The last tme a Forsyth County High School football team was ranked in the lofty top ten in the state by the Georgia Sports Writers Association, South Forsyth had just beaten Tucker in the second round of the 2015 playoffs. This week, the South Forsyth War Eagles occupy the 7th spot in the Georgia Class AAAAAAA rankings after their thrilling 30-23 road win over South Gwinnett. With the score tied at 23, and under two minutes left, South had the ball on their own 25 yard line thinking two minute offense. Well, that’s what Head Football Coach Jeff Arnette was thinking, anyway. Senior quarterback Cal Morris might have been thinking a little more quickly. Taking the snap out of the shotgun, Morris looked downfield and drifted to his right. Not spotting an open receiver and feeling some pressure, Morris tucked the ball and slipped a tackle. Then another one. Then two or three more. Suddenly he’s Crazy Legs Hirsch. Breaking free of the scrum, Morris streaked 75 yards to the endzone for the game winning touchdown. “I’ve been in this business 28 years, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that”, commented a semi-giddy Arnette. The extra point was good, the kickoff was unreturnable, the defense batted down a couple of pass attempts and the game was over. The win brings the War Eagles to 4-0 at their bye week, ranked 7th and looking DOWN at their next opponent, which happens to be Georgia Prep Legend Lassiter High out of Marietta, in two weeks. If you had told us that at the approach of this game, South Forsyth would be ranked AHEAD of Lassiter, we might have ordered you a brain scan. But here it is, the GHSA Class 7A Top Ten announced Wednesday: 1) Grayson (Defending State Champ) 2) Colquitt County 3) Lowndes 4 tie) Archer/North Cobb 6) Parkview 7) South Forsyth 8) Mill Creek 9) Tift Co. 10) McEachern (And McEachern is on reputation only. The Indians are 1-2.) That’s some rare air right there. And so our game of the week on September 22nd will be Lassiter at South Forsyth. The Trojans are 3-0 and ranked # 11. They play 14th ranked Marietta High this week, so with a win we could conceivably have a battle of two Top Ten ranked teams on our airwaves. Makes our neck hairs stand up straight.
This week in Region 5 class AAAAAAA
With South Forsyth enjoying a bye week, the attention turns to the training members of Region 5. Three teams are at 2-1: West Forsyth, North Forsyth and Milton. West and first year Head Coach Shawn Cahill looked to have a real opportunity last week against a Hillgrove team that seems to have their number. The Hawks were 0-2 and acting out of sorts, but they pulled it together with their backs against the wall and dominated the formerly undefeated Wolverines 42-20. Ben Bresnehan had his normal outstanding game with 10 catches and a touchdown, but the Hawks saw their season slipping a little early and came out fired up. A road loss like this one won’t hurt West Forsyth in the long run, but it stings a little bit right now. West hosts Dacula Friday night in the Den.
365 SPORTS FREAKS FEARLESS PREDICTION: West Forsyth 31 – Dacula 17
North Forsyth had the week off last week and will seemingly be looking to amp up an offense led by Senior quarterback Ben Bayles that is nothing short of a thrill a minute. In three games, Bayles is 48/80 for 750 yards and 9 touchdowns with just 2 interceptions. The Raiders also average over a hundred yards a game on the ground. They return to the gridiron at Pickens County in Jasper looking for their third straight win and a solid #2 in the region.
365 SPORTS FREAKS FEARLESS PREDICITON: North Forsyth 41 – Pickens 21
Milton has beaten its neighbors, Alpharetta and Cambridge, relatively handily, but were handed a beat down when things got tough at North Gwinnett. The Eagles host Etowah Friday night. The other Eagles team comes in at 2-2. A win for former West Forsyth Head Coach/first year Milton Head Coach Adam Clack would help keep pace with the others.
365 SPORTS FREAKS FEARLESS PREDICTION: Milton 21 – Etowah 20
Lambert enjoyed its first win last week against an overmatched Cherokee team in Canton, 28-0. Head Coach Louis Daniel found some rhythm for his quarterback, Bobby Gabriel, and let the Longhorns go. Gabriel threw for a score and ran for another, and Marcus Chattelain rushed for nearly a hundred yards and a score. This week Lambert hosts Lanier, also 1-2 on the year. This would have been our game of the week this week but Doc says one more week off the leg, so we have to pass, unfortunately. The Corral is always a great place to call a football game, and this should be an even contest. Lambert needs the win to not slip too far behind the leaders at this early point in the season.
365 SPORTS FREAKS FEARLESS PREDICTION: Lambert 27 – Lanier 25
Forsyth Central Head Coach Frank Hepler saw the most complete effort of the year from his Bulldogs. They finally broke through and put some points on the board, But they travelled to Meadowcreek, a team they crushed last year, and the upstart and rejuvenated Mustangs from Norcross won a squeaker, 29-27. Meadowcreek is now 3-0, their best start in their young history. The loss drops Central to 0-3 on the young season, with the heavy part of the schedule still to come. FCHS Forever hosts 1-2 Duluth in the Dog Pound this week, and have a real chance of winning if they can get the same effort from their offense. If Coach Hep can keep the team together and show some improvement as he builds toward the Region 5 round robin, it could be one of the more impressive coaching accomplishments he’s shown in his storied career.
365 SPORTS FREAKS FEARLESS PREDICTIONS: Forsyth Central 19 – Duluth 16
While we won’t be going live this week, there will be three great football games in Forsyth County Friday night. Lanier at Lambert, Duluth at Forsyth Central, and Dacula at West Forsyth. Get the family together, go grab a snack and a Coke, and enjoy some of the great high school football being played in our county. Then get geared up for a great game called LIVE here on ForsythSports365.com next Friday night, as we get clearance to climb the stairs again and call a game featuring 7th ranked South Forsyth hosting a potentially Top Ten Lassiter team! Details soon. As always, thanks for visiting Forsyth Sports 365!!