<\/p>\n
Benbrook runs onto the field during a high school football game against Fort Worth Trimble Tech at Farrington Field in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Benbrook won 42-34.<\/p>\n
Ava Diaz<\/p>\n
Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH<\/p>\n
Benbrook head coach Cody Slater kicked off his 30th season as the Bobcats faced the Fort Worth Trimble Tech Bulldogs in the season opener.<\/p>\n
With time winding down, the Bobcats delivered the final score, and their defense held firm to preserve the lead. Benbrook secured a 42-34 victory in a hard-fought season opener Thursday at Farrington Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still get excited every year and I still get goosebumps, even though I\u2019ve been doing this forever,\u201d Slater said. \u201cWhen you put these pads back on, it is a beautiful time of year. The grass is green, and we are ready to go play football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benbrook head coach Cody Slater starts his thirtieth season as a football coach. Benbrook played Fort Worth Trimble Tech at Farrington Field in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Benbrook won 42-34. Ava Diaz Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n
With only four returning starters on offense and five on defense, Slater said he was eager to see how his somewhat inexperienced team would respond.<\/p>\n
On the opposite sideline, Trimble Tech Head Coach MK Hamilton entered the season with a more experienced roster and was excited about the leadership his veteran players bring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has taken us a few years to grow it, but we finally have senior leadership,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cI\u2019m excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going into the game, Hamilton said he hoped the season opener would help his team build confidence and prove it could compete at a high level.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs wasted little time doing just that. After returning the opening kickoff to their own 35-yard line, Trimble Tech marched down the field and scored on its first possession when running back Alexander Del Cid powered into the end zone.<\/p>\n
Benbrook answered quickly. On its third drive of the game, quarterback Jaxyn Donart connected with Dorien Johnson on a deep touchdown pass to get the Bobcats on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
Trimble Tech responded with quarterback Nathan Luna\u2019s 15-yard touchdown run, extending the Bulldogs\u2019 lead to 14-6.<\/p>\n
The Bobcats stayed within striking distance as Donart found Johnson for another touchdown, cutting the deficit to 14-12.<\/p>\n
Momentum swung back and forth throughout the first half. Benbrook tied the game at 20-20 when Johnson broke free for a touchdown run. Shortly afterward, Corbin Biggins gave the Bobcats their first lead of the night with the extra point, putting Benbrook ahead 21-20.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs quickly countered with a big pass down the sideline to Ahmir Zoker, setting up a touchdown by Darious Marshall. The score put Trimble Tech back in front, 26-21.<\/p>\n
Benbrook regained the lead after halftime behind the playmaking ability of Johnson, who scored his third touchdown of the night to give the Bobcats a 27-26 advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel great; we came through as a team,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhen I had the opportunity to get the ball, I did the most that I could with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bobcats continued to build momentum when Johnson took another pass and turned it into a 50-yard touchdown, extending Benbrook\u2019s lead to 36-29.<\/p>\n
Trimble Tech refused to go away. A 70-yard run set up another Bulldogs\u2019 touchdown, trimming the deficit to 36-32 and keeping the game within one possession entering the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came out on top, so I am just really glad to have the team win,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
And for Slater, this win made the start of his 30th season even sweeter.<\/p>\n
Benbrook will travel to Gainesville for its next game on Friday, Sept. 4, while Trimble Tech will take on Dallas Adamson the same night.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s note: This story was produced by members of FW Southwest High School\u2019s advanced media program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benbrook runs onto the field during a high school football game against Fort Worth Trimble Tech at Farrington…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-419071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}