Forest coach Jonathan Worrell believed the Bearcats needed a spark heading into the opening game of the season, and he made a bold move that looks to have given the team exactly what it needed. Worrell followed his coaching instincts and made a quarterback change before the Bearcats traveled to Columbus to take on the New Hope Trojans last Friday night.
Senior Jacob Brooks was moved from QB to tailback and sophomore Dashun Lofton was named starting QB on the Bearcat offense that had struggled to move the ball effectively in the preseason. For many players this might have had a negative impact on them, but Worrell knew Brooks could handle the move and would adjust to help the team have the best chance at winning. “Jacob is a two-year starter and he is the ultimate team player,” said Worrell. “Making a move at any position is tough but making a change at quarterback can be extremely tough and Brooks responded really, really good.”
During the first half of the game there may have been some questioning of coach Worrell’s decision in making the change when early on the underclassman was having trouble holding onto the football. Forest repeatedly moved the ball into Trojan territory, but the Bearcats offense shot itself in the foot each time which resulted in the offense being shutout in the first half.
The Bearcats took the opening kick and drove the ball to the New Hope 16 yard-line before fumbling the ball back to the Trojans. This would be the recurring story in the first-half for the Bearcat offense, but the stingy Bearcats defense was up to the challenge.
With one minute to go in the first quarter New Hope took over on downs at their own 11-yard line after the Bearcats failed to convert a fourth-and-short. Rather than just stop the Trojans the defense took matters into their own hands. They pushed New Hope back into their own endzone and Jakolbi Smith de-cleated the Torjan ball carrier in his own endzone for a safety and a 2-0 lead. The 2-0 would stand until half-time and with the way the Bearcats defense played it would have stood the whole game.
When the Bearcats returned to the field after half-time they came ready to put points on the board, and they would do so quickly. After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half Lofton, who finished the night 3-of-5 for 84 yards and 1 TD through the air, wasted no time leading the Bearcats to pay-dirt when he connected with wideout Patrick Odom for a 35-yard scoring strike. The Bearcats took a 8-0 lead after the successful PAT. The teams would swap punts and turn-overs on downs multiple times before the Bearcats’ Brooks would break through the line for a 20-yard gain down to the New Hope 26-yard line as the third quarter was winding down. Brooks would start the fourth quarter by bulling his way into the endzone to give the Bearcats a commanding 16-0 lead after the PAT. Brooks finished an outstanding night with 200 yards on 19 carries while scoring 2 TDs, and he also added an interception on defense.
The early fourth quarter TD was more than enough for the Forest defense who held the Trojans to under 100 yards of total offense which impressed their coach. “Defensively it was an outstanding effort,” said Worrell. “32 of their 50 snaps went for either no-gain or negative yardage, now that’s what you call a solid effort.” Leading the way on defense for the Bearcats was DE Devonyal Lofton who finished the night with 12 tackles, 6 solo, 4 for a loss, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery.
Late in the fourth quarter Brooks broke loose again for a 50-yard TD run which closed out the scoring and finished up the Trojans by a final of 23-0.
The move at QB seems to have given the Bearcats the spark the were looking for after the offense came to life in the second half. They will look to move to 2-0 on the season when they Kosciusko Whippets at L.O. Atkins Field this Friday night. Coach Worrell looks for the game to be tough one as the Whippets always prove to be a tough opponent. “Kosciusko is always a hard nose group that plays really hard and they have a couple of very elusive playmakers,” said Worrell. “If we can keep their playmakers bottled-up we should be in good shape.”
