West Forsyth stays perfect against rival East
West Forsyth running back Nasion Johnson, No. 1 in white, carries defenders for extra yardage.
West Forsyth came into their junior varsity game against East Forsyth looking to maintain their unblemished record. They accomplished their goal, while also opening up conference play with a win by the score of 36-22 over the Eagles.
The first half of the game on Oct. 4 was a tug of war battle between the teams as they both attempted to seize control of momentum. Aided by turnovers and dropped passes by the Eagles, the Titans took control of the second half.
“This was a tough game tonight, because East Forsyth is a really good team,” said Ricky Brown, West Forsyth head coach. “We did a lot of things well, but I think we have some work to do to get better.”
The Eagles jumped on the board first with a touchdown run from quarterback Joseph Richens. The Titans were a little sluggish on offense to begin the game, but Brown says his team has been down before and knew they would right the ship.
“We have been there before, that is not the first time a team has gotten out on us,” Brown continued. “We came out sleep walking a little bit, but once we got going and got our mojo going, I figured we would be ok.”
West Forsyth blocked a punt giving them good field position. A few plays later, they scored on a short run from Jevante Long tying the game at 8 all. Later in the second quarter, the Titans took the lead when Braden Pritchard connected with Trystn Tuttle for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
After the Titans took the lead in the second, the teams traded scores before the half. West held a 21-14 advantage at the break.
The tide turned in the game in favor of West when Richens threw an interception leading to another Titan score, giving them a two-score lead. The Eagles did muster another touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Titan running back Nasion Johnson, put the game out of reach when he scored a 76 yard touchdown run with just over two minutes left.
“I thought we competed well for it to be a rival like West Forsyth,” said Damien Booe, East Forsyth head coach. “The guys came out and played hard, but we could not put two halves together.”
“We just have to get our offense going in the red zone,” Booe said. “If we are able to get that handled then it might have been a different outcome for the game.”
Booe says Ritchens is a converted wide receiver and is in his first year playing quarterback. He says he was impressed with the progression Ritchens has made throughout the year. Booe says he told his team to “remember this feeling” and use that motivation as they go through the remainder of the conference schedule.
For Brown, he says their game plan coming in was to use the running game due to the Titans having three talented running backs. Johnson, Jevante Long and Chris VanKleek combined to form one of the best running back trios in the county.
“We have three horses back there and everyone knows that West Forsyth is a run first team and that will open up everything else,” said Brown.
Brown says this game is a “huge confidence boost” as they try to remain unbeaten on the year. He says for the Titans to beat a qualilty team like East Forsyth for their first conference win will pay off as they go forward.
