Anticipation for the third-consecutive playoff meeting between the varsity football team (7-4, 6-1 in District 6A-5) and the Allen Eagles (11-0, 8-0 in District 6A-6) culminated in an Eagle Stadium filled with more than 5,000 fans in attendance.
With the opportunity to come out as the winner of District 6A-5 in a deciding matchup against the Coppell Cowboys in week seven, playoff hopes were at a high during the road to the postseason. Those aspirations would be shot down as the Cowboys would lead the district after winning that matchup, leading the Farmers to a first round matchup against the Eagles, resulting in a 17-3 win for Allen.
“We wish we could have done something more for our teammates,” senior offensive lineman Sean Hutton said. “That’s what really hurts the most, the fact that we couldn’t get it done for a lot of good guys.”
Special teams was something to keep an eye on heading into the matchup considering the Farmers gave up nine points on special teams in the team’s 2023-2024 matchup with the Eagles.
These units would prove to heavily impact the game once again, as Allen would block a punt in the late-first quarter to set up the Eagles offense on the opposing eight yard line. This would put senior quarterback Brady Bricker in position to score a four yard rushing touchdown, giving Allen a 7-0 lead with a minute left in the first quarter.
“That turnover they got on special teams drove them to get a touchdown,” Hutton said. “It definitely changed the game in a big way, that’s just something we needed to fix. Little details like that can cause a team to win or lose.”
The Farmer offense would struggle for the rest of the first half, punting two more times before a consistent drive within the last two minutes of the second quarter. Being down 10-0 at this point, scoring before halftime would make a comeback much more attainable.
After a drive that nearly passed the 50 yard line, the Farmers would fumble the ball on a run handed off to junior running back Tenel Hill, who totaled 72 yards on 16 carries (4.5 yards per carry). Sophomore quarterback Tre Williams was limited in the passing game, accumulating 62 passing yards, and threw one interception along with one fumble.
“Any time you lose the turnover battle, it’s going to be tough to win,” assistant offensive coordinator Nate Blackwell said. “There’s a lot of statistics out there about takeaway and turnover ratio, and most of the time, the team that wins, ultimately wins the game. Protecting the ball is always going to be the number one [priority].”
Coming into the week, the Eagles averaged 49 points per game and the Farmers defense was able to force two turnovers, leading to the Allen offense scoring 17 points and gaining 173 yards, cutting the team’s season averages in half.
“[Performance] felt great, it shows how dominant our defense is and it shows what an impact Coach Johnson has,” senior defensive end Sean Oliver said. “Holding big teams like that to a lower average, feels great.”
However, these efforts would not be enough and with the season coming to a close, multiple seniors will be on their way out while the underclassmen step up to fill in major roles on the team.
Senior defensive ends Rhyan Sewell and Oliver made massive plays on the defensive line, combining for 127 tackles, 42 tackles for loss and 16 sacks. Junior defensive linemen Xavier Fleming and Keegan Grubbs are likely to step up as leaders of the defensive trenches. Senior defensive backs D’Angelo King and Zephen Walker have options to take their places in junior defensive back Kanye Anderson, sophomore defensive back Aiden Evans and many more.
Offensively, multiple senior linemen in Michael Fasusi, Sean Hutton and Kylan Masters will be graduating and leaving roles to be filled. Freshmen offensive linemen Maxx Jones and Peter Macdonald have already played in multiple games this season and will likely see a larger role next year.
“I think the next step is trying to develop the leadership in your team, with the returning juniors and sophomores that are coming back,” Blackwell said. “Having those guys step into new roles and maturity and growth and all those things happen during the off season. That’s where the mindset goes at this point in the year.”
With multiple younger starters on this team, hopes are high and chemistry should continue to grow among the team. The varsity team can head into next year with many different talents to work with and build around.
“Our younger class is going to be just as good, I think we’re going to get better each and every year,” Oliver said. “We’ve got a guy named Xavier Fleming. He’s a great defensive player, and we have our running backs, [Tenel] Hill is a great running back; I promise you so keep an eye on him. We’re going to be dominant, it’s going to be better than this year.”
*stats according to Dallas Morning News*
