DEARBORN — Dearborn Fordson football fans have always been a prideful, some might say boastful group, but after surprisingly early exits in the playoffs the past few years, some of that enthusiasm appears to have waned.

A few days ago I was chatting in an auto shop with a couple of former Fordson athletes, both wrestlers and one a former football player, and telling them about how good the team looked this year.

“Really, I can’t believe it. They’re 8-0?” said one of them, obviously not impressed with their top ten state ranking in most circles.

Coach Fouad “Walker” Zaban (left) and running back Ali Alaboody will be two key components in Dearborn Fordson’s upcoming state football playoffs run.

I reminded them that their new coach, Fouad “Walker” Zaban, is only in his second year and that his new emphasis on speed and explosive training is finally starting to take effect. I also told them that this new era of Tractors football features a more modern, wide-open offense that can pass the ball far better than past Fordson teams could. But neither of them were having it.
“I’ll bet you anything they don’t make it past the second round of the playoffs,” said one of the brothers working the counter, despite the fact that he hadn’t seen a single game this season.

“They don’t play anyone,” he continued. “They’ll go on to face someone like a Catholic Central or an Orchard Lake St. Mary’s-type of team and get beat just like always.”

While Fordson has always been a good program, the past few years haven’t been up to their lofty standards of the early 90s and early 2000s. Now, however, there’s something different about this current team that makes them a serious threat for a run at the Division-I state championship game.

This is a team stacked with legitimate college prospects playing united, team-oriented football on offense, defense, and special teams. Consider running backs Ali Alaboody and Hassen Amen. Both are capable of putting up huge numbers in order to impress college scouts but they gladly share carries because they know it makes the team better in the long run.

The running game is as strong as vintage Fordson teams from past years, but the passing game is perhaps as good as Fordson’s seen in the past decade. Quarterback Ali Baidoun doesn’t have prototypical size for a quarterback but his mechanics are flawless and his accuracy and arm strength are impressive. Zaban called him a “leader on the field” and that’s the most important thing teams need to make long playoff runs from the quarterback spot.

Receiver Baquer Sayed is perhaps the best in the conference and opponents haven’t been able to cover him all season.

Finally, there’s the defense, which features a lot of two-way players who somehow never seem to get tired. They swarm to the ball and opponents have a hard time running up the middle, where star players Abdullah Homayed at linebacker and Jamal Agemy at defensive tackle wait to make tackle after tackle.

Talent is one thing, but Zaban’s coaching is another big reason why the Tractors have a good shot at going deep in the state playoffs. Fordson’s attack is much more wide open and versatile than in years past.

Last year’s 20-8 first round loss to Livonia Franklin was a bit unexpected but it came without Alaboody, who was injured. Alaboody is the player opposing defenses fear most because of his speed and he opens things up for the rest of his teammates.

On top of that, Fordson is now a much more mature team featuring tons of seniors and Sayed’s emergence at receiver makes them a much more balanced team.

Fordson isn’t the only success story in Dearborn high school football this year, however. Edsel Ford has already clinched a share of the Mega Blue championship with a 7-1 record on the year and Dearborn High School is 6-2 and has already clinched a playoff spot.

It’s already a great year for high school football in Dearborn, but if Fordson makes a run at the state championship game, it could be a monumental accomplishment for the Arab community and Dearborn, considering the vast majority of Fordson’s coaches and players are Arab. It could be just as big or maybe even bigger than Detroit King’s championship last year, which was the first state title for a Detroit public school in history.

And despite past disappointments, a state championship run could become reality this November because it’s a new era of football at Fordson High School thanks to Zaban and his players.