The North Forney Falcons and the Forney Jackrabbits laid it all on the line Friday night, October 26, 2012, for the inaugural Unity Bowl between the crosstown rivals. A cold front swept through North Texas and both sides the stands were packed full of Forney sweater-bound fans.
The North Forney Falcons and the Forney Jackrabbits laid it all on the line Friday night, October 26, 2012, for the inaugural Unity Bowl between the crosstown rivals. A cold front swept through North Texas and both sides the stands were packed full of Forney sweater-bound fans.
Before the game started, The Forney Lions Club presented the Forney Area United Way with a check for $1,070. The money was gathered as entrance fees for last week's Community Parade which was recently changed from the Forney Homecoming Parade to accommodate both schools and kick-off the Unity Bowl tradition.
Although the game was rumored to be a complete sell out, there were still several seats available, but not many. Early attendance estimates put the total attendance numbers around 8,400 people. Forney's City Bank Stadium's capacity is around 8,985 according to TexasBob.com.
The Jackrabbits started the game off kicking the ball to the Falcons. The Falcons fumbled the ball on their second play of the game and the ball was recovered by the Jackrabbits. The Jackrabbits took advantage of the early turnover and slowly made their way down field and scored on a rushing 6-yard touchdown by Darris Jenkins.
The Falcons laid claim to the second quarter with rock solid defense. Only minutes into the second quarter, Armani Watts completed a pass Edwin Murrell for a 14-yard touchdown pass to even the score for the Falcons. On the Jackrabbits next possession, Falcon's Tritavious Jones intercepted a Jack King pass and returned it, 48 yards, for another Falcon's touchdown.
The Jackrabbits were determined to stop the Falcons momentum from going into the second quarter and were able to complete a Clay Collin's field goal attempt with one second left on the clock. The first half of the game ended with the Falcons in the lead, 14 – 10.
The Falcons looked poised to continue the momentum but the Jackrabbits came out in the second half with a different plan. After a couple of offensive exchanges the Jackrabbit's Jack King completed a 65-yard touchdown pass to Louie Fanning. Another Jackrabbit rushing touchdown by Darris Jenkins early in the 4th quarter sealed the deal for the Jackrabbits for a final score of 24 to 14.
The Forney Jackrabbits racked up 340 total yards on the night compared to the North Forney Falcon's 182. The North Forney Falcons fumbled five times and lost two of them, the Jackrabbits fumbled once and lost it.
During the half time performances, the Forney High Steppers and the North Forney Sapphire Strutters performed together for the first time ever. The crowd cheered loudly through the entire performance and as the teams marched of the field together.
Photos by Big Shots Photography