the game plan after halftime was to give Carson James the ball as much as possible.
“Feed [Carson James] until I tell you to stop,” Curtis James said. “And he just came out and delivered for us. I told the O-line, ‘You know what you’ve got behind you.’ ... Let’s see what happens. No one wants to tackle a 220 pound running back. So, I just said give it all you got and let’s see what happens.”
In the end, Heights won a bi-district playoff game for the first time since the 2022 season. It was the first Class 5A bi-district victory for a Fort Worth ISD school since then.
“All my years of playing ball and coaching — I like to try to tell kids my experience,” Curtis James said. “All I know is how to be tough. How to fight. How to work hard. .... I love these kids because they really believe. And they keep playing hard. They don’t question us. If one guy goes down, next guy stands up, and they just keep fighting.”
Now, the Yellow Jackets will have an opportunity to win an area round game for the first time since 1973.
“I want to see the same thing,” Curtis James said. “I want to see us clean up the personal fouls and the bad hits cause that’s what got [Brewer] going. .... We’ll do everything we can to try to get to that third round.”
Brewer (7-4) was making its first playoff appearance since 2021. The Bears were aiming to win a postseason game for the first time since 1989, when they reached the third round.
Heights opened the scoring with a 63 yard breakaway touchdown from running back Carson James, who also rushed in for a 2 point conversion. With 3:22 left in the first quarter, Brewer responded with a 9 yard score from RB Kameron Coleman.
The next score, a 27 yard Brewer go ahead field goal, came after a botched Heights punt that gave the Bears a short field. Heights tried to respond, but quarterback Carmelo Carter fumbled to Brewer’s Kingston Hurst, who returned it 23 yards for a TD.
After an unsuccessful drive, Heights punted to Brewer; one of the Bear’s returners touched the ball, and it seemed Heights notched a scoop and score, but officials ruled the play dead. Soon after, loud boos from the Farrington home crowd turned to cheers when Brewer quarterback Colton Ryals fumbled to Dino Walker, who returned 41 yards for a game tying TD.
“I always tell our guys to keep playing,” Curtis James said. “So, I keep telling myself to keep calling. ... Let’s play the game. And I can show it a million times ... nobody in the official association will change the call. So, it just is what it is.”
Heights and Brewer were tied 16-16 at the half. The Bears quickly reclaimed a one score lead at the start of the third quarter with a 76 yard reception from Devan Roberts, who broke a couple tackles.
At that point, Heights’ Carson James took over.
He tied the game with a 3 yard score from wildcat formation. Next, after a sack from Isaiah Schuman ended a Brewer drive, Heights was facing 4th down and went back to Carson James in the wildcat; he received a block and raced 22 yards untouched for a TD to give Heights a 29-23 lead with 11:55 to go.
Despite the offense struggling to extend the lead, the defense forced consecutive turnovers on downs to drain the clock and BYU pledge TJ Johnson helped seal the deal and set up Carson James’ final score with an interception.
“My other safety came down and made a play on the ball, and I was just there,” Johnson said. “I was happy to wait and come get the ball. Made a play on it, and sealed the deal.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 10:14 PM.
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