MONDAY MUSINGS FROM THE GOLDEN ARM CHAIR
Football season got off to a rousing start Friday night with big victories across the spectrum of Class AAAAAAA. We start, of course, with congratulations to the South Forsyth War Eagles for their season opening 26-6 road win at Sprayberry. The ground game showed up as advertised with Jordan Brunson rushing for 190 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Defense was spectacular as well, limiting the potent Yellow Jacket RPO offense to just six points. It could have been better, as is often the case in openers with a whole new cast of characters, as it is with South. The War Eagle air attack was 3-11 for just 74 yards and 3 interceptions. And the ground attack was stopped at the goal line on three straight tries late in the third quarter. But that’s thanks to an energetic and talented young Sprayberry team that was fired up for their home opener. They truly came to play and South put the P in Power and outmuscled them for the win. Looking ahead, every team South Forsyth will face in the next six games but one won their opener, and three of them are ranked in the Georgia Top Ten, including Region 5 rival Milton, ranked # 7 and a winner over 7A stalwart #8 Archer in the Corky Kell Classic. You gonna play in 7A? Play a 7A schedule. But it’s one game at a time, right? Up next, defending Class 4A State Champion Blessed Trinity at the Titan’s Roswell Campus. It’s the school’s first football title, but in all sports, since its 2000 inception, BT has amassed 43 state titles, 38 runners up, and 36 regional titles. Against St. Pius X last week, the Titans allowed an 88 yard td run. They allowed 20 rushing yards TOTAL the rest of the game. Sounds like the proverbial irresistable force vs the immovable object. Catch the game LIVE on forsythsports365.com Friday night.
Elsewhere Milton D-1 prospect QB Jordan Yates rushed for 92 yards and 2 TDs, and passed for 72 and a score in the Eagles 21-19 win over Archer. Helping Milton’s cause, Archer missed two extra points and a field goal. But that’s football, right? You have to do the little things. Milton travels to Alpharetta Friday for that rivalry.
Lambert lost its home opener to Marietta rival Wheeler 28-14. The Longhorns threw for 300 yards and their two touchdowns but only ran for 22 the entire game. They also threw four picks. Lambert hosts Chattahoochee Friday night and hopes to avoid starting the season 0-2 at the Corral.
North Forsyth’s defense was stout, but got no help from its offense in their season opening home loss to Cherokee, 18-16. North suffered 7 turnovers. Seven.
Five interceptions and two lost fumbles. Cherokee enjoys the win after going winless last year. North travels across the lake to Gainesville in hopes of taming the Red Elephants, also looking for a win after suffering a loss in their opener.
West Forsyth travelled six hours across the state only to lose by a touchdown to a good Camden County team way down by Jacksonville. New Wolverine QB Blake Whitfield had a solid debut, throwing for 177 yards and two touchdowns, but fumbled twice, two of the three by West on the night. That was a long ride home for a West team with a new look and attitude. West’s next game is their home opener against Hewitt Trussville, from the fertile football fields around Birmingham, on August 31st.
Denmark opens their season at home Friday, christening their new facility against Cherokee Bluff.
And after 16 straight losses, Forsyth Central celebrated all night with a 42-7 blistering of an overmatched Chamblee squad. Overmatched opponent and FCHS in the same breath? Yes, and look at the Bulldog defense as a big reason, with six takeaways on the night between fumble recoveries, interceptions and turnovers on downs. It’s been a long time coming for Bulldog fans and could signal a new direction, finally, in Coach Frank Hepler’s third season at the helm. The War Eagles play the Bulldogs at Central late in the season, and that could spell trouble if that attitude becomes contagious throughout Bulldog nation. Can you smell a trap before the season closer at home vs West?
But one game at a time!!! Join us Live Friday night starting at 6:30 for our live podcast from the campus of Blessed Trinity High as the War Eagles take on the supremely talented Titans, both teams looking for win number two on the young season. It’s exclusively available for you from Forsyth Sports 365.com and the War Eagle Sports Network