Noah Jeon

Senior Micah Christmas (3) defends a shot against Forney High School’s number 11.

After defeating Mesquite (4-10) on senior night, the varsity boys basketball team heads into district undefeated for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Farmers boast a 14-0 overall record and start their journey toward ending the 17-year title drought on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Coppell (6-3). 

The team’s consistency has been key, scoring at least 70 points in their last six games. Head coach Toby Martin says the team functions as a “multicomponent team.” 

“Not one person is going to score 29 or 30 every night,” Martin said. “If we continue to find the hot hand, we’re really successful.”

The 74-71 victory against. Rock Hill (3-7) exemplifies that statement. In the second half, senior forward John Mcpeters cashed in two 3-pointers in the third quarter and senior center Colby Springs finished with eight points in the fourth quarter.

“[With Springs and Mcpeters], we’re now able to have one-stop possessions,” Martin said. “Rebounding the ball at a high clip with those two guys, who can also get out and run, makes us a very dangerous team.”

Limiting possessions allows the team to push the ball and score in transition. Senior guard Elijah Chambers says that aspect is the difference from years past. 

“We’ve been playing with each other for a long time, we’re fast,” Chambers said. “We want it more [than other teams].”

Senior guard Micah Christmas is a beneficiary of the team’s fast pace, as the team’s sharpshooter. His catch and shoot prowess has taken the load off the team’s main scorers.

“Our guards, Princeton Green, Rakai [Crawford] and Landon [Brown], they’re getting down hill,” Christmas said. “They can beat their man, and this allows my man to help and leave me open. They really take the pressure off of me.”

That constant pressure paid off, as Green set the team record for assists in a game 

with 19 against St. Marks (10-4) on Sunday, Dec. 3. 

“He really gets the offense going,” Christmas said. “It tells a lot about how much we trust him and how much he puts in the work.”

The Farmers defeated St. Marks 83-58, one of their six wins versus teams with winning records currently. Playing better squads gets the team battle tested for district play, when competition and stakes heighten. 

“We feel ‘better competition’ is all a matter of opinion,” Martin said. “We feel like we’re one of the best teams in DFW. We’re perfectly comfortable having that ‘x’ on our back.”