Fordson Remains Focused on Football Despite Spotlight

Featured in an upcoming movie with a highly publicized practice schedule, Friday night lights will shine extra bright on the Fordson Football team this season.

The Tractors are the only team known to conduct late-night practices during the month of Ramadan and have caught the attention of media outlets all over the world–from the New York Times to Aljazeera. However, the team’s mission is to stay grounded–despite the scrutiny–and work on football.

The majority of the Tractors will be fasting during the home opener against Catholic Central.

“You might not have a lot of energy that first half, but once you eat, you feel refreshed,” senior guard Ahmad Leila told the New York Times. “After halftime, I’ll be coming after those guys.”

Head coach Fouad Zaban said his team may like the media attention, but the magnifying glass may have shaken up the focus of his players.

“I don’t think there’s added pressure because of the media, but I think it’s a bit of a distraction,” Zaban said. “We try to have our kids focus as much as possible regardless of who's there and who’s not, so ultimately it’s a bit of a distraction.”

Zaban has had plenty of attention as well.

The head coach is one of the stars in the film Fordson the Movie: Faith, Fasting, Football that will . He is also a participant in an upcoming reality show on TLC called All-American Muslim, which is expected to air sometime in November. Zaban recently broke his fast with President Barack Obama in Washington, DC, as a guest in the White House's annual iftar dinner.

Fordson went 8-3 last season and made it to the second round of the playoffs. The Tractors lost 32-13 to Detroit Cass Tech and ended their post-season run. This year, Fordson ranked No. 25 in Detroit Free Press sports writer Mick McCabe’s list of top 25 prep football teams.

“Last season ended up being a very successful season,” Zaban said. “The kids worked hard and didn’t start off on a good note, but (they) kept plugging away and kept working to get better–and they did toward the end of the year.”

Zaban has made note that Fordson’s schedule this year is not going to be easy. He said that although the ultimate rival team is Dearborn High, their first game against Detroit Catholic Central on Friday sets the bar high for the season. Catholic Central blanked Fordson last season, which was also a home opener, 35-0.

“We have a very tough schedule this year; we really can’t take any team lightly that we play,” Zaban explained. “We start off with Catholic Central who’s a tremendous team ... they’re a powerhouse, and it doesn’t get any easier from there.”

Fordson is typically a run-oriented team with a strategy to run the ball behind its solid offensive line.

“I would say our strength is probably our linemen,” Zaban said. “Hopefully we’re successful enough that we can throw the ball down the field a little bit.

“It’s still early in the year so we haven’t figured everything out and we’ve got a lot of work to do before we determine what our strengths are.”

Fordson will host the home opener against Catholic Central tonight at 7 p.m. Watch Dearborn Patch for coverage of the game.