Vikings upend Bobcats
Terry Joseph, No. 10 in red, tries to break the tackle of the Glenn defender while returning a punt.
Coming into the game against Glenn, North Forsyth was looking to get on the scoreboard for the first time all season. They accomplished that and much more by shutting out the Bobcats 20-0 last Thursday, Sept 6.
The Vikings had suffered losses by the score of 34-0 and 38-0 in the first two weeks of the season by the hands of Reagan and East Forsyth, respectively. Glenn, on the other hand, was coming off a victory against Carver, so their spirits should have been high coming in.
“We had a rough first two weeks, but we have a bunch of freshmen and I told them before the game that they had two games under their belt and that they were no longer freshmen,” said North Forsyth coach Corey Stewart. “I think they finally came out and played to their potential.”
Glenn started off the game on a sour note by committing several penalties that halted their first drive. The Bobcats dug themselves even deeper when freshman quarterback Camden Coleman threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Viking cornerback Admore Vincent.
“That was a momentum changer, I have a young quarterback, and that’s all I have, so I have to go with that,” said Julius Reece, Bobcat head coach. “We are going to make some changes and go back to the drawing board, but first thing first is I am going to get their mental state where it needs to be and prep them a lot better than I did this game.”
The early interception seemed to give the Vikings the confidence they needed. The offense and defense picked it up a notch following the score. Viking running back Terry Joseph started finding running lanes, and the defense started swarming to the ball.
“I told the linebacker to bluff in there and the quarterback will hit you right in the numbers, and he did, so that kind of worked in our favor because I was so surprised that they passed so much, but they are a quality team that will continue to get better, and we came out and played a quality game,” Stewart said.
Glenn got on track late in the second quarter as they attempted to mount a scoring drive before the half. Penalties once again bit the Bobcats and they were unable to put any points on the board.
“We started off a little flat on the trip over here from Glenn, and I could tell that it was a little different aroma in the air,” said Reece. “I guess they underestimated North Forsyth and they came out here and played like it.”
Glenn came out of the half with some momentum on both sides of the ball. The Bobcats were driving down the field but was intercepted by Joseph, deep in Viking territory. To their credit, the Bobcat defense held the Vikings to a quick three and out, but once again penalties hit Glenn, forcing a punt.
Early in the fourth, Joseph appeared to put the Vikings up by two scores, but a holding penalty negated the touchdown. Unwavered, Vikings quarterback Marque Hall came back the next play and tossed a beautifully thrown ball to Treshaun Harris for a touchdown.
Lady luck was on the Vikings side once again as they were fielding a punt that bounced off of the returners hands. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they were called for interference on the play.
“We had an opportunity right there, but we blew opportunities earlier in the game,” Glenn’s Reece said. “We blew some opportunities against Carver last week that we should have made. We did the same thing the week prior to that against Parkland. We have blown some opportunities, but once again, we are a young team and me as a coach I can’t get caught up in that.”
Antwan Springs capped off the scoring for the Vikings when he scored with just over 1:30 left in the game. Stewart says a win like this can really propel his young team forward in the weeks to come. Stewart also said health will play a major role as well because he had three key players injured in the secondary.
