Last season, Carter-Riverside ended a three decade playoff drought. The celebration was short lived as the Eagles fell to Alvarado 77-0. The 1995 team fell to Dennison 58-0 but even though the Eagles were scoreless in their last two postseason appearances 30 years apart, the team came into this season with high hopes. Sophomore running back Bobby Fields is averaging more than 200 yards in the Eagles’ pre-district campaign. Last year, Fields made his mark and put teams on notice that he is an emerging talent to be reckoned with. After a very impressive start to the 2026 season, the Eagles begin district play against Eastern Hills next week.
Eastern Hills‘ 2025 campaign came to an end when they faced a daunting Celina team who hoped to repeat its 2024 state championship success. Though the Highlanders lost by more than 50 points against a sharp title contender, their work of improving and maturing their young team began immediately. Hills enters district play 2-1 with victories over Polytechnic and Dallas Madison. In their first real test of the season, the Highlanders fell to Wichita Falls Legacy by 40 points. The test against Carter Riverside will challenge Hills’ defense who is undoubtedly missing their graduated senior Jamarion Holloway. Holloway was a ball hawk who could interrupt passes, even grabbing interceptions with one hand. This season is one of retooling and maturing young players who are ready to step into big roles. The Highlander defense will stay busy trying to keep Fields in check. But we’ll see what Christopher Johnson (RB/OLB)has to say about that. That matchup alone is worth the watch.
Get Your Tickets to Carter Riverside vs. Eastern Hills
When the UIL shuffles the deck, there’s always bound to be questions about the new alignment. With District 5-4A, Kennedale is now a regular season opponent for Fort Worth’s 4A schools. For years, Kennedale was the first round playoff opponent, sending Fort Worth schools home early. All that changed last year with Eastern Hills’ upset of their neighbors to the southeast. Facing Kennedale makes district 5-4A much tougher and combined with the addition of Benbrook, every game is a must-win for playoff hopefuls.
Pre-district games mean nothing and everything at the same time. So when Diamond Hill-Jarvis completed its pre-district schedule 2-1, it deserved a good look. The Eagles won their season opener 38-6 over A-Plus Academy but fell 10-2 to North Side. They rebounded with a 36-8 win over Polytechnic but they face much more consistent Kennedale team looking to collect victories in 5-4A like Thanos rings. DHJ was winless last year but is already light years ahead of last season with two early season wins. They may not move any team out of playoff positioning, but they may be much more competitive than they were last season.
Southwest ended the season with a bitter taste. Their hopes for the 2025 playoffs hinged on a tie-breaker between other teams as they faced Decatur in the final game of the season. This year, the Raiders hope to put last season far behind them and get back into the playoffs. They’ll have their hands full facing Carter-Riverside, Benbrook, Kennedale and Eastern Hills. They’ll have to win at least two of those games to even think about making the playoffs. The Raiders can’t afford any missteps this season because teams like Diamond Hill-Jarvis and Western Hills are looking better than they did last year. No game is a “gimme” and every time they take the field is a must-win.
Dunbar joins 5-4A moving down from a 5A classification in the realignment. Dunbar is a long way from its dominance of the 90’s. The Wildcats have been on the losing end of most of their matches as of late. What the Wildcats bring to 5-4A is a that Stop Six toughness and fans whose school spirit is generational. The Wildcats were blanked in their opener against Wilmer-Hutchins and in their rivalry game against O.D. Wyatt. They got on the board in the loss to Kaufman but were still outscored by 29 points.
Western Hills chose the hard way, facing Burkburnett and Pecos as pre-district warmups. North Side was no match for them but those first two thumpings of the season can cause season long bruising. Last year, the Cougars were no match in their district. Their sole win in district play came against Diamond Hill-Jarvis who went winless last season. District play begins and competition this year is much stiffer than last year, adding playoff clinchers Benbrook and Kennedale to the fray.
District 5-4A Outlook
With district play beginning this week, SMG Sports’ predictions for the district are:
Kennedale
Benbrook
Carter-Riverside
Eastern Hills
On the outside looking in
Southwest
Predictions are no indication of on the field play. These student athletes and their coaches will determine the outcomes of these games. SMG Sports is encouraged by the recent rise of level of play from Fort Worth 4A schools. We know that competition is stiff and parity doesn’t seem to be a UIL priority, but we hope these programs can turn the corner and one day be competitive in late playoff rounds as they once were. You can count on SMG Sports to continue our 5-4A reporting as the season progresses.
