Defense sets the table for Titans’ unbeaten season
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee Nick Childs of East Forsyth showcased big-play skills as a receiver and kick returner this past season.
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Going undefeated for an entire season speaks for itself. And since there was only one team to accomplish that feat this season, West Forsyth is the undisputed king of JV football for 2015.
East Forsyth and Carver both had excellent years, but not quite as good. The Titans also had an edge over the Eagles because they won (41-33) in a head-to-head match-up during the early weeks of the season. Here’s a summarized look at the top three JV football teams in Forsyth County from the recently concluded season.
West Forsyth (10-0): Offensive diversity wasthe big reason why the Titans proved to be tops in the county. But without a stellar defensive effort, it’s not likely that they would’ve made the fourth-quarter comeback to beat North Davidson 34-31 earlier this month.
West Forsyth was down by 11 points in the fourth quarter. All the Black Knights had to do was run the ball, make first downs and run time off the clock. They were not able to do that against that defense that held them to three straight three-and-outs.
As a result, the Titans offense was able to get the ball back and score twice over the final six minutes of the game to avoid defeat. The exclamation point was added near the end, when Davis Bishop picked off a North Davidson pass to squash a potential game-winning scoring drive in the closing seconds.
Kenyar McPhatter did his part in scoring on two dazzling runs, which included the game-winner with 1:50 left to play. Yet, if the defense had not delivered those three-and-outs, it’s debatable if the Titans would have rallied the way they did.
If there was an MVP award for this game, the defense should have at least gotten a share of the recognition. Aside from their decisive stops in the fourth quarter, they had a goal line stand in the second quarter that kept North Davidson out of the end zone.
Clifton Mack, Justin Calhoun, Joseph Wassong and Alexander Garrett led the way for a defense that played its very best when it was needed the most.
East Forsyth (7-2): With the exception of losses to West Forsyth and Greensboro Page, the Eagles get the vote as the No. 2 junior varsity team in the county. East Forsyth got the job done thanks to a high-octane offense that averaged 32.2 points a game.
The Eagles went undefeated in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference (4-0) to finish in first place for the first time in 13 seasons. Another milestone was reached in the season finale when East Forsyth beat Northwest Guilford for the first time since 2003.
This squad was well stocked with big-time playmakers. Jaelon Maxie and Jaelon Currence-Daniels were formidable at running back. Quarterback Brandon Bullins had an exceptional pair of receivers to work with in Nick Childs and Jordan Barrett.
“We had a young offensive line that came on strong,” said coach Ronnie Horton. “That was the key to our success. They continued to grow and helped us to play very well.”
The top performers on the offensive front for East Forsyth were Tristan Look, Caleb Howell, James Smith, Van Boozer, Jesse Ross and Danny Fradenburg.
Carver (7-2): This was a turnaround season for the Yellow jackets, who went 4-6 a year ago. They were in good position to take sole possession of first place in the Western Piedmont 2-A Conference. But all that changed when the starting quarterback (Tyron Teal) and his back up (Teryan Cherry) suffered injuries in late October. The end result was a surprisingly lop-sided 35-6 loss to conference rival West Stokes.
The Yellow jackets finished the season in a depleted state, but beat South Stokes, 28-6 in the finale. T.J. Boyce, the starting running back, ended up taking over at quarterback and linebacker Jeremy Brown more than held his own at running back.
Boyce was the key figure offensively, along with Phillip Legette. Brown and Treyvez George were the ringleaders on a defense that posted four shutouts and limited opponents to 11.3 points per game for the season.
“I’m satisfied with our progression as a JV program,” said coach Alonzo Winfield. “What we were able to accomplish this year, we’re expecting for that to carry over to next season. The bottom line is that this team continued to improve and they continued to learn. That’s the most important thing.”
