Football game inspires movie, nonprofit for youth

When Kris Hogan, coach at Grapevine Faith Christian School, looked at the football schedule in 2008, he saw an unusual opponent.

A team from Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center — which houses some of the most violent teenage offenders in the state — was coming to Grapevine.

"When I saw it, I knew it was going to be more than a football game," Hogan said.

His first thought was, "What do they need?" His answer: hope.

Hogan's plan turned one game into an annual tradition, a movie to be released this year and a nonprofit organization.

The Gainesville boys had never played a home game, never had a crowd cheer for them. They had earned their way onto the football team by achieving success in behavior, academics and other areas.

"My idea is — the hope is that you can still make it, that people believe in you," Hogan said.

To that end, he and his staff gathered the Gainesville team's names on a roster and made 400 copies. They distributed the lists to half of Faith Christian's fans, who sat on the opponents' side, ready to cheer for them by name.

Other Faith Christian kids formed a spirit line and welcomed the team as they crashed through the banner.

Parent Steve Riach, who has children at the school, was there covering the game for a national high school sports magazine.

"I was just a few feet away from them. I saw this abject hopelessness and despair," he said. "Within a matter of 30 minutes to see that turn around into this unbridled joy — it was just phenomenal.

"It was like watching a scene from a movie take place before my eyes."

Naturally, he would see it that way. Riach is CEO of Et3rn Films in Southlake. He started pursuing the rights immediately.

He and his production team traveled to Gainesville to gather the stories of the young men for "One Heart," the film he is producing. Some of them said that night in Grapevine was the greatest of their lives.

The movie, shot in Grapevine, Southlake and Denton, follows the parallel tracks of students in Gainesville and at Faith Christian leading to the game.

More than a movie

The film's impact grew beyond the screen after Riach and his research team interviewed Mack, a player who was soon to be released from Gainesville. They figured he would be jubilant.

" 'No sir, I'm terrified,' " he told Riach, and described the gang waiting for him at home.

"We could either pat him on the back and say have a nice life," Riach said, "or do something about his circumstances."

A family involved in production took Mack in, and his life began to turn around. He signed a contract to model with Kim Dawson Agency in Dallas, tried out for a role in the film and got it.

"We recognized there was something the film could be used for," Riach said. "It could be used to launch a movement for people around the country to get involved in impacting the lives of these kids."

The nonprofit One Heart Project was formed in 2009 with donations and small grants. It will receive a percentage of profits from the film.

The group focuses on mentoring, with two main initiatives: to equip juvenile offenders who are still incarcerated with the tools they need to make better decisions after they get out; and to provide long-term residential help when they are released.

Riach said the project already has seen successes.

Nationally, about 70 percent of juvenile offenders are re-arrested, most within six months of release, Riach said.

He said only 20 percent of the teenagers who have been in One Heart Project were re-arrested.

Faith Christian also has changed for good.

Hogan said the One Heart Bowl has taken place every year since. Dallas Cowboys players DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten have come to support the effort.

Students have become pen pals with Gainesville teens.

"It gets bigger and bigger," he said.

Watch and get involved

The One Heart Project needs both volunteers and donations.

Among the ways to help:

A group called Bag Ladies with Heart fills bags with personal items, gloves, socks and a note.

One Heart Notes sets up conrrespondence between people on the outside and boys at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center.

For more information about the project, visit www.oneheart.com; for more about "One Heart," the movie, visit www.oneheartmovie.com.