At the end of Spirit Week, South Forsyth’s varsity football team faced off against the Gainesville Red Elephants for the Homecoming game on Friday, October 30th. SOFO students geared up in white, black, gray, and blue, cheering on the football team with masks and social distancing.
Homecoming night. The War Eagles and the Red Elephants line up at the line of scrimmage. The War Eagles started with possession of the ball. (Imagine used with permission from Lily McGregor).
South’s captains, Devin McGlockton, Alec Stephens, Bradley Hutcherson, and Taft Hilton walked onto the field for the coin toss to determine which team would receive the ball. South won the toss and chose to start on defense. The War Eagles’ strong defense stopped a second down play and brought up third down with ten yards to the first. A fourth-down field goal attempt by Gainsville was no-good, and South obtained the ball on their twenty-yard line. A second down play to senior McGlockton ended in a first down for the War Eagles, and after a second down with six yards, a pass mid-field from quarterback Kyle Durham to Gavin Morris resulted in another first down. Gainsville intercepted a third-down pass and returned to South Forsyth’s own 45-yard line. Gainesville, running off the adrenaline of their interception, ran down the field for a touchdown.
War Eagle defense. Defensive end, Taft Hilton is blocking a Gainesville player. Hilton tried to stop the receiver from running a route. (Imagine used with permission from Lily McGregor).
Gainesville attempted an onside kick, but South recovered the ball on their 47-yard line. A quick three downs ended with a fumble with Gainesville recovering the ball. After the first quarter, Gainesville led, 7-0.
Resuming play, South’s defense went back out on the field with Jayden Nelson intercepting a Gainesville pass. With the referees calling a penalty against Gainesville on the play, South declined it, putting themselves at a first and ten. A third-down rocket from Durham to McGlockton ended in a South first down. A personal foul penalty against Gainesville moved South up 15 yards. Another pass completion by Durham put South in the red zone. With only yards away from the endzone, the Gainesville defense drew an offsides penalty. South moved closer, and the offense lined up yards away from a touchdown. With a run into the endzone, Durham put South on the board. An extra point by South’s kicker tied the game at 7-7. South kicked and Alex Urias brought down Gainesville’s kick returner at the 43-yard line. South’s defensemen, led by senior Bryce Myers, stopped Gainvesille’s offensive effort and sent them to a third down and 15. Red Elephants quarterback launched a pass that went beyond South’s defenders and fell into a receiver’s hands–first and ten for Gainesville. The Red Elephants ran downfield and scored another touchdown, putting them ahead 14-7. At the half, the score remained 14-7 Red Elephants.
Getting ready to throw. Quarterback, Kyle Durham is looking for someone open to throw the football to. Durham caught the snap from the center. (Imagine used with permission from Lily McGregor).
To begin the second half, Matthew Meersman received the kick and brought it to South’s 28-yard line. Unable to gain a first down, South was forced to punt the ball. Although the punt was blocked, South’s Tyler Simpson recovered the ball. With possession of the ball once again, a throw to Thompson was enough for a first down. South was able to move the chains down another ten yards after a successful rush attempt. South’s second touchdown was a pass to McGlockton, tying the game 14-14 at the end of the third quarter.
South’s offense marched down the field play after play to begin the fourth quarter. However, Durham threw an interception in the endzone, and Gainesville ran it down the sideline. After a tag-team hit by Tabor Fleming and Alec Stephens, South forced Gainesville to punt the ball. After failing to score, South punted the ball, giving Gainesville possession. The Red Elephants had a successful drive to put the score up 21-14 and led for the rest of the game. The final score was 28-14 Red Elephants.
Players agreed that a lot needs to happen on and off the field to prepare for Friday night’s game. Senior Devin McGlockton, disappointed with the game’s outcome, commented on improvements that need to be seen: “Our defense was pretty good, but we are trying to improve our blocking and offense.”
Sophomore Tyler Simpson also commented: “As a team, we need to improve on making tackles.”
South faces the Denmark Danes at Denmark High School on Friday, November 6th.
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