Forest Hills Central freshman football lost in a close game on Thursday to the Portland Raiders, 22-26.
The Rangers’ defense started off strong by forcing Portland to go three and out on their first drive, but a booming punt pinned them deep at their own 7-yard line. The Rangers were not able to take advantage of the great stop and threw an interception while on their own 30-yard line with 6:30 left in the first quarter. Portland took over and immediately pounded the ball into the red zone. The dominant drive was capped off by a 5-yard rushing touchdown that put the Rangers down 7-0 with 3:34 left in the quarter.
The Rangers then had another unsuccessful drive and were forced to punt, but the FHC defense got a huge 4th down stop on the Raiders’ next possession. They got the ball back with 7:01 left in the half, but yet again, the Rangers’ offense was unable to get anything going and turned the ball over. With the momentum on Portland’s side, their running back went on a 57-yard run that resulted in 6 points. The Rangers were able to block the extra point, but they were still down 13-0 with only 2:19 left until halftime. The FHC offense finally got their first solid drive of the game, mostly thanks to Collin Grupe, who had multiple dominant runs that set the Rangers up deep in Portland’s territory. The Rangers were able to take advantage, and a 9-yard touchdown pass from Lucas Casten to Ian Reitzenstein made the score 13-6 with 24 seconds left in the half.
The Portland offense didn’t go into the locker room quietly, though, as a great kick return and a 36-yard passing play set them up at FHC’s 12-yard line with 5 seconds left. But a dominant sack by Jack Valentino shattered any hopes of a Raiders score. Portland still led going into halftime, 13-6.
The third quarter started off slow for both teams, but with 5:45 left in the quarter, the Raiders’ defense got an interception that they took back to the house, allowing them to take a 20-6 lead. With the Rangers visibly rattled, they fumbled the ball away on their next offensive possession. A Portland rushing touchdown stretched the score to 26-6, with 5:16 left until the 4th quarter.
FHC was finally able to wake up with 7:21 left in the game, as Lucas Casten threw his 2nd touchdown pass of the day, this time to WR Ben Castillo. The Rangers were able to convert on the extra point as well and cut the Portland lead to 26-14. The Rangers’ offense stayed hot, and a 14-yard rushing touchdown by Judah Slendebroek with 3:11 left made the score 22-26, which gave the Rangers hope as the game was closing down. But without any timeouts left, the Rangers were unable to get the ball back. A strong run by Portland set them up at midfield, and after kneeling to run out the clock, the Rangers were handed their 5th loss of the season.
FHC will be on the road next week as they take on the East Grand Rapids Pioneers on October 24th, in an attempt to end the season with a win.
