The 2023 UIL Football Playoffs are here! Five Fort Worth ISD teams qualified for the postseason and compete in the bi-district round either Thursday, Nov. 9 or Friday, Nov. 10. Fort Worth ISD congratulates all its teams on a great regular season and wishes the best of luck to its five teams playing postseason football!

5A Division II

Arlington Heights (7-3) @ Lake Dallas (9-1)

Lake Dallas hosts Arlington Heights at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 at Falcon Stadium in Corinth. Arlington Heights finished its season with a 5-2 record in District 4-5A D-II. The Yellow Jackets fell to Colleyville Heritage and Grapevine, the top two teams in the district, and claimed the third playoff seed thanks to a win over fourth place finisher O.D. Wyatt back in September. Lake Dallas finished second in District 3-5A D-II with the lone loss coming to Argyle and a 36-35 win over Frisco Emerson clinching the second seed. 

Keith Guidry stars on both sides of the football for Arlington Heights and quarterback Allen Banks will have to get Guidry and Enrique Manzano the ball early and often. The Yellow Jackets will have to balance the passing attack out with Latreal Brooks and Carson James on the ground. Slowing down Lake Dallas quarterback Cade Bortnem and wide receiver Dylan Brauchele won’t be an easy task for the AHHS defense. Limiting those two will be a key to victory for Arlington Heights. 

O.D. Wyatt (7-3) @ Argyle (7-2)

Argyle hosts O.D. Wyatt at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 at Eagle Stadium in Argyle. O.D. Wyatt clinched the last playoff spot in District 4-5A D-II thanks to a 49-13 win over fifth place finisher Southwest. The Chaparrals lost three games in district play, all by close margins. Its most recent game was a 28-21 loss to Colleyville Heritage, the District 4-5A D-II champion and the No. 8 ranked 5A D-II team in the AP Poll. Jorvorski Lane Jr., a Texas A&M baseball commit, was the star in that game, rushing for 64 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. 

O.D. Wyatt does most of its damage on the ground. Lane Jr. and Dartagnan Crawford get the majority of the carries, along with Damario Goss. O.D. Wyatt will need all three to be at the top of their game as it takes on the No. 7 ranked Argyle Eagles in the bi-district round. Quarterback Maguire Gasperson and running back Jake Krekeler will be the key opposing players to stop for the Chaparrals defense. 

4A Division I

Waco La Vega (6-4) @ Dunbar (7-3)

Dunbar hosts Waco La Vega at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 at Corsicana’s Tiger Stadium. Dunbar finished as the second-place team in District 6-4A D-I with a 5-1 record. The lone loss came last week in the de-facto district title game to Kennedale, 14-7. Aside from a close win over Eastern Hills, Dunbar mostly dominated its district schedule. The Wildcats face a tough test against a talented Waco La Vega program in the bi-district round. 

Quarterback Marcus McDade and running back Ben Smith will need to put up big numbers for the offense and Jacoryn Johnson and Bryton Woodard will need to make a few plays on defense for Dunbar to pull off a win over Waco La Vega. The Pirates won a state championship in 2018 but haven’t been quite the same team since. Last season was a 5-6 campaign and the La Vega record this season stands at 6-4, with a 2-2 mark in district play, so far. Dunbar and Waco La Vega do have an opponent in common in Kennedale. The Pirates beat Kennedale 35-28 to open the season back in August. Dunbar lost by seven points to the same team, but Kennedale was presumably a better team in November when it played Dunbar than it was in August when it faced Waco La Vega. If those results are any indication, this should be a great game between two great teams.

Western Hills (5-5) @ Stephenville (8-2)

Stephenville hosts Western Hills at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 at Tarleton Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. Western Hills clinched the last playoff spot in District 6-4A D-I by way of an 18-16 win over Eastern Hills. Western Hills, Eastern Hills and Lake Worth finished in a three-way tie at 4-3 in district play for the third playoff seed. Eastern Hills was left out of the playoffs via tiebreaker. Stephenville won its district with a 4-0 record and a 31-21 win over second place finisher China Spring. 

Western Hills will depend on quarterback Kyu Wilson and running back Kaream Williams to put points on the board. Williams leads the team in all-purpose yards as a running back and receiver and getting him in space will be paramount. Up front, offensive lineman Rod Gray and Jayson Aden will need to win in the trenches and control the line of scrimmage. A strong linebacking corps led by Love Willis, Brycen Foster and Domo Salazar lead the team in tackles and will need to be around the football all game long. The Western Hills defense will need to slow down Stephenville running back Tate Marsuka and wide receiver Tristian Gentry. 

4A Division II

Benbrook (6-4) @ Wichita Falls Hirschi (5-4)

Wichita Falls Hirschi hosts Benbrook at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls. Benbrook claimed the last playoff spot in District 4-4A D-II thanks to a 45-27 win over fifth place finisher Ferris back on Oct. 20. This will be the last playoff run for Wichita Falls Hirschi as WFISD is consolidating its high schools into two new high schools beginning next school year. 

Benbrook is in the midst of an incredible turnaround from 1-9 last season to 6-4 this season. The Bobcats will depend on quarterback Brennan Barton and Kade Cross, who plays receiver and linebacker. Center Shaw Stutzman anchors the offensive line and defensive end Christian Gleason leads the defensive line. Wichita Falls Hirschi won’t want to lose in the bi-district round in its final season. Benbrook will need to play smart, clean football in order to win on Friday night. 

Fort Worth ISD congratulates Arlington Heights, O.D. Wyatt, Dunbar, Western Hills and Benbrook on qualifying for the post season! Making the playoff is a big accomplishment and the district wishes its five teams the best of luck in the bi-district round!