This time last year North Forney Varsity Head Football Coach Eric Luster knew that something had to change. The Falcons were fresh off a 3-7 record which included an 0-6 district campaign. He was not the only one who didn’t like that taste in his mouth. The entire coaching staff and roster did not want to repeat being the door mat for the rest of District 10-6A. A couple of games in particular stood out for Coach Luster and everyone else in the building as stark learning moments. “It was really after the Royse City game last year. We knew we had to get bigger and stronger if we were going to compete in 6A,” said Coach Luster while reflecting on the 2022 season. Although the Falcons had the speed to compete in 6A, they lacked the size in the trenches that most 6A teams have in abundance. So, the North Forney staff wasted no time getting to work. The offseason program was one of the toughest and most rigorous in recent years. Many Falcons players made the weight room their second home throughout the offseason. Fast forward to now and the work that was put in has been noticed. The difference is palpable.
However, as you may have heard before, “Size isn’t everything”. There are a lot of 6A schools in the state of Texas that could attest to that. You also need Talent. That is something that North Forney has had in the past but after making the jump to 6A last year, they needed even more. When asked to describe the biggest difference from the 2022 season compared to this year’s, Offensive Line Coach Stan Anderson simply replied, “For me, it’s talent”. North Forney has always had talented players, but they needed more of them. Thankfully, they’ve had an explosion of talent come from guys who did not have a lot of varsity experience coming into 2023. Now, I could write 3 articles’ worth of names of players who have had big impacts this season, but I’ll narrow it down to a few names who have had the most influence. Junior quarterback Tamarrion Crochett burst on the scene thanks to a tremendous 7 on 7 summer outing that helped build chemistry with playmakers like junior wide receiver Kellen Sanders and senior wide receiver Kasen McCoy. Add those names to other playmakers and a bigger, more talented offensive line and you have a potent offensive attack that has averaged over 37 points per game. Last season, the offensive struggled to move the ball consistently against opponents especially in district play where they averaged 18.5 points per game. The Falcons only had two games last season in which they scored over 31 points compared to seven such instances this season. This offense is loaded with playmakers who can hurt the defense and the coaching staff, including Offensive Coordinator Justin Valasquez, who has built an offense for those said playmakers to succeed. As Coach Anderson referenced, there is more talent on the field. Maybe more than any other North Forney season I have witnessed since I started broadcasting games in 2016. Although, I’m sure the legendary 2017 team would have a few things to say about that.
Even with added size and talent there was still one missing ingredient to help transform the 2023 turnaround. When talking with the North Forney coaching staff and even some of the players, one thing stood out among the rest. In fact, one phrase kept reoccurring above all else in every one of my conversations. The last thing added to the 2023 recipe was “buy-in”. Seems simple enough, right? Of course not. It’s no secret that these days it’s become harder and harder to get any group of people to buy in to something together, especially teenagers. Secondaries Coach Mario Edwards, who knows a thing or two about buy-in from his time playing football for Florida State University and the Dallas Cowboys throughout the early 2000’s, says for him, “The biggest difference in the turnaround from last season is the total buy-in from everyone in the organization. From the coaches to the players, the secretary, the equipment [managers].” He compares it to when Bill Parcells took over as Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys after three straight 5-11 seasons in the early 2000’s. “It was the same group of guys that went 5-11 three straight seasons then went 11-5 and made the playoff in Parcells’ first year,” he said. Obviously, Coach Luster has a few more wins and few less muscles to go before anyone starts confusing him for the former Super Bowl winning head coach, but Coach Edwards’ example feels spot on.
The same buy-in has been felt on the defensive side of the ball this year as well. There is a deep belief amongst the players that if the offense can’t score or turns the ball over that the defense will pick them up and vice versa. There is no finger pointing or blaming going on. Both sides of the ball have confidence in the other that has not always been present. The defense, led by Defensive Coordinator Gordon Booker, has helped take pressure off the offense by allowing close to 140 yards per game less to opposing offenses than a year ago. The North Foragainst ney defense is also allowing almost 8 points per game less to opponents than a season ago. Offensive Line Coach Steve Ford says the buy-in from the kids is evident by the belief they have in each other and the coaching staff no matter the situation. “The kids believe they can win. You know that, because when we do stumble during a game it’s not as hard to overcome as last year. There is the thought of ‘if the offense messes up, the defense has us or if the defense allows a score, the offense is going to answer right back’. It’s just a belief.”
If you think this mindset is a “coaches only” thing you’re wrong. When asked for one word to describe the reason for last this year’s turnaround season, junior safety Caleb Holt replied with, “Buy-in.” He explained further that there was a much deeper level of dedication amongst everyone including coaching staff and players. “This year we have buy-in. Everybody wants to come, wants to get better, wants to put the work in.” Holt says that is what he appreciates most Coach Luster as well. “He shows up with us every day. He’s with us during the entire process.”
After an 8-2 finish to the regular season and a playoff game this week, now comes the hard part. Coach Luster knows that one good season does not make a championship level program. It does, however, help lay the foundation for a program like that. The Falcons have only been playing varsity level football for a little over a decade. “Most of the other schools we’re competing week in and week out in 6A have tradition,” says Coach Luster. “My goal as the Head Coach and our goal as a coaching staff and players is to build a tradition that can compete with the other programs around us, and that only comes from putting in the work and buying in year after year.” This is only the fourth playoff appearance for North Forney since they started playing varsity football in 2011. This program has some great moments in its short history, but Coach Luster knows to have tradition you must have consistently good seasons.
So, although this year’s turnaround is to be celebrated and recognized, playoff appearances must be the rule, not the exception. Down the road, Coach Luster, the rest of his coaching staff and the players want this year to be viewed as the beginning of something special and not just one of the good years sprinkled throughout. No Falcons team has ever won more than ten games in a season. This team, this year has a chance to do just that, but they’ll need three wins in the playoffs to do so. That is also something North Forney football has never done. They will get their chance starting this Friday night when they take on the Garland Owls at Mesquite Memorial Stadium at 7pm in the first round of the UIL 6A Division II State Playoffs. GO FALCONS!
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