Lone Star’s success: a model to follow or an aberration

Lead sports reporter Arman Kafai shares his opinion on the success of Lone Star

Arman Kafai, Lead Sports Reporter|December 14, 2015

With players and coaches celebrating in the middle of the field at Allen Eagle Stadium on Friday, Dec. 11, the Lone Star football team could be a model of success for the district. But columnist Arman Kafai thinks it could be nothing more than an aberration as Lone Star hasnt had its attendance zone redrawn yet.

Brian Brown

With players and coaches celebrating in the middle of the field at Allen Eagle Stadium on Friday, Dec. 11, the Lone Star football team could be a model of success for the district. But columnist Arman Kafai thinks it could be nothing more than an aberration as Lone Star hasn’t had its attendance zone redrawn yet.

Lone Star will be defying all odds Saturday when it plays in the UIL 5A Division II Final. This marks the first time a Frisco ISD school will be playing in a football state final.

This was an unexpected run; many claim that Frisco’s school systems has allowed for more parity when it comes to district play, but non-competitive play during playoffs when put up against teams in other parts of the state.

Playing in 3A in 2013, the team went 7-5, making it two rounds deep in playoffs. Missing the post-season in 2014 due to a tiebreaker, the team made the next jump this year, now playing in Houston’s NRG Stadium for the state title.

What Lone Star is doing is giving Frisco teams hope that they can replicate this success. But is it really a proper model for teams in the district to follow?

For one, Lone Star has not have been rezoned yet. Since it opened five years ago, the school has been one of the smaller ones in the district. The school won’t be lose potential students until 2017, when Memorial High School opens.

This is one of the many schools that have been rezoned since it’s opening in 2006. With Independence splitting Liberty apart, and Lebanon Trail taking more people next year, it is the complete opposite of Lone Star.

Is Lone Star's success a model for other district schools or an aberration that will be hard to duplicate?

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For many coaches in the city, that’s the harsh reality. Having the same core group of kids is a luxury. Having a player of Jason Shelley’s ability, accounting for 520 of the offense’s 580 yards and seven touchdowns against Lake Dallas, is also a rarity. Shelley, a junior, has been in the same system for at least three years. A player as talented as him and playing under the same coaching staff is an amazing combination. Most kids in Frisco are not in the same boat, consistently moving schools and being rezoned with Frisco’s growing population.

This is a huge success for FISD and Lone Star. FISD’s smaller school model has given them a big success in Lone Star, and the young school has put Frisco on the map in terms of football. But for the future, and for most schools in the district, it will continue to be a monumental task. Until the final high school is built in Frisco, coaches will continue to deal with their freshman and sophomores being moved around.

Many of this school’s upcoming juniors were plucked from the school and were moved to Independence, a school that will be split in the near future once plans for a possible high school in the Craig Ranch area are announced. In addition, the opening of Lebanon Trail will take away some incoming freshmen. In other words, Lone Star isn’t really a model to follow. How can a school be good and consistent at a sport if it is constantly split up? Only time will tell if Lone Star is model or nothing more than an aberration.