Schools & Sports

All photos by PATRICK LUECKE

All photos by PATRICK LUECKE

On a cold blustery night, the varsity Forney Jackrabbits traveled to Corsicana last Friday to play the Tigers in what was supposed to be the first 8-5A Division II district game. Due to the current COVIDrelated situations in several of our UIL district schools, this instead turned out to be a tune up for the upcoming zone alignment. Our district has decided to split the UIL district into zones to help ensure that we have a way to allow our teams to compete for the 4 playoff spots at the end of this football season. This zone or seeding game alignment will allow time for make-up games in the event that any involved schools or communities experience viral coronavirus outbreaks. With that being said, the real district play starts for the Jackrabbits this Saturday, October 31, at 1pm at Crandall High School.

All photos by JIM KLENKE and LARRY GOLDEN

All photos by JIM KLENKE and LARRY GOLDEN

In 2009, to the chagrin of many long-time residents of Forney, a new high school was built on the north side of town, outside of city limits. Three years later, as North Forney High School grew, the two Forney ISD high schools found themselves in the same Class 4A football district and the Unity Bowl, an annual game between the two high schools located just miles apart was born.

The Jackrabbits opened 8-5A action last Friday night with a frustrating 61-21 loss to crosstown rival North Forney Falcons. City Bank Stadium was as packed as allowed by State of Texas and UIL mandates, with the bands and drill teams from each of the high schools seated behind the end zones and on the track. It was a loud, festive, hardhitting and exciting contest, but unfortunately the Rabbits couldn’t pull off a Unity Bowl win for this year.

Monday, October 12, 2020—DMN “Gameday” High School Players of the Week—Honorable Mention Offense: North Forney’s TY COLLINS, senior running back, rushed for 248 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win over Fort Worth Brewer; Rockwall’s Braedyn Locke, junior quarterback, passed for 3 touchdowns and 349 yards in the win over Southlake Carroll; Garland’s Jordan Hudson, junior wide receiver, grabbed 5 passes for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win over North Garland.—Honorable Mention Defense: Wilmer Hutchins’s Billy Monroe III, senior linebacker, recorded 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 quarterback hurries, and 12 total tackles in the win over Dallas W. T. White.

Traveling to the west side of the metroplex last Friday night, the North Forney Falcons (3-0) again raced out to a big lead, and then withstood a furious comeback, in defeating 5A-D1 Fort Worth Brewer (1-2), 49-37. It was the third time in as many games that the Falcons have held an early lead of at least 17 points.

Coming off of their homecoming week the previous week, the Varsity Jackrabbits took the long road trip to Texarkana last week, October 9, to face off against the #9 state ranked Texarkana Texas High Tigers. The Jackrabbits battled hard, but unfortunately for the Rabbits the state ranked Tigers played a nearly flawless game. The Tigers’ homecoming crowd was loud and raucous, and the Forney fans who made the trip were great. The noise and excitement were good preparation for the upcoming district play and a future playoff atmosphere. The Jackrabbit players and coaches are always thankful for all of those fans who come out to cheer on the team, especially when that involves making the trip from Forney all the way to historic Tiger Stadium. Undoubtedly, last Friday night’s fans were happy they came, as they were lucky enough to see a great team and a team chasing greatness.

At Brown Middle School, the College and Career Readiness students have been hard at work. Students are taking a deep dive inside themselves to learn more about who they are, what matters most to them and what type of future is best for them.

Yes, I know that the Texas Rangers were a disappointment to many area fans, and I know that this whole Major League season was much less than what was desired. (Yes, I know that play-offs are still on the agenda and will probably offer excitement and some good baseball games, but let’s be honest: Things have to change by the start of next season!)

All photos by JASON BOWIE and STEPHANIE COLLINS