The 2019 football season has been a tough one for the Forest Bearcats, but after FHS defeated Morton 16-7 on their home field the tough season was a little easier to take. When Forest Mayor Nancy Chambers presented the Golden Chicken trophy to the Bearcats’s players and coaches there was nothing but smiles last Thursday night.
Entering the game against their arch rival, the Bearcats had only one win on the season, but the Cats came through late in the game to win their second game of the year, and their 13th straight win over the Panthers.
FHS head coach Ty Weems and his team knew that the Panthers were entering the Battle for the Golden Chicken wanting nothing more than to end the losing streak to Forest. The streak that’s well into a second decade. Sean Gerald, MHS’s first year head football coach, has made wholesale changes in every part of the Panther football program since arriving in Morton. He and the Panthers had the game against the Bearcats marked and came in with back-to-back wins and a lot of momentum.
Even with the momentum on their side, and the Bearcats suffering through one of the worst seasons in program history, the Panthers were not able to pull off the win and end the 12-year streak.
“We really have to learn how to come in to this game expecting to win,” Gerald said. “The players on the other sideline come in to this game every year expecting to win, but our players have to get this streak out of their minds and just go out and play football. We did not get it done this year, but it’s coming.”
The Panthers outgained the Bearcats in total yards, but Forest was able to make a few more plays when it counted most.
Morton found the endzone first when Matthew Brasfield caught a 42-yard scoring pass from MHS quarterback James Johnson, but it would be the Panthers only points of the night.
The Bearcats answered with a touchdown of their own in the first quarter, and when the opening quarter came to an end the score was tied 7-7.
The Bearcats defense played a great game, but they really put the heat on in the second quarter. The Cats got on the scoreboard when the defense scored a safety by catching the Panthers in their own endzone. That would end the first half scoring as the teams went into the half with the Bearcats leading 9-7.
The game remained close late in the fourth quarter. Neither team was willing to give, and both teams were putting maximum effort in a game that would come down to a few individual plays. In the end it was the Bearcats that survived by scoring the one and only touchdown in the final 12 minutes, and the only points of the second half. Some might say the Bearcats never even thought they could lose this game, that’s because they haven’t in over a decade.
FHS’s Devonyal Lofton was awarded the Fred L. Gaddis Most Valuable Player Award for the 2019 Battle for the Golden Chicken.
Lofton scored one of the Bearcats two touchdowns, senior quarterback Dylan Grayson scored the other. Lofton played both ways during the Cats win, but it was on defense where he made his presence most felt. He finished the night with 12 total tackles (9 solo) and two quarterback sacks, all while handling punting duties for the Forest.
With the win the Bearcats extended the winning streak in the county rivalry game to 12 straight wins in the Battle for the Golden Chicken, and 13 straight wins over the Panthers overall. The win also gave Forest the inside track on the Class 3A state playoffs as they now have sole possession of second place in Region 5, and would have the tiebreaker over third place Morton.
The Bearcats move to 2-7 on the year and 2-1 in district play. Even with the Bearcats tough year, Forest somehow is setting pretty to make the playoffs, and they defeated their arch rival, so these two factors help make this season better.
Forest will travel to DeKalb this Friday night to take on Region 5 leader Kemper County (3-6, 3-0) who is undefeated in district play. This will be the final game of the regular season. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:00 p.m. from Wildcats Field in DeKalb.
With the loss the Panthers fell to 4-6 on the season and 2-2 in district play. The Panthers will finish out their regular season when they travel to Pelahatchie to take on a very strong Class 2A Chiefs team. The game is set to kickoff at 7:00 p.m. on the campus of Pelahatchie High School.
