FORNEY, Texas — Due to technical difficulties the radio broadcast of Friday night’s game against Sulphur Springs got off to a rough start. The Falcons offense however did not suffer the same struggles.
FORNEY, Texas — Due to technical difficulties the radio broadcast of Friday night’s game against Sulphur Springs got off to a rough start. The Falcons offense however did not suffer the same struggles.
North Forney would punt only once in the first half while scoring 7 touchdowns including 1 coming off an interception return from the defense. After leading at halftime 49-13, the Falcons would tack on a couple touchdowns in the third quarter to knock off the Wildcats 71-13.
Trailing 0-6 early in the 1st quarter, Falcons quarterback Jacob Acuna would find wide receiver Nick Booe for a 34-yard gain down to the 3-yard line. On the very next play running back Ty Collins would punch in the first Falcons score and after an extra point from Carlos Rodriguez, the Falcons would lead 7-6.
After a three and out forced by the Falcons’ defense, the Falcons would score again after just five plays when Acuna would roll out to his right and throw back across to the left side of the field to a wide open DeJuan Johnson (7 catches, 72 yards and 2 TD’s) for a 15 yard touchdown. Earlier in the drive Acuna would scramble on 3rd and 10 and find wide receiver Collyn Shipley for a 65-yard gain setting up the Johnson score.
Late in the 1st quarter the Wildcats were driving and looking to tie the game up. Sulphur Springs quarterback Kaden Wallace (no relation) would attempt a 4th down pass only for it to be intercepted by Falcons linebacker LaMarcus Kirk and returned 68 yards for a North Forney touchdown and the Falcons led 21-6.
The Falcons’ defense would surrender their final points of the night on the 1st play of the 2nd quarter when Sulphur Springs would push it in from 2 yards out. After that, the Falcons’ defense would put the clamps on the Wildcats offense the rest of the night. After gaining 127 yards of offense in the 1st quarter the Wildcats finished the night with only 194 total yards of offense. The Falcons’ defense forced 2 turnovers and only allowed 11 first downs on the night.
The Falcons would go up 28-13 after a 7-play drive was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Acuna to a wide-open Shipley thanks to the attention given to Ty Collins on the play action fake. Shipley finished with a season high 136 yards on 4 catches and 1 touchdown.
The second Falcons interception would not only keep Sulphur Springs off the board, but it would set up North Forney with great field position. Falcons’ safety Donovan Holt would step in front of another Kaden Wallace pass at the Falcons 24-yard and return down to the Wildcats 18-yard line.
On the very next play the Falcons displayed some trickery with a reverse flea-flicker where Ty Collins would take the handoff, run to his right and pitch the ball back to Johnson who was coming back across to the left and then pitched it back to Acuna who found senior backup quarterback Zach Tucker standing all alone in the endzone for the 18 yard touchdown. The Falcons would lead 35-13 midway through the 2nd quarter.
After another 3 and out defensively Acuna would find Shipley for a 41-yard gain to put the Falcons in Sulphur Springs territory. Then on 3rd and 3 Collins would make himself known with a 40-yard burst up the middle for another Falcons score to put the Falcons up 42-13. Collins bounced back from last week’s unusually quiet outing against Royse City with 149 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 19 carries.
The Falcons weren’t done scoring in the 1st half just yet though. Acuna found Shipley once again for a 32-yard gain that put the Falcons at the Wildcat 32-yard line. A few plays later Acuna found Johnson over the middle for a 17-yard touchdown strike. The Falcons led 49-13 at halftime.
Acuna would start the 1st Falcons drive of the 2nd half with a 31-yard keeper, moving the Falcons into Sulphur Springs territory. The drive finished in 6 plays when Collins scored on a run from 2 yards out to put the Falcons up 56-13.
The Falcons defense would force another 3 and out and the offense would follow with an 8 play, 70 yard scoring drive capped off by a 10 yard touchdown run that saw Acuna dial up his own number and kept the read option.
North Forney would score the final points of the game (and season) on the 2nd play of the 4th quarter. With most of the starters out, starting defensive end and backup running back Akanimo Asuquo would rip off a 52-yard touchdown run on 3rd down and 3. The final score was 71-13 Falcons.
The Falcons erupted for 583 total yards of offense. Jacob Acuna followed up last week’s brilliant 6 touchdown performance against Royse City with another dazzling 5 touchdown outing. He also threw for 293 yards and ran for 71 more.
Unfortunately, North Forney did not get the help they needed from elsewhere in the district in order to make the playoffs. The Falcons finished the 2019 season 5-3 in district play and 7-3 overall. All in all, it’s a disappointing end to a season that had high expectations from all around the program. The Falcons were playing their best football down the stretch but lost to the wrong teams in district play. There is much to be excited about heading into the 2020 season with a lot of key returning players and a new district on the horizon.
For more high-resolution game-day photos, visit Big Shots Photography's website, here.