By Tim Danziger Photo Courtesy of Jim Klenke
A week after confidently walking into the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco and leaving with a 34-31 victory over #2 Lone Star, North Forney (2-0) returned home last week to play 6A Little Elm. As pretty as the win over Lone Star was, their 30-14 victory over the Lobos last Thursday night was…well, it was ugly.
But it was a win nonetheless and, more importantly, a week after losing starting quarterback, Jacob Acuna, to injury, the Falcons walked away from the game with no health concerns. It was exactly the game the Falcons needed as they continue preparing for district play, which starts with the Unity Bowl game against their cross-town rivals next week.
Little Elm, having moved up from 5A to 6A this season, and realigned into a tough district that includes Allen, Denton Guyer and Prosper, was a good test for the Falcons. The Lobos are a young and talented team that forced the Falcons to work for each of their 394 yards and 30 points. Their linebacker crew was active around the line of scrimmage and flowed well to the ball, limiting what damage RB Ty Collins could have done. The secondary, led by Keyshon Mills and Walter Roddy-White, has length and speed, and made completing the deep ball difficult.
“Little Elm was what we scheduled for,” said Head Coach Randy Jackson after the game. “They played hard and were physical. They were a quality opponent.”
Echoing Coach Jackson, Offensive Coordinator Mike Ludlow explained, “The biggest jump in high school football is moving from 5A to 6A, and Little Elm has already proven it can win in 6A (in a 37-0 week one win over L.D. Bell).”
The typically high-flying offense, led by Junior QB Landon Heath, starting his first varsity game, slogged its way to victory against Little Elm. The offensive line, often facing eight and nine men in the box to stop the run, held up well against the pressure. The Falcons rolled up nearly 400 yards of total offense against the Lobos, including 212 rushing yards on 50 carries. Coach Ludlow was extremely pleased mark of the fourth quarter. That score pushed the Falcons’ lead to 24 points, 30-6.
As they were against Lone Star the previous week, the Falcons’ defense was dominant once again, taking a 23-6 lead into halftime and not allowing another score until late in the fourth quarter. They were, as Coach Jackson said, “on point” in again holding their opponent to under 250 total yards. Many of the Lobos’ 240 total yards came late in the game as they attempted to mount a comeback.
A week after holding Lone Star to 39 yards on the ground, the Falcons gave up only 33 to Little Elm. They held the Lobos to 2-of-13 on third down conversions, and 0-1 on fourth down.
North Forney created havoc on the line and kept Little Elm quarterback, John Mateer (16-32, 207 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT), on the run all game, finishing the night with eight sacks. The Falcons got two sacks each from linebackers Chandler McGee and Akanimo “Nimo” Asuquo, and defensive linemen Nick Acuna and Danny Caicedo.
Mateer was the Lobos’ leading rusher, gaining 32 yards on 16 carries.
“It starts up front, with the defensive line,” Defensive Coordinator Ryan Porter shared. “Those guys have really bought in. They make the (statistical) sacrifice to do their job against the offensive line and allow the linebackers to get to the ball.”
On the pressure the Falcons’ defensive line has put opponents under, Coach Porter said, “We go against our offensive line every day. That makes us so much better.”
Coach Ludlow expanded on that sentiment, “It is fullscale war every day in practice. That makes both lines better.”
In addition to the eight sacks, the Falcons created four turnovers in the game. They intercepted Mateer twice, one by Emariyee Stewart and one by Donovan Holt, and forced a fumble when McGee blitzed off the edge and hit Mateer as he set up to throw. The fumble was recovered by Asuquo. It was the second straight game in which the Falcons forced a quarterback fumble. Both of those have led to North Forney touchdowns.
“We have stressed communication in our secondary,” Coach Porter said of the interceptions. “They ran a lot of crossing patterns and we were passing off the coverage really well.”
The Falcons’ special teams also chipped in with a fumble recovery on a muffed punt.
While the “Payback Tour”, as this season has been dubbed after last year’s missed opportunity, is off to a solid start, it is just the start for the Falcons. They will look to improve to 3-0 before district starts when Goonville, TX travels to White Settlement to face Brewer High School, tomorrow night at 7pm. Brewer comes into the game with a 1-1 record on season, having defeated 6A Keller Central 24-21 last week after losing to Midlothian, 49-17, in week one.
“We have one more ‘tune up’ this week at Brewer,” said Coach Jackson. “We will continue to make strides on playing hard and smart football.”
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