Brian Gosset: Biggest things from the first round of the playoffs in the Fort Worth-area

The playoffs have started as Fort Worth-area teams continue their march this season. A lot of action took place with impressive wins and big upsets, plus top recruits proving why they’re some of the best in the state.

Check out the best of the best from the first round of the playoffs.

Best win

Arlington Heights 40, Independence 21

The Yellowjackets hosted the Knights to start the Class 5A D2 postseason and scored 27 straight points to help win the bi-district championship on Friday night.

It’s the first playoff win for Heights (10-1) since 2014 and first for a Fort Worth ISD school since Dunbar in 2016.

Heights running back Brian Furch, who scored on runs of 1, 1, 4, 6 and 41 yards, finished with 158 yards on 33 carries Brandon Monroe carried 14 times for 83 yards and scored on a 14-yard run.

The Jackets came out strong with a 13-0 lead, but the Knights rallied to go up 14-13 midway through the third quarter. Furch and Heights took over from there, scoring four straight touchdowns. Quarterback Eric Orozco finished with 143 yards on 13 of 19 passing and receiver Tymir Biscoe caught 10 passes for 113 yards.

Biggest Upset

Kennedale 10, La Vega 7

Revenge can be sweet, right?

Kennedale opened the season with a 34-7 loss to Waco La Vega, but 11 weeks later, it’s the Wildcats that get the last laugh after eliminating the Pirates in the 4A D1 bi-district round.

Cameron Lyles rushed 29 times for 144 yards and scored the only touchdown for the Wildcats. Lawrence Hodge had an interception and deflection and Shane Hull caused a fumble.

Zach Connor had two sacks and Oklahoma State commit Poasa Utu had 15 tackles, four for loss and one sack. Tyler Greenfield added 10 tackles for Kennedale.

La Vega came in averaging nearly 30 points per game. It was the third time the Pirates were held to a single score, the others came against state champs Lorena and China Spring.

Number

19

It’s been 19 years since Keller won a playoff football game. The drought ended Friday night as the Indians beat Euless Trinity 17-10 to open the 6A D1 postseason.

It’s the program’s first bi-district championship since 2003.

No player on Keller was born yet!

Jayden Hart scored from the 8 to give Keller a 14-10 lead with 7:41 left in the third quarter. Hart finished with 113 rushing yards on 23 carries. A 22-yard field goal by Garrett Martin gave the Indians a 17-10 lead with 7:02 left in the fourth quarter.

Then it was the defense’s turn to shine. With the ball at the 1 on fourth down, Gary Maddox was stopped short of the goal line with just over two minutes left on the clock.

Top recruit

De’ago Benson, Sr., RB, Midlothian

Benson led the way for a massive rushing attack by the Panthers during their bi-district win over Justin Northwest on Friday night. The 3-star back rushed 16 times for 174 yards and three touchdowns.

Benson’s first TD came from 14 yards out to put the Panthers up 6-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter. His second came on a 60-yarder that made it 37-7 just before halftime.

His third and final score came from the 9 to up the lead to 44-13 midway through the third.

Benson holds 11 offers, which include Washington State, Boise State, Navy, Tulsa and Vanderbilt. Benson had committed to WSU in the summer, but de-committed in early October.

His latest offer came from Vanderbilt on Nov. 1.

Benson is over 900 yards rushing this season with 14 TDs. He had 14 and 1,173 yards last season.

448 yards passing

Jake Wilson, Sr., QB, Byron Nelson

Wilson torched the Boswell defense as the Bobcats opened the 6A D2 playoffs with a 54-14 win on the road. The Bobcats scored the final 34 points of the game and held Boswell scoreless in the second half.

Wilson, who leads the area in passing, finished 18 of 29 for 448 yards and tied a career-high with six touchdowns. He also threw six touchdowns this season against Haltom.

This season, Wilson has thrown for 400 yards three times and at least 241 in all 11.

He also has thrown for multiple scores in every game and upped his season total to 39.

193 yards rushing

Kayden Brooks, Jr., RB, Everman

Without starting running back Errick Mills, Brooks had a monster night on the ground as the Bulldogs rolled to a big win over Seagoville in the 5A D2 bi-district round.

Brooks set a season-high with 193 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

He did it on just 10 carries to average 19.3 yards per rush.

Brooks has been a durable No. 2 behind Mills this season, with 815 yards and 11 touchdowns. Brooks is among the leaders in yards per carry with 11.3 per attempt.

Both Brooks’ touchdowns were long, first going for 52 yards to up the Everman lead to 23-0 in the second quarter. He added an 80-yard TD to make it 37-0 midway through the third.

222 yards receiving

Jacob Jordan, Jr., WR, Southlake Carroll

The Dragons knocked off Crowley 52-13 and Jordan had himself a big night.

Jordan made 11 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. He set a new career-high for catches and yards in a game. It’s only his third 100-yard receiving game and second this season. He had 117 in the season opener.

Jordan ups his season total to 50 catches, 835 yards and 14 touchdowns for Carroll (11-0).