Arlington Heights, Eastern Hills boost Fort Worth ISD with playoff wins
For years, Fort Worth ISD football has carried an unfair label.
Its programs aren’t meant to win in the playoffs, much less challenge teams from the suburbs beyond district lines.
But Arlington Heights’ Curtis James and Eastern Hills’ Devvin Anderson are shattering that expectation, guiding their programs into rare territory for Fort Worth ISD teams. They’re doing it without the deep-pocketed booster clubs common in some suburban districts, where fundraising can reach into the millions.
Arlington Heights’ 36-23 victory over White Settlement Brewer was the Yellow Jackets’ first playoff win since 2022 — and that was the last time any Fort Worth ISD Class 5A squad won in the bi-district round.
Heights (10-1) will face Lubbock Monterey (7-4) in the area round at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene with a chance to advance to the third round, a place the Yellow Jackets haven’t reached since 1973.
James said he started to hear about the stigma around Fort Worth ISD football. He told his players to disregard it and believe in the process.
“Just because you live somewhere, that doesn’t mean that makes you play a certain type of football,” James said. “We’re going to play hard-nosed football, and we’re going to be tough. A few guys quit. They were seniors this year.
“And I said, ‘The water got too hot.’ So, you guys who stay, you’ll be tough, and you’re going to be able to get some wins.”
Fort Worth Eastern Hills’ 22-17 victory over Kennedale gave the Highlanders their first playoff win since 1999, long before any current players were born. Now the Highlanders, a younger squad, have a taste for success and room to keep climbing.
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“It was really, really important for us,” Anderson said of the win. “We’re pretty young. We’re playing 16, 17 sophomores on varsity. Going into the game, it was really important to get them focused.”
Anderson said he’s focused on creating a culture of hard work and being a tough team. At the same time, he thinks it’s vital to breed positivity, which has helped boost team chemistry. Anderson, hired in 2021, is working with seniors whom he has known since they were freshmen, and the continuity has brought the program together.
Even with relative youth, the Highlanders have showcased the progress Fort Worth ISD has made in Class 4A Division I. The idea Fort Worth teams don’t have a chance floats around, but at the end of the day, it’s just outside noise to them.
“We’re fighting hard to debunk that theory,” Anderson said. “... That’s something we preach around here — that people do say that ‘Fort Worth ISD schools don’t win outside of Fort Worth ISD.’
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“We’ve been fortunate enough that we have had some wins outside of Fort Worth ISD. ... We use it as a marker for us to work.”
Eastern Hills (6-5) will face Celina (11-0), the defending Class 4A Division I state champion, at 7 p.m. Friday at Pennington Field.
The Yellow Jackets and the Highlanders will have a chance to achieve a rare feat for Fort Worth ISD. Benbrook won two playoff games last season in 4A Division II, but before that, it had been 24 years since the district’s last area-round win.
Winning one playoff game has been a rarity for top Fort Worth ISD teams. In 2023, no Fort Worth ISD squads won in the bi-district round. Since then, there has been gradual but significant progress under executive director of athletics JJ Calderon’s leadership.
Besides Heights and Eastern Hills, other programs made strides, too, even if they didn’t win in the bi-district round. Fort Worth Wyatt earned a share of the District 4-5A Division I title with Heights. Against Richland, arguably a state power, the Chaparral offense shined in a 77-43 loss.
Fort Worth Carter-Riverside made a playoff appearance for the first time since 1995, and Diamond Hill-Jarvis snapped a 47-game losing streak.
Every accomplishment, no matter how small, can be used as a building block to spark growth. It takes development, consistency and time to get to a championship level, but a school like South Oak Cliff has showcased that anything is possible for city schools. The Dallas ISD program has made four straight Class 5A Division II state title games, claiming two championships.
Eastern Hills has a hefty challenge ahead against Celina, a state power. Anderson said the team understands the mountain of an obstacle ahead.
“This is important for our program,” Anderson said. “A chance to get out there and play the defending state champ. To get a chance to see the No. 1 team in the state. It’s huge for us going forward. We can get out and take our shot at it and see what happens. That’s what we want to see [against Celina] — great effort, and we want to see our kids lay it on the line.
“Keep it close. Give them four quarters. Let’s see what happens.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 3:38 PM.
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