Tyler Legacy celebrates a 31-30 overtime win against Rockwall-Heath Friday night at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. (Michel Alfaro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

FORNEY — Fresh off of its first district win — and second consecutive victory overall — Tyler Legacy will open the new Better Life Stadium in Forney on Friday night.

The Red Raiders (2-3, 1-0) will take on North Forney (3-2, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m.

After an 0-3 start, Legacy took a 32-25 road win over Crowley in the final non-district contest before opening District 10-6A competition with a 31-30 overtime victory against Rockwall-Heath.

“I like being 1-0,” Tyler Legacy head football coach Beau Trahan said. “We’re focusing on this week and let the chips fall where they may fall.

“North Forney is very talented, very athletic and has a new coach in Coach (Marcus) Shavers. They’re physical. Defensively, they’ve got guys crawling everywhere. It’s going to be a really good challenge for us this week. We’re excited for the challenge.”

North Forney started its season 0-2 before winning three straight, including last week’s 35-31 decision against rival Forney in the district opener.

For the Falcons on offense, it starts with quarterback Legend Bey. The Red Raiders held him to 5 of 13 passing for 18 yards and two interceptions and 13 yards rushing on seven carries last season in a 10-7 win over Mesquite Horn. Now, Bey is at North Forney and he has 626 passing yards to go with 740 rushing yards.

“He’s an extremely talented young man,” Trahan said. “We were worried about him last year, and it came down to the last second. He can run it, and he can throw it. It’s like lot the guy from Alabama, you’ve got a running back standing back there throwing the ball, so it’s hard to plan for that. Schematically, what they’re doing up front and the speed they got on the outside, it presents a big challenge.”

Defensively, the Falcons are loaded in the secondary with Ryan Gilbert, Caleb Holt, Josiah Turner and Gianni Edwards.

Gilbert, who also came from Mesquite Horn, is rated the 29th-best cornerback in the nation in the Class of 2026 and is committed to Texas A&M. Edwards, who is committed to Arizona, is the son of former Florida State star and NFL player Mario Edwards Sr. and the younger brother of Mario Edwards Jr., who also played at Florida State and is currently on the Houston Texans. Holt is committed to Air Force, and Turner is a junior with offers from Arizona State and Texas State.

“All four guys in the secondary are multiple offer guys,” Trahan said. “Three of them are committed to play college football. Up front, they are big and strong. It’s going to present problems. We’re going to have to establish the run and try to get our guys open. It’s a great challenge. Our kids are excited about it. All we’re worried about is taking it one play at a time.”

After averaging 246 yards per game last season and throwing for just 1,141 yards on the season, the Red Raiders are averaging 430.6 yards per game and have thrown for 1,291 yards with quarterback Zach Davis.

“He’s running the offense incredibly well,” Legacy offensive coordinator James Barnard said. “The kids is just making plays. I think our wide receiver play has been huge. We’ve got a bunch of guys with catches. Running back has been a very consistent position for us. We’ve been a little banged up back there, but other guys have stepped up. The tight end position with JP (Rainer) and Beau Slaughter has been good, those guys are kind of the safety blanket of the offense, they kind of make it go. And then the offensive line, we’ve got to continue to improve, but we’re making it easier for the skinny guys to get loose. And all of them are great kids and they’re playing hard and they understand what we’re trying to do.”

Barnard is in his second year at Legacy, first as the offensive coordinator, joining the Red Raiders last season as the offensive line coach. A Kansas City Chiefs fan, Barnard played at Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas, then played at Coffeyville Community College before playing at Baylor University, where Trahan was one of his coaches.

Legacy will return home next week to host Royse City for homecoming on Oct. 11.

AROUND DISTRICT 10-6A

Rockwall (3-2, 1-0) opened district play with a 64-20 win over Royse City. The Yellowjackets will travel to Longview (2-2, 0-0) on Friday for Lobos’ first district game. Forney (2-3, 0-1) will look to bounce back from its 35-31 loss to North Forney as it plays at Royse City (2-3, 0-1). Rockwall-Heath (2-3, 0-1) has a bye following its 31-30 overtime loss to Tyler Legacy.