<\/p>\n
Kennedale head coach Richard Barrett during a high school football game against Benbrook at Clark Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, October 8, 2026.<\/p>\n
Valery Mendoza<\/p>\n
Southwest HS Media<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH<\/p>\n
Kennedale entered Thursday night\u2019s matchup against Benbrook at Herman Clark Stadium looking to remain unbeaten in District 5-4A Division I play.<\/p>\n
The Wildcats did just that.<\/p>\n
Kennedale (5-1, 3-0) jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it, defeating Benbrook (3-3, 1-2) 42-20.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe jumped on them early, and we performed really well offensively,\u201d Kennedale head coach Richard Barrett said. \u201cWe got to clean some things up, and I know our kids are going to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running back Lyrik Freeman set the tone for Kennedale, scoring on an 83-yard run with 4:41 remaining in the first quarter. The extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.<\/p>\n
Kennedale struck again before Benbrook could answer. Defensive back Braylon Young scored on a 34-yard play with 1:37 remaining in the first quarter, and the extra point extended the Wildcats\u2019 lead to 14-0.<\/p>\n
Benbrook responded in the second quarter when running back Cash Bergen scored on a 13-yard run with 8:53 remaining. The extra point cut Kennedale\u2019s lead to 14-7.<\/p>\n
Benbrook runs onto the field during a high school football game against Kennedale at Clark Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, October 8, 2026. Kennedale won 42-20. Ava Diaz Southwest HS Media <\/p>\n
The Wildcats answered almost immediately.<\/p>\n
Quarterback Zarrian Carliss broke through the Benbrook defense for a 70-yard rushing touchdown. The extra point pushed Kennedale\u2019s advantage to 21-7 with 7:58 remaining in the half.<\/p>\n
After a Benbrook punt returned possession to Kennedale, Young added his second touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run. The extra point gave the Wildcats a 28-7 lead with 5:34 remaining before halftime.<\/p>\n
Kennedale\u2019s offense picked up where it left off after the break. Carliss broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run with 9:50 remaining in the third quarter. The extra point stretched the Wildcats\u2019 lead to 35-7.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am feeling pretty good; we came out tonight and executed as we thought based on practice,\u201d Carliss said. \u201cOur O-line has been having some trouble, but today we blocked really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither team scored again in the third quarter, and Kennedale carried its 35-7 lead into the fourth.<\/p>\n
Benbrook found the end zone early in the final quarter when wide receiver Evan Smith scored on a 39-yard run. The Bobcats\u2019 two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Kennedale with a 35-13 lead with 11:08 remaining.<\/p>\n
The Wildcats answered once again.<\/p>\n
Landon Watkins scored on a 5-yard run with 5:28 left, and the extra point increased Kennedale\u2019s lead to 42-13.<\/p>\n
Benbrook made one final push when Dorien Johnson scored a touchdown with 2:48 remaining, cutting the Wildcats\u2019 lead to 42-20. The Bobcats later recovered a Kennedale fumble but could not overcome the deficit.<\/p>\n
The victory improved Kennedale to 3-0 in district play, although Barrett said it is still too early for the Wildcats to start looking toward the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still too early to clinch a playoff spot, but we are 3-0, and I would rather be 3-0 than 0-3,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n
For Kennedale, the focus now shifts to its next district matchup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to enjoy the win we had tonight, and then we are going to get ready for Western Hills,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n
Kennedale will host Western Hills on Friday, Oct. 16, while Benbrook will face Carter-Riverside on Thursday, Oct. 15, at Clark Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kennedale head coach Richard Barrett during a high school football game against Benbrook at Clark Stadium in Fort…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-461873","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\/461873","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=461873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}