Newspaper Page Text
SECTION B
FORSYTH SPORTS
Friday, November 9, 2018
ForsythKickoff
\WHATEVER WORKS
Strong defense has been an asset for
all three of Forsyth County’s playoff
football teams. What that looks like
can vary considerably, though
By David Almeda
dalmeda@forsythnews.com
On a cold and windy night at South Forsyth last
week, West Forsyth’s defensive front stared down War
Eagles quarterback Drew Morris and dreamed of a
home playoff matchup.
On a 2"-and-10 play, the pocket closed in on
Morris, and while no Wolverines player dragged him
down, he chucked the ball out of bounds to avoid los
ing yardage. For West head coach Shawn Cahill, get
ting Morris to throw it away was just as good as a
sack, and he didn’t hesitate to let his team know it on
the sidelines.
“We were like, ‘That’s fine,””” Cahill said. “It’s 3"-
~ and-10 right now. When we get in those
o3‘ situations, (defensive coordinator Bill)
[=" ). Ballard knows they're in a throwing
) h gl situation and he can kind of dial up
L Aol the defense a little bit more to bring
! a little bit more pressure.”
For Forsyth County’s three teams
- that will play in the
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e state playoffs on
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North wins state
mountain biking title
Sports staff
On Sunday, the North Forsyth moun
tain biking team won the Georgia
Interscholastic Cycling League
Division I title at Dausett Trails in
Jackson. :
This season was the Raiders’ first
competing as a team in the league,
which also includes a Forsyth County
team with students from other schools.
Three North riders finished on the
podium in the final state rankings:
Kyleigh Faust in first for freshman
girls, Celeste Montero in third for var
sity girls, and Wil Graham in fourth for
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varsity boys.
The Forsyth Composite team fin
ished fourth overall in the final
Division II standings and had multiple
top-ranked individuals. Abbie
Lastinger finished first in the sopho
more girls standings, and Benjamin
Schmidt finished third in the varsity
boys standings.
This was the second year that the
county has had teams competing in the
GICL. One team represented the entire
county in 2017, but North’s growth as a
team caused it to split off. The county
had 55 riders overall competing this
year.
n ForsythSports
Forsyth Central all sub- y ‘ A%
scribe to different defensive ‘
philosophies when it comes L L J
to pressure and dropping into -
coverage. F
For West, pressuring the A ,
opposing quarterback was a lit- § ;
tle bit harder to come by at first. ¥
The Wolverines only had three gfg
sacks though the season’s first J ‘
seven games, before Stephon 4
Bland logged three against ;
Lambert on Oct. 19. But even J
after that game, the pass rush B &
was not a huge concern for 4@ . : "
Cahill. A 7 X k.
“The game has changed g B 5 .
so much where everybody’s = & - :
in the gun, the quarterback gets ¥ 4 £ ~ "
it and they get rid of it quick,” #% ; o
Cahill said before his team’s § 8 . = e
game against North Forsyth. & & e
“Getting sacks is an added bonus | 8
right now - it’s almost like you = = F
have to just drop and cover.” i P~ .
But the Wolverines began to ™ , :
notice a trend while looking at film. =~ Dbty b B A
Defensive linemen would slow up when they reached
the quarterback, which Cahill attributed to fear of get
ting called for a 15-yard penalty, and just being used
to 7-on-7 style play before the season, when the quar
terback is protected.
They seem to have learned from that, with West
racking up sacks at a higher rate over the regular sea
son’s last three games. The Wolverines now have 15.5
sacks, with players like Jack Hughes and Jake Weldy
stepping up. Even so, Cahill’s focus is mostly on forc
ing mistakes, rather than getting negative plays.
“When you have a 16, 17, 18-year-old kid (at quar
terback) and you’re bringing people from all over the
place, that’s hard for that kid to try to figure out
who’s open,” Cahill said. “Even if they have to take
one second because they have to sidestep, that’s good
for us.”
Former Wolverines DC David Rooney has been a
See DEFENSE | 2B
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Photos courtesy Donna Feazell
The North Forsyth mountain biking team poses after winning the Division |
team title on Nov. 4, 2018 at Dausett Trails in Jackson.
Sports Editor lan Frazer can be reached at
sports@forsythnews.com or (770) 205-8982.
fcnsports
FORSYTHNEWS.COM
Photos by Paul Ward and
Ben Hendren for the
Forsyth County News
Forsyth Central and
Jake Bretz (top right)
are often content to
sit back and let their
secondary work,
while South Forsyth
has used its talented
pass rushers, like
Jamal Camp (bottom
left) to the max.