The Forest Hills Central freshman football team took a tough loss on October 2nd in a one-sided game against the South Christian Sailors, 35-6.
South Christian got on the board early, with a first-play play 45 touchdown pass on their first offensive play of the game, putting them up 7-0. The Rangers, unfortunately, could not do the same on their first drive, as a fumbled snap, a loss on a run by Jace Aldridge, and an interception intended for Aiden Santos took FHC off the field in just 3 plays. The Sailors took advantage of the interception, as they were able to march back down the field and complete a 4-yard touchdown pass to cap off the drive with 2:39 left in the first quarter. A good extra point put the Rangers down 14-0 early.
Both defenses held strong to end the first quarter, with neither team able to do much at all. But with 8:21 left in the half, Rangers QB Jace Aldridge led FHC down the field with a combination of short passes to Aiden Santos and runs to himself and Max Grant. Aldridge capped off the drive with a 14-yard rushing touchdown that put the Rangers on the board. Unfortunately, the extra point was blocked, but the Rangers had some momentum and were still trailing 14-6.
The Sailors were unfazed, though, as they drove 70 yards down the field in only 3 minutes and completed the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown and an extra point that split the uprights, putting the Rangers down 21-6. FHC was forced to punt on their next drive, and South Christian took advantage, going on a solid drive right before halftime, and punched the ball in on a 3-yard rushing touchdown with only 28 seconds left in the first half. With the Rangers down 28-6, they needed a big play. Aldridge looked deep for WR Charlie Zorn as time expired in the first half, but the pass was picked off, sending the Rangers into the locker room, down by 22.
The second half was very slow for both teams, as neither team was able to significantly move the ball. 8 seconds into the 3rd quarter, a fumble by Jace Aldridge set the Sailors up just outside the red zone. South Christian took advantage of the opportunity, as they were able to put the ball in the endzone one last time, making the score 35-6. The rest of the game was all strong defense and no scores, giving the FHC freshman football team a loss.
Although the game didn’t go as hoped, there are some things that went well.
“There is a lot of stuff we can work on, but a positive is that we had a great drive and scored against a great team,” Quarterback Jace Aldridge said.
Offensive Lineman CJ Godley also commented on the game.
“I think we have the effort and the big things we need to win games, we just need to fix the small things so we can really come together as a squad.”
Going into next week’s game against Zealand West, there are improvements that need to be made in order to beat good teams.
“We really have to improve the turnovers and capitalize on stops on defense,” said Aldridge.
“We could really use some of the guys that are out injured, so we really need to focus on getting and staying healthy and have a good week of practice to set the tone for the game next week,” said Godley.
