Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt quarterback Kentrell Steward carries the ball against Fort Worth Arlington Heights during a game on Oct. 30 at Farrington Field.
FORT WORTH — Arlington Heights and O.D. Wyatt battled for the right to be in the driver’s seat for a district title.
Both entered with undefeated records, but the Yellowjackets got three touchdowns from Carson James to secure a 27-22 win over O.D. Wyatt on Friday night at Farrington Field.
It was another close game between the Fort Worth ISD schools, but Arlington Heights is now 18-3 since 2004 in the series.
They move to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in District 4-5A Division and will face another test from Fort Worth Brewer this week. Brewer, 7-2 and 5-1, is standing in the way of a perfect regular season.
Wyatt fell to 8-1 and 5-1 with the loss. The Chaparrals faced a winless Fort Worth Polytechnic this week to wrap up the regular season and will be in the playoffs as either the 2 or 3 seed, depending on the outcome of the other game. Wyatt has beaten Brewer earlier this year, so they have the tiebreaker there.
Wyatt nearly rallied for the win, down 27-16, with less than 2 minutes to go.
Quarterback Steward kept the Chaparrals in the game with a 31-yard pass to Sirr Legend Bell. Then, connected with McTobia Pilot for an 8-yard touchdown with 47 seconds left.
Wyatt pulled within 27-22 and then recovered the onside kick at the 45-yard line.
Steward completed a pass and the Chaps had the ball at the 12-yard line with 30 seconds left. Arlington Heights called a timeout with 12 seconds left, though some after the game questioned if the Yellowjackets still had a timeout or if they were granted a fourth timeout.
When play resumed, the clock was rolling and Steward rolled to his right and ultimately ran out of bounds with the clock hitting zero. A flag on the play was thrown and after a discussion, a holding call was declined.
That set up a celebration for the Yellowjackets.
James ran 32 times for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran in conversions after 3 touchdowns. After the game, he and his twin brother, defensive lineman Carson James, were honored on senior night.
“We're doing good. I feel like we're on a roll and we're going to go back in the lab, work on things we messed up on, put in new things and be ready for Brewer,” said Carson James.
The game was a low-scoring contest early, with Arlington Heights up 11-7 at halftime and then 11-10 after three quarters.
