*Disclaimer* This is from two weeks ago
On September 11th, 2025, cross-town rivals Forest Hills Central and Forest Hills Northern faced off against each other in a JV football game at Husky Stadium. The Rangers entered the game searching for a 3-0 start, while the Huskies were hoping for their first win after starting 0-2 in the 2025 season.
The Rangers received the ball and quickly started hot, with starting running back Judah Slendebroek running a huge 30-yard run at 8:28 in the first quarter, which kick-started their total dominance over their rivals. After this initial momentum, the Rangers couldn’t be stopped and then quickly scored a minute later with a Miles Pell touchdown at 6:52 in the first quarter.
The Rangers then came out with their defense and seemed to carry over the momentum of the offense. With a 3 and out and a Huskies’ punt at 4:40, the Huskies gave the hot Rangers offense another opportunity to add to the score.
A good aspect of the Rangers’ game so far was their ability to draw offsides from the Huskies’ defense.
However, the Rangers themselves have fallen victim to penalties, which was a main downside of this game, which Head Coach Sultini addressed after the game in a post-game interview. When we asked about the things that the team struggled with in this game,
“We got to clean up the yellow hankies of the floor … we can’t be making penalties,” Sultini said. “It stalls out drives, it puts us behind the chains … we need to clean up the penalties.”
After a great 3-and-out by the hot Rangers’ Defense, the Rangers’ offense got the ball back, had a long drive, which ran the clock towards the half, which seemed to be the Rangers’ goal as they continued their great football, and scored another touchdown for the Rangers.
The Rangers’ special team had been great so far in the game, with the Rangers’ stuffing the Huskies back inside their 30-yard line on two different occasions.
This domination by the Rangers’ offense and defense continued with multiple more scores, leading to a 27-0 lead over the Huskies. The Rangers’ coaches and players had to have been happy with that complete domination over the Huskies in the first half and hoped to continue the momentum into the second half.
In the locker room, Coach Sultini had to be proud of his team, which was playing great in this game, and the past 2 games, which were both wins. But this team struggled last year and didn’t win a normal game all season.
When asked about the team’s success in this game and if this is a sign of more to come, Sultini had nothing but good things to say about his team.
“For what this team went through last year, they didn’t win a single game on their own,” Sultini said. “The only games they won were combined games, and most of those guys were off the field on the sideline. So I think last year being on the sideline and watching other guys do the work, I think a lot of stuff built up, and I think they’re giving it their all this year … All that stuff built up on the sideline last year, they’re showing it right now … so yeah, I think there is more to come this year.”
The star players of the first half were Miles Pell, Judah Slendebroek, and QB Kellen Paul; They all helped carry the team in the first half.
The Rangers kicked off and hoped the hot Rangers’ Defense could prevent any score or momentum from growing on the Huskies’ side. The Ranger defense carried the momentum into the 2nd half,
“We held momentum from the first half,” said Alex Custer, Right Guard and Defensive End. “The defense played well the whole game.”
The entire second half is just the Rangers being in complete control of the game. Later in the half, they put in backup players who showed some of their potential, including Austin Rutherford, who had some great, hard-fought runs leading to multiple first downs.
The game ended with a final score of 42-7, where the FHC Rangers defeated their rivals, the FHN Huskies.
This game as a whole is not just important because of the notorious rivalry between these teams, but also because of the continued success of this FHC JV Football team, which goes undefeated for the first quarter of the season, with the Rangers’ hope for a great season coming off a disappointing one last year. This rivalry seemed to light a fire in the Rangers team. When asked if the rivalry fueled the game,
“Yeah, I would say so,” said Luke Lobbezoo, defensive lineman, “it gives us more of a reason to play.”
