The Forest Bearcats knew they were in for a gridiron battle when the Kosciusko Whippets visited L.O. Atkins field last Friday night. Bearcats head coach Jonathan Worrell said in the week leading up to the game that Kosciusko is always a hard-nosed group and that the Bearcats would have to play their best to defend their home field.
When the final whistle blew it turned out that Coach Worrell was exactly right about the Whippets as they gave the Bearcats a hard-fought game that was not decided until the fourth quarter.
After leading through halftime the Bearcats lost the lead to the visiting Whippets in the third quarter, but the Bearcats showed true grit and would not be denied the win. Senior Paul Hughes scored with 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and from that point the Bearcat defense took over and stopped Kosciusko multiple drives leading to a 18-15 win for Forest.
The first quarter of the ballgame saw both teams having trouble sustaining a drive as they exchanged punts and turnovers on downs. As the first quarter came to an end neither team had found the endzone and the game remained scoreless.
When the second quarter started the Bearcats defense started the quarter by stuffing the KHS running game and forced the visitors to punt. The Bearcat offense took possession on their own 18 yard-line and started to show signs of life as they moved to the ball out to their 41 yard-line. With six minutes remaining until halftime Forest QB Dashun Lofton found Jarahvea Washington open and the two connected for a 59-yard scoring strike to take a 6-0 lead. Bearcat workhorse of the night Hughes scored on a 2-point conversion attempt to give the Cats a 8-0 lead. After holding the Whippets’ offense in check and forcing a turn over on downs the Cats got the ball back but were only able to get the ball into field goal range. With under a minute left in the first half the Bearcats trotted out kicker Annderzon Argueta for a 37-yard attempt and the junior nailed the kick and sent the Bearcats to the half with a 11-0 lead.
When the teams returned to the filed for the third quarter it appeared that Kosciusko had come to life as QB Azikwe Mays completed a 40-yard scoring strike just two minutes into the quarter. Not even a minute later Forest put the ball on the ground and the Whippets came away with the fumble recovery at the Forest 40-yardline.
Making quick work of the short field Kosciusko found the end zone to take the lead 15-11 with seven minutes to go in the quarter. After the quick scoring in the first half of the third quarter both defenses settled in and refused to budge the rest of the period and the third quarter ended with visiting Kosciusko leading 15-11.
To begin the fourth quarter the Bearcats continued a sustained drive that started at their own 24 yard line and eventually moved the ball deep into KHS territory. Knowing someone had to step-up Hughes was up to the challenge and took the ball and carried it the final 20-yards for the Cats go ahead touchdown with 11 minutes left in the game. Hughes battled for tough yards all night long running head-on into the hard-hitting Whippets’ defense, but his final 20-yard scamper would be the difference in the game. After Hughes’ score the Bearcat defense again stood tall and refused to allow the Whippets to get anything going on offense. Even after a breakdown on the kickoff coverage allowed KHS to start their drive in Bearcat territory at the Forest 43-yardline the defense rose to the challenge refused to budge, and on Kosciusko’s final drive the smothering Bearcat defense forced a fumble they recovered at the Kosciusko 38 with under three minutes left in the game. The Bearcats would secure the ball and ran the clock out to earn the victory.
The Bearcats move to 2-0 on the season and will travel to Jackson Friday night to take on a very talented Jackson Prep team. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Jackson Prep’s campus.
