After a delayed beginning to the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Varsity Forney Jackrabbits finally took the field against the Whitehouse Wildcats last Friday. City Bank Stadium was as full as possible, according to this year’s health safety protocols which includes social distancing and mask requirements. The fans were thrilled to enjoy the first socially distanced version of Friday Night Lights of the year, which also happened to be Senior Night. Pre-game ceremonies honored the members of Class of 2021 involved in sports and other extracurricular activities. Unfortunately, though, this season’s debut didn’t turn out the way the fans and players had hoped, ending in a loss for the Rabbits with the final score at 31-15 when the clock ran out.
In spite of a scoreless first quarter for the Rabbits, the second quarter saw some glimmers of hope for the young team as the offense pulled off a touchdown and 2-point conversion at the hands of Quarterback Jake White, a junior this year. A relatively new team together, the offense had seven offensive players taking their first varsity snaps as starters. However, one of the team veterans, Senior Jayln Phillips rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown, and Senior Braden Benjamin’s two catches for 78 yards and touchdown accounted for the remainder of the Jackrabbits’ points. Also valuable for the offensive line were Junior Reese Mercer and Seniors Alex Bowen and Garret Andaverde. The offense shows promise, but it will require the team to quickly learn the strengths of each other as well as to gain the consistency needed to limit errors in play. Unfortunately, turnovers were an issue Friday, allowing the Wildcats to have too much control of the ball. Defensively, this year’s
Rabbits are also a young line with at least ten players getting their first taste of varsity action. Despite being put in a few bad field positions, the defense battled fiercely. Senior linebacker Dal Ndzishangong was out in full force with 7 tackles, 2 assists, 1 tackle for loss and a good bit of quarterback pressure for the night. Juniors Caden Cross, who had 5 tackles and 4 assists, and Dylan Patrick, with 6 tackles, also played a large part in the defensive game for the Jackrabbits. Senior Chase Berg stepped up at defensive end; Seniors Cade Crawford and Cannon Donlay drew double teams on the defensive line that allowed the linebackers to run free. Junior Josh Stephens and Senior Hunter Carroll played well in secondary, as did Freshman Seth Hyder. Sophomore Jaden Balina-Ayers had a fumble recovery and Peyton Negri had an interception. All in all, Forney’s defense did a great job of holding Whitehouse in check for most of night. The defense managed to hold Whitehouse to only one touchdown in each quarter, with the exception of the second which saw 12 points for the Wildcats.
In the kicking game, Senior Cameron Newell had 1 extra point and had a booming kickoff for a touchback. Junior Braden Merchant also had 3 punts for a 41.5-yard average.
The 2020 Jackrabbits show promise. Though they couldn’t pull of the win this week, scoring only once in the second and once in the fourth quarters, the Rabbits have excellent potential to be a group of young men that matures together this year.
Tomorrow night, the Jackrabbits return to action. With kickoff at 7:30 pm at City Bank Stadium the Varsity Forney Jackrabbits will face the Midlothian Panthers with their flexbone offense and swarming defense. Any available public tickets can be purchased online at www.jackrabbitathletics.com. Live audio and video coverage of the game can also be accessed through sportsgram.net. No matter in person or online, get ready to cheer on your Forney Jackrabbits this week, and check back next week to see the Forney Messenger’s highlights of the game.
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