Forreston Completes Hales
Homework
Homework
Cardinals cling to a 31-29 victory against foreign competition ...
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
FORRESTON – Saturday afternoon is no time for school, but yet on the school grounds
of Forreston High School its football team was able to learn more about the game they
play.
Hales Franciscan of the Chicago Catholic League came to town on Saturday afternoon,
bringing with them a well-balanced offense that propelled the No. 14 seed of the Class 1A
state playoff upper bracket to a winning season against tough competition back home.
Just how that would work against the typical smashmouth running game that the NUIC is
known for was the big question.
The Cardinals, seeded No. 3, stuck to its guns and ran up the middle all day to outlast the
potent Hales offense 31-29 in Forreston.
In all but one of 56 offensive plays on the afternoon, the Cardinals (9-1) were able to run,
chip and milk the clock down with the simple handoff or the quarterback keeper. Forreston
tallied 339 total yards on the ground against just one pass – a second-quarter red zone
interception on fourth down.
“You have to move the ball because there's not way you can shut them down,” Forreston
coach Dennis Diduch said. “They did a great job. We made them move up and down the
field and made them eat up a lot of clock. They're normally used to scoring pretty easily.
That's just mental – if you're used to scoring quickly it gets a little frustrating as you go
throughout the game.”
Holding Hales defensively was another story. The Spartans (6-4) had balanced yardage
numbers with 178 rushing yards and 167 passing yards, doing anything it can to try to
come out on top. However, costly defensive penalties (10 overall for 58 yards) helped the
Cardinals move upfield and thus closer to scores.
“I'd like to congratulate Forreston. They played a great game,” Hales Franciscan coach
Randall Townsel.” I'm not taking anything away from them. They're a great football team.
They established the run. That's what they went to do, and we felt we could play the run
better and we didn't. They controlled the line of scrimmage from the offensive side and we
didn't stop them defensively.”
The Spartans began the scoring with Andre Anthony leaping his way to a three-yard
touchdown just two and a half minutes into the game for a 7-0 advantage after the point-
after kick. On the next drive Hales looked to stop the Cardinals in its red zone, but an
encroachment penalty brought about a new series of downs. Forreston took advantage,
and got on the board with a one-yard keeper from Brett Carlson to tie the game after the
extra kick.
Both teams scored once more in the duration of the first half with point-after kicks good;
but when Hales looked to take a one-point lead into halftime by using a two-point
conversion, Forreston stopped the run and preserved a lead thay would not relinquish for
the rest of the game.
“We practiced all week. We had our fastest people going against us because we knew
they were fast,” Forreston senior Hunter Hake said of Hales. “There's no way to really
stop their offense, you just have to slow them down.”
Forreston added two more scores and two more point-after kicks to go up 28-13 halfway
through the third quarter. Andrew Brown had a 16-yard touchdown run after breaking free
from Spartan tacklers with 7:24 left in the quarter. Four minutes later Hake notched his
second touchdown run of the night, going 21 yards to create a two-score lead.
“We knew they were really aggressive so we ran trap up the field and ran up behind
them,” Hake said.
Yenka Sykes brought Hales back to a one-score deficit with his second touchdown of the
day, a three-yard jump with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
But Forreston kicker Chris Sander prevented any one-play comeback by Hales, as his 20-
yard field goal gave the Cardinals a 31-21 lead. The field goal decision came after a
series of false start penalties by the Cardinals moved them back.
Hales bit in a little more after that with a sub-minute score, but was up against the game
clock the rest of the way.
“They were pretty fast, so we just had to keep our heads up,” Cardinal lineman Torey
Smice said of Hales. “Whenever they got their run, just go stick it up their throat next time
and fill our gaps and keep control. We learned that we can make it, and just got to get
going.”
Hake led Forreston with 124 yards on 18 carries. Adam Akins was also reliable in the
ground game, netting 49 yards on 13 carries through the middle of the Hales defense.
“We learned how to protect the pass better since they pass the ball mostly 80 percent of
the time,” Akins said. “It's a good experience to play someone new. I've never played them
before, and probably no team around here has ever played them before. It was a good
experience.”
The NUIC playoff comeptition – which is the norm in the conference in the first two rounds
– for Forreston will continue to be on a detour route next week as they host Winnetka
North Shore Country Day next Saturday afernoon.
“I thought we handled the pressure of a first-round game,” Diduch said. “We survived it.
As far as the pressure they were putting on us, I don't know if anybody athletically can put
any more pressure on you. It was a great test that we passed and hopefully we can carry
it over to the next game.”
Unlike most playoff teams after a loss, the Spartans' season is not over. They'll be back in
action in the Chicago Prep Bowl next week. Quarterback Christopher Walker led the
Spartans with 229 yards running and passing.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message
Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
FORRESTON – Saturday afternoon is no time for school, but yet on the school grounds
of Forreston High School its football team was able to learn more about the game they
play.
Hales Franciscan of the Chicago Catholic League came to town on Saturday afternoon,
bringing with them a well-balanced offense that propelled the No. 14 seed of the Class 1A
state playoff upper bracket to a winning season against tough competition back home.
Just how that would work against the typical smashmouth running game that the NUIC is
known for was the big question.
The Cardinals, seeded No. 3, stuck to its guns and ran up the middle all day to outlast the
potent Hales offense 31-29 in Forreston.
In all but one of 56 offensive plays on the afternoon, the Cardinals (9-1) were able to run,
chip and milk the clock down with the simple handoff or the quarterback keeper. Forreston
tallied 339 total yards on the ground against just one pass – a second-quarter red zone
interception on fourth down.
“You have to move the ball because there's not way you can shut them down,” Forreston
coach Dennis Diduch said. “They did a great job. We made them move up and down the
field and made them eat up a lot of clock. They're normally used to scoring pretty easily.
That's just mental – if you're used to scoring quickly it gets a little frustrating as you go
throughout the game.”
Holding Hales defensively was another story. The Spartans (6-4) had balanced yardage
numbers with 178 rushing yards and 167 passing yards, doing anything it can to try to
come out on top. However, costly defensive penalties (10 overall for 58 yards) helped the
Cardinals move upfield and thus closer to scores.
“I'd like to congratulate Forreston. They played a great game,” Hales Franciscan coach
Randall Townsel.” I'm not taking anything away from them. They're a great football team.
They established the run. That's what they went to do, and we felt we could play the run
better and we didn't. They controlled the line of scrimmage from the offensive side and we
didn't stop them defensively.”
The Spartans began the scoring with Andre Anthony leaping his way to a three-yard
touchdown just two and a half minutes into the game for a 7-0 advantage after the point-
after kick. On the next drive Hales looked to stop the Cardinals in its red zone, but an
encroachment penalty brought about a new series of downs. Forreston took advantage,
and got on the board with a one-yard keeper from Brett Carlson to tie the game after the
extra kick.
Both teams scored once more in the duration of the first half with point-after kicks good;
but when Hales looked to take a one-point lead into halftime by using a two-point
conversion, Forreston stopped the run and preserved a lead thay would not relinquish for
the rest of the game.
“We practiced all week. We had our fastest people going against us because we knew
they were fast,” Forreston senior Hunter Hake said of Hales. “There's no way to really
stop their offense, you just have to slow them down.”
Forreston added two more scores and two more point-after kicks to go up 28-13 halfway
through the third quarter. Andrew Brown had a 16-yard touchdown run after breaking free
from Spartan tacklers with 7:24 left in the quarter. Four minutes later Hake notched his
second touchdown run of the night, going 21 yards to create a two-score lead.
“We knew they were really aggressive so we ran trap up the field and ran up behind
them,” Hake said.
Yenka Sykes brought Hales back to a one-score deficit with his second touchdown of the
day, a three-yard jump with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
But Forreston kicker Chris Sander prevented any one-play comeback by Hales, as his 20-
yard field goal gave the Cardinals a 31-21 lead. The field goal decision came after a
series of false start penalties by the Cardinals moved them back.
Hales bit in a little more after that with a sub-minute score, but was up against the game
clock the rest of the way.
“They were pretty fast, so we just had to keep our heads up,” Cardinal lineman Torey
Smice said of Hales. “Whenever they got their run, just go stick it up their throat next time
and fill our gaps and keep control. We learned that we can make it, and just got to get
going.”
Hake led Forreston with 124 yards on 18 carries. Adam Akins was also reliable in the
ground game, netting 49 yards on 13 carries through the middle of the Hales defense.
“We learned how to protect the pass better since they pass the ball mostly 80 percent of
the time,” Akins said. “It's a good experience to play someone new. I've never played them
before, and probably no team around here has ever played them before. It was a good
experience.”
The NUIC playoff comeptition – which is the norm in the conference in the first two rounds
– for Forreston will continue to be on a detour route next week as they host Winnetka
North Shore Country Day next Saturday afernoon.
“I thought we handled the pressure of a first-round game,” Diduch said. “We survived it.
As far as the pressure they were putting on us, I don't know if anybody athletically can put
any more pressure on you. It was a great test that we passed and hopefully we can carry
it over to the next game.”
Unlike most playoff teams after a loss, the Spartans' season is not over. They'll be back in
action in the Chicago Prep Bowl next week. Quarterback Christopher Walker led the
Spartans with 229 yards running and passing.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message
Boards!
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at Forreston
Forreston 31, Chicago
Hales Franciscan 28
Hales 7 6 8 7 - 28
Forreston 7 7 14 3 - 31
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
H – Andre Anthony 3 run
(kick good), 9:29, 7-0.
F – Brett Carlson 1 run
(kick good), 6:14, 7-7.
Second Quarter
F – Hunter Hake 21 run
(kick good), 9:26 7-14.
H – Darius Cole 17 pass
from Christopher Walker
(conversion failed), 13-14.
Third Quarter
F – Andrew Brown 16 run
(kick good), 7:24, 13-21.
F – Hake 21 run (kick
good), 13-28.
H – Yenka Sykes 3 run
(conversion good) 1:17, 21-
28.
Fourth Quarter
F – Chris Sander 20 field
goal, 1:56, 21-31.
H – Sykes 6 run (kick
good), 0:19, 28-31.
HF Forr.
First Downs 17 18
Rushes-Yards 28-178 55-339
Passings Yards 167 0
Total Offense 345 339
C-A-I 11-23-0 0-1-1
Fumbles-Lost 4-1 1-1
Turnovers 3 4
Penalties-Yards 10-58 4-30
Punts-Average 3-35.5 1-23
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Hales: Walker 7-
62, Anthony 14-61, Joseph
Morrow 4-31, Willie Allen 1-
11, Sykes 2-9, Cole 1-4.
Forreston: Hake 18-124,
Akins 13-49, Bryan Kraft 7-
55, Brown 2-43, Carlson 5-
39, Sander 6-28, Keynon
Janicke 1-1.
Passing – Hales: Walker
11-23-1-0-167. Forreston:
Carlson 0-1-0-1-0.
Receiving – Hales: Morrow
3-69, Cole 2-41, Allen 5-
31, Anthony 1-23.
Forreston: none.
Records: Hales 6-4,
Forreston 9-1.
Forreston 31, Chicago
Hales Franciscan 28
Hales 7 6 8 7 - 28
Forreston 7 7 14 3 - 31
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
H – Andre Anthony 3 run
(kick good), 9:29, 7-0.
F – Brett Carlson 1 run
(kick good), 6:14, 7-7.
Second Quarter
F – Hunter Hake 21 run
(kick good), 9:26 7-14.
H – Darius Cole 17 pass
from Christopher Walker
(conversion failed), 13-14.
Third Quarter
F – Andrew Brown 16 run
(kick good), 7:24, 13-21.
F – Hake 21 run (kick
good), 13-28.
H – Yenka Sykes 3 run
(conversion good) 1:17, 21-
28.
Fourth Quarter
F – Chris Sander 20 field
goal, 1:56, 21-31.
H – Sykes 6 run (kick
good), 0:19, 28-31.
HF Forr.
First Downs 17 18
Rushes-Yards 28-178 55-339
Passings Yards 167 0
Total Offense 345 339
C-A-I 11-23-0 0-1-1
Fumbles-Lost 4-1 1-1
Turnovers 3 4
Penalties-Yards 10-58 4-30
Punts-Average 3-35.5 1-23
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Hales: Walker 7-
62, Anthony 14-61, Joseph
Morrow 4-31, Willie Allen 1-
11, Sykes 2-9, Cole 1-4.
Forreston: Hake 18-124,
Akins 13-49, Bryan Kraft 7-
55, Brown 2-43, Carlson 5-
39, Sander 6-28, Keynon
Janicke 1-1.
Passing – Hales: Walker
11-23-1-0-167. Forreston:
Carlson 0-1-0-1-0.
Receiving – Hales: Morrow
3-69, Cole 2-41, Allen 5-
31, Anthony 1-23.
Forreston: none.
Records: Hales 6-4,
Forreston 9-1.
Photo by Cody Cutter
Forreston defensive back Ross Williams tangles up Hales Franciscan's Andre Anthony as Andrew
Brown looks on. The Cardinals won the first Class 1A playoff game of the season, beating Hales
31-28 on Saturday.
Forreston defensive back Ross Williams tangles up Hales Franciscan's Andre Anthony as Andrew
Brown looks on. The Cardinals won the first Class 1A playoff game of the season, beating Hales
31-28 on Saturday.