Newspaper Page Text
2B | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
Midweek Edition-October 26-27,2022
FROM 1B
Longhorns
Photo by Kevin O'Brien
Denmark's Che Ojarikre catches a touchdown pass during a
Region 6-7A game Friday at Lambert.
On the following play, Nelson
stepped up in the pocket to throw,
and he found wide receiver Kohl
Yearwood for a 27-yard touch
down reception to even the score.
Lambert’s defense came
through strong once again, forc
ing another interception. This
time it was senior defensive back
Bradley Gabriel who had excel
lent coverage on Aidan Brozena.
The Longhorns were having a
great time defensively on the
field, and they decided to take a
different approach offensively.
Tyre threw a swing pass to
Ethan Terry. The junior fooled the
defense into thinking he was
going to run, but he stopped and
launched a deep ball to Brandon
Jones in stride for a 30-yard
touchdown.
A third-down sack by Lambert
set up a 30-yard field goal by
Denmark from the left hash to cut
the deficit to 14-10.
Later, Ryan McDaniel read the
running back screen perfectly and
intercepted Tyre for a 28-yard
pick-6.
Nelson tried a risky shot down-
field to Che Ojarikre by throwing
into double coverage. However, it
paid off with a touchdown to put
the Danes ahead 23-14 going into
halftime.
“That was our worst half of the
season, and we needed this adver
sity,” Beach said. “We came out
and made some plays, and they
didn’t bite down. Great team
effort and a great goal line stand
by our defense.”
Coming out of the break, the
Longhorns held the ball for more
than five minutes. The Danes
attempted a goal line stand, but a
penalty for having 12 players on
the field made it first down at the
1-yard line instead of fourth
down.
At that point, everyone knew it
was going to be a quarterback
sneak with Tyre the way the
Longhorns lined up. The senior
pushed his way into the end zone
to cut the lead 23-21.
The Longhorns capitalized on a
muffed punt, with Tyre throwing
a 39-yard touchdown pass to
Jones and a successful 2-point
conversion pass to Luke Logan.
The Danes failed to strike back
and a costly turnover by junior
defensive back Houston Harris
gave Nelson his third intercep
tion.
“They’ve played great all sea
son,” Beach said of the defense’s
performance. “We’ve been stellar
on that side of the ball. The
coaching staff does a great job.”
The highlight of the night
occurred when Tyre escaped mul
tiple Danes in the pocket, includ
ing two on the turf. With an open
ing in sight, he accelerated down
the sideline for a 13-yard touch
down to grow the lead to 39-23
with 10:14 left in the fourth.
“I just do what I do,” Tyre said
on the scramble. “Johnny
Football-type stuff and got in the
end zone. Thankful for my line
men and my wide receivers
blocking for me.”
The Danes fired back with a
touchdown of their own with a
back shoulder fade touchdown
pass to the 6’6” wide receiver Ty
Woodruff. Afterward, the 2-point
conversion attempt by Ojarikre
was successful.
Denmark’s defense made the
stop it needed to give the ball
back to its offense at the 21-yard
line with 4:23 left.
The Danes got saved with a
tipped pass that landed in the
hand of Hester for a first down at
the 34-yard line. By continuing to
use their passing attack, they
were able to march down the
field to the 3-yard line thanks to
Ojarikre and Yearwood.
The Longhorns knew they had
to make a goal line stand to not
put pressure on their offense.
They stuffed Williams twice.
Denmark then brought Yearwood
onto the field, who had some
experience at playing quarterback
in the early part of the season.
Lambert was ready for it and
allowed Yearwood to pick up
zero yards.
The Danes had no option but to
go for it. This time, they decided
to go through the air, but the pass
fell incomplete, costing the team
a valuable opportunity with the
turnover on downs.
Lambert ran off the remaining
minute of the game to pick up
their eighth straight victory —
matching the longest winning ran
in program history.
Having secured a playoff spot,
Lambert (8-0, 3-0 Region 6-7A)
will host South Forsyth (5-3, 2-1
Region 6-7A) on Oct. 28.
Meanwhile, Denmark (5-3, 1-2
Region 6-7A) sits at No. 4 in the
region and will host Milton the
same night.
FROM 1B
Raiders
about Raider Valley — we’ve won 10 in a row the past two years.”
North scored fewer than three minutes into Friday’s game and
never trailed.
Back-to-back penalties and a sack by Chris Herock put
Habersham Central in a third-and-27 hole on its first possession,
leading to a punt from the end zone. It allowed North to start its
first drive from the opponent’s 28-yard line.
Karson McBrayer capped a lightning quick four-play drive with
a 2-yard TD drive to give North a 7-0 lead with 9:46 left in the first
quarter.
McBrayer logged 29 carries for 135 yards and the score, leading
a rushing attack that carried the ball a season-high 43 times.
“How they played defensively, they were really taking away
some of our passing game, so our guys were just patient and we
ran the ball well,” Craft said. “I thought two weeks ago against
Fanier, our young offensive line group really grew up. We’ve been
able to really run the ball against people in the second half.”
QB West Roberts was efficient through the air, too, completing
12 of 15 passes (80%) for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Roberts’ score came on a play-action pass after six straight
McBrayer rushes. Habersham Central’s defense bought the fake,
allowing wide receiver Fogan Curry to streak past the secondary
and into the end zone for a 26-yard TD.
Curry led North’s receiving corps with six catches for 59 yards.
The score increased North’s lead to 17-7 near the end of the
third quarter, and after a three-and-out by Habersham Central’s
offense, North assembled another scoring drive featuring Bowen’s
TD.
North took over on Habersham’s 41-yard drive and ran 11 plays
— all rushing — converting a third down and a fourth down.
Collin Miller picked up 3 yards on fourth-and-2 before leaving
the game briefly because of an injury, and McBrayer had carried
the ball six straight times — putting the spotlight on Bowen, who
gashed Habersham Central for 10 yards before his 4-yard TD
plunge.
Part of the reason Bowen had so few chances to score is because
of how effective Miller is in the jumbo package.
“It hurts our hearts a little bit, but if we get the touchdown, that’s
what we want,” Bowen said. “We just want to win the game.”
Habersham Central mounted a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive in
response, one that featured two unsportsmanlike penalties on
North that gave the offense first-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
The visitors immediately cashed in, as QB Carson Parker raced
to the pylon on a keeper.
Habersham Central failed to recover the ensuing onside kick but
forced a North punt to regain possession. However, three incom
pletions and a sack by Brody Hancock returned the ball to North
and allowed the host Raiders to take a knee.
Parker was 23-for-41 passing for 187 yards and also carried the
ball 14 times for 18 yards for Habersham Central. In all, North’s
defense limited Habersham Central to just 3.8 yards per play.
North (6-2, 4-0 Region 8-6A) sits atop the region standings,
along with Gainesville, and guaranteed itself a first-round playoff
game in Raider Valley with the win.
Gainesville, which joined North in moving out of Region 6-7A
this fall, is ranked fifth in Class 6A and won 34-7 against Shiloh
on Friday.
“I told them to enjoy it and we’re going to get back to work this
weekend,” Craft said. “I know they’ll be ready. This is what
they’ve waited for. This is the opportunity to play for a champion
ship. We’ve got a chance to go do some special things and this
group is a special team. Gainesville’s a great football team, so
we’re going to have to be ready to play.”
FROM 1B
Softball
managed to parlay its five hits into five
runs, while the combination of Ellie
Balose and Crossman limited fourth-seed
ed Walton to a single tally on seven hits.
After scoring once in each of the first,
third and fourth frames, the War Eagles
countered a fifth-inning tally by the
Raiders with two runs of their own.
Balose earned the victory in the circle,
while Crossman garnered a save.
The South Forsyth offense erupted in the
second contest — highlighted by Sarah
Quian and Audrey Hui launching home
runs. Ariail continued her phenomenal sea
son with a pair of massive triples.
The first came in the second inning, and
Charlotte Brooks drove in Ariail for the
game’s opening run. After No. 2 seed
Peachtree Ridge evened the score in the
third inning, Ariail laced a two-run three-
bagger with two outs in the home half of
the inning to give South Forsyth (23-6) the
lead for good.
If that hit didn’t effectively set the tone,
then Quian’s three-run blast in the fourth to
extend the War Eagles’ lead to 6-2 certain
ly did.
Hui’s solo dinger pushed South
Forsyth’s advantage to five runs entering
the seventh inning, providing a big psycho
logical boost for the home team.
Fueling that feeling was the fact that
Peachtree Ridge, which knocked South
Forsyth out of the state playoffs in 2019
and 2021, had loaded the bases in the top
of the sixth with one out.
With the potential tying run at the plate,
the Fions popped up right in front of home
plate. While an infield fly automatically
retired the batter, the War Eagles struggled
to corral the ball, as it bounced off third
baseman Emme Souter’s glove and into
the first baseman’s mitt of Karly Casey.
A heads-up Casey fired the ball to third
base to force out a wandering Peachtree
Ridge runner to retire the side.
Even though Casey deservedly received
credit for being in the right place to snag
the ball in the air, shortstop Ansley Chiang
also showed stellar instincts to cover third
base on the seemingly straightforward
play.
Despite a solo blast in the top of the sev
enth from the Fions, Crossman closed out
her complete-game effort with relatively
little drama.
Region 6-7A champion South Forsyth
will face 2021 state runner-up East Coweta
at 5 p.m. Oct. 26.
East Forsyth makes history
In just their second year of existence, the
East Forsyth Broncos secured their first
GHSA State Tournament
Ist-Round Matchups
Note: All state tournament
games at South Commons
Softball Complex in Columbus.
Class 7A: South Forsyth vs. East
Coweta, 5 p.m. Oct. 26
Class 4A: East Forsyth vs.
Islands, 3 p.m. Oct. 26
berth at the state tournament in Columbus.
On Day 1 of a Class 4A super regional,
East Forsyth — which reached the 3A
Sweet 16 last year — routed Northwest
Whitfield, 9-2, and host Pace Academy,
13-0, to reach the championship.
The Broncos split games against
Northwest Whitfield on Wednesday at
Pace Academy, losing 9-7 in the first title
game but bouncing back to capture the
winner-take-all final by a 9-3 margin.
It was the Broncos who started the first
game on a roll, scoring five runs to the
Bruins’ zero. It wasn’t until the fourth
inning of the game that the Bruins got on
the board with four runs.
After forcing extra innings, the Bruins
made a late push to capture the eight
inning victory.
Emily Hutcheson went 2-for-5 at the
plate to lead the Broncos in hits.
In the necessary “if needed” game,
Bruins pitcher Jolie Albertson threw a wild
pitch that allowed two Broncos to reach
home plate.
The fourth inning is where the Broncos
shined the most, totaling four runs. The
series of runs began with a triple by pitcher
Cadence Alberty and a double by Emma
Smallwood.
Alberty was the winner in the circle, as
she went seven innings, allowing three
runs and striking out seven Bruins.
Alberty led the Broncos in hits, going
3-for-4 at bat.
Overall, Alberty finished 3-1 in the tour
nament, tossing all 26 of her team’s
innings. Offensively, the sophomore went
10-for-15 with four doubles, two triples
and a home run. She totaled 10 RBIs.
Alberty’s two-run homer canceled out
the runs she allowed in the tournament
opener.
In the contest against Pace Academy,
East Forsyth (22-10) held a 19-1 edge in
the hit column en route to the run-rule vic
tory.
Alberty, Hutcheson and Smallwood
posted three hits each for the Region 8-4A
runner-up. Shelby Conaway, Cali Marshall
and Kennah Wall recorded two hits apiece.
East Forsyth will open the eight-team
double-elimination state tournament
against Islands at 3 p.m. Oct. 26.
Designs by Susan, Inc.
CUSTOM ""PICTURE FRAMING
L to R - Caitlin Chavis-Designer, Susan Eckles -Owner and Janice Callis-Manager, Designer
We are a family owned and operated business
since 1987. The business started in my basement
because Susan wanted to create art that she
could not find anywhere else. After 35 years we
still have our store front and are blessed to have
3 generations creating art.
From glass & mat replacement to shadow boxes and mirror frames.
— We can frame it all.
Conservation
Framing
Shadow Boxes
Needlework
Installations
Mirror Frames
THANKS FOR VOTING US
BEST OF
FORSYTH IN 2022
Tuesday - Friday Saturday
10am-6pm 10am-4pm
(770)410-0334
4825 Atlanta Hwy. Suite 500
Alpharetta, GA 30004
www.designsbysusan-ga.com
www.facebook.com/designsbysusaninc