WS Chronicle

The North Forsyth Vikings have played some close games to start the season, but were not able to come out on top in any of them. That all changed when North Forsyth took on Carver last Thursday at David L. Lash stadium.

Before Carver could blink, the Vikings were up 22-0 in the first quarter. By the end of the half, the Vikings led 46-0, which turned out to be the final score.

The Vikings opened the game by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, the Vikings recovered the kick giving them great field position. Two plays later, Viking running back Anthony Brannon juked a couple of defenders before scoring on a 25-yard run up the right sideline. The quick 16-0 lead seemed to have the Yellowjackets shell-shocked.

“It definitely took pressure off of us, the boys were a little more loose tonight after that happened early,” said Viking head coach Monté Anthony about his team’s fast start.  

The offensive onslaught continued in the second quarter for the Vikings. Brannon scored on touchdown reception, followed by a punt return for a touchdown by Li’Jaye Fisher. Brannon scored once again on a touchdown run late in the second quarter to cap off the scoring for the game, his fourth touchdown of the day. The Vikings spent most of the second half killing clock and getting some playing time for their second-string players.

“I told the boys we have a real good chance to win the conference if we stay focused,” said Anthony. “The thing I like is that the boys have not given up. We went 0 and 3 for the first couple of games, but they were still fighting, and brotherhood is what I teach.”

Even though the Vikings started off the year dropping their first three games, they were close to winning two of those games. They held a second half lead in two of the three losses and the coaching staff was hoping the team would “put it all together” in the Carver game.

“Finish, that was the main thing, we had to learn how to finish games,” Anthony said about his team. “We were leading two of those games all the way until the fourth quarter and we let them go with like five minutes to go.”

The Yellowjackets showed a lot of heart by not giving up at any point during the game. Carver had some moderate success moving the ball in the second half, but did not have enough to put it in the end zone. Head coach Herman Moye was not pleased with the outcome, but says he was proud of the team’s effort throughout.

“I am very proud of them and we grew a lot tonight and that’s what I was explaining to them. Now if we can buy into the family concept, I think we will be all right for the remainder of the season,” said Moye.  

According to Moye, while they did not put up any points in the game, the players look to have “bought in” to what the coaching staff has been telling them. Moye said his team has been a habitual slow starter and can’t understand why.  

“I think sometimes we get star-struck by the lights and I have a lot of first year players,” he continued. “We have a pretty young team and a lot of the guys have never played football before, so it’s really a learning experience and I don’t mind that. As long as we are fighting and playing as a team, I am satisfied with my team going forward.”

Anthony praised the play of his defense. He says they have been keeping them in games all year and it was nice to have the offense play a major role Thursday night. He feels this game can be a catalyst for more wins in the future.

“Hopefully this will give us a little momentum going into the conference,” Anthony said.