A closer look at ‘Deadly Fake,’ The News’ 30-day series on the impact of fentanyl in North Texas (Tom Fox)
Texas
‘The News’ and KRLD will host free community discussion about fentanyl in North Texas
The Dallas Morning News and NewsRadio 1080 KRLD will host a free community discussion about the fentanyl crisis in North Texas, with tips on how you can protect yourself and your family.
“Deadly Fake: A Discussion About Fentanyl in North Texas” will be Dec. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the KRLD office, 4131 N. Central Expressway in Dallas.
The event is free, but reservations are required by emailing rsvp@dallasnews.com.
The evening is formatted as a series of short panel discussions inspired by The News’ recent series on the local fentanyl crisis called “Deadly Fake.” Featured guests will include Dallas’ Peter and Lael Brodsky, whose son, Jacob, died of fentanyl poisoning; Dallas City Council member Paula Blackmon, who co-created the city of Dallas’ Opioid Response Strike Force; and News executive editor Katrice Hardy, along with the core reporting team for the project: Sharon Grigsby, Claire Ballor and Maggie Prosser. The event will be moderated by TV personality and anchor Ron Corning and filmed for streaming broadcast at a later date, to increase awareness of the crisis.
This fall, The News wrapped up its 30-day series on the impact of fentanyl in North Texas, taking readers into homes broken by grief, into courtrooms where justice was a hollow consolation, and into hospitals where fentanyl is a savior and a scourge.
A closer look at ‘Deadly Fake,’ The News’ 30-day series on the impact of fentanyl in North Texas
The newsroom committed to writing at least one story a day for the entire month of September on the fentanyl epidemic, in an effort to warn families about the drug that kills an average of five Texans daily and tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is safely used for pain management in medical settings, but illegal drug makers now produce the highly addictive drug and sell it on the streets disguised as more expensive substances such as cocaine, Xanax, oxycodone, and methamphetamine.
Nearly 30 journalists worked on the project, publishing nearly 50 stories that dived into the stigma, the science, the misinformation, the difficulty in mapping and tracking deaths, and the determination of North Texans desperately trying to save lives and help people battling addiction.
Although the series is over, The News plans to continue to write about fentanyl’s impact to press for solutions.
Texas
Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M
Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.
At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.
Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay
Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.
Texas
D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.
In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.
“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.
The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.
But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.
Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.
But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”
On Twitter/X: @t_myah
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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Texas
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