Schools in greater Fort Worth area enjoying football success as playoffs start in 4A
The high school football playoffs begin Thursday in Class 4A and below and teams in the greater Fort Worth area have enjoyed success this season in light of the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fort Worth Western Hills coach Blake Moilan knew his team had a shot at ending the program’s playoff drought.
He scheduled a tough non-district schedule that helped.
“These kids worked hard all year long. We never had an issue playing hard in every game,” Moilan said. “We played West and Lake Worth, both playoff teams, so having those non-district games helped us this year.”
The Cougars (4-5) are in District 6-4A Division 1.
The district elected to turn into two four-team zones to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. It did that so if games were canceled later in the season, the district would have its four playoff teams by October.
After playing three zone games, Western Hills played Eastern Hills for a playoff spot on October 15. The Cougars won 27-0 to clinch their first playoff berth since 2010.
“We’re excited about it,” Moilan said. “It’s something we talked about in the beginning of the season. Getting a chance to play is huge for these kids and these seniors.”
Western Hills won four district games for the first time in 10 years.
The Cougars travel to Waco La Vega (7-2) in a 4A Region 2 bi-district game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“Our message is to go down and just play. La Vega has been a state powerhouse the last few years, but we need to go play and follow the game plan,” Moilan said. “We can’t worry about the scoreboard, we need to have fun and it will take care of itself. We can’t get wrapped on the past, we need to worry about right now and take care of business.”
Castleberry, which is nine miles from Fort Worth ISD, is in the same district as Western Hills. During the zone-seeding game, the Lions (3-5) beat FW Dunbar, 57-53, to clinch a playoff spot.
Head coach Juan Silva has used the number 25 as a message this season.
The Lions are headed to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1994-95. Last year’s team went 7-4, which was the program’s first winning season in 25 years.
“The kids have believed that we came in to change the culture,” said Silva, who’s in his second season. “They’ve been trying to get over the hump. Last year was the first winning season in 25 years, so we’ve run with that number throughout the season. The kids have really stepped up to the plate.”
Castleberry had a bumpy start, losing its first four games, but a 69-0 win over FW Diamond Hill-Jarvis put the Lions into a position for a berth. Then they beat Dunbar.
“Before this year, there was some fear playing teams like Dunbar and Kennedale, and those caliber of teams, but this year the fear is gone and that’s a testament to the coaching staff and kids here at Castleberry,” Silva said. “We now believe we can compete with those guys.”
The Lions open the playoffs at 7 p.m. Thursday against Midlothian Heritage (8-2) at Midlothian ISD Stadium.
“We feel like the kids can compete with a spread-type team like Heritage. They’re a very good football team,” Silva said. “Our message is to believe what we’re doing. Anything can happen in the playoffs. We’re back healthy and full-strength.”
Benbrook (5-4) finished second in district and will host Stephenville (5-5) at 7 p.m. Friday at Farrington Field. The Bobcats are playoff bound for the second time in program history (2018).
Lake Worth (6-4), which will play a postseason game for the ninth straight season, will face Dumas (9-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Vernon High School.
FW North Side (5A) is 5-0 for the first time since 1946. The Steers are still playing in the regular season.
