North Crowley, after a program-defining victory over defending champion Duncanville, is set to play in the Class 6A Division One state championship versus Austin Westlake on Saturday, Dec. 21 at AT&T Stadium.
It’s the first time the city of Fort Worth will be represented in a football state championship game since 2003, when the North Crowley Panthers won a Class 4A Division One state title. Now, the Panthers are in Texas’ largest classification and hold a Max Preps No. 3 national ranking .
Mike Papas, the head coach of the 2003 state championship team, helped open the school in 1998 and coached at North Crowley until 2009. He said the current success of North Crowley is “mind-blowing.”
Over 21 years ago, long before coach Ray Gates turned North Crowley into a Texas football powerhouse, one of the greatest Texas football Cinderella runs ever set the bar for the Panthers.
From nothing to something: North Crowley’s football history
The North Crowley football program began in 1998 when North Crowley High School opened. Crowley High School was already open, and North Crowley had to pull students from the school.