FORT WORTH, Texas – In their only scheduled Thursday night game of the year, the Forney Jackrabbits took their 2-0 record on the longest road trip of the regular season to Fort Worth to play the Eastern Hills Highlanders. The Jackrabbit offense got off to their 2014 season characteristic-quick start with 21 points in the first quarter. At the end of the first half, the score was 35-13 in favor of the Jackrabbits.
FORT WORTH, Texas – In their only scheduled Thursday night game of the year, the Forney Jackrabbits took their 2-0 record on the longest road trip of the regular season to Fort Worth to play the Eastern Hills Highlanders. The Jackrabbit offense got off to their 2014 season characteristic-quick start with 21 points in the first quarter. At the end of the first half, the score was 35-13 in favor of the Jackrabbits.
For the night, Luke Skipper was outstanding in his role as quarterback. Skipper amassed 3 touchdowns while being responsible for 356 yards of offense. Skipper had his best night as a Jackrabbit passer, going 18 for 21 for 245 yards. His 110 rushing yards came on 12 rushing attempts.
Shakur Morrow was the leading receiver on the night, with 8 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Morrow also had issues keeping possession of the ball with 3 fumbles on the night.
One fumble, of only two fumbles on the night, by Senior Running Back AJ Atnip, resulted in a highlight play for Luke Skipper as he chased down the Highlander defender attempting to score on the fumble return. Luke jumped on the back of the ball carrier, while at the same time taking a full windup swipe at the ball in the outside arm, and created the second fumble on the same play. The Jackrabbits “lost” about 25 yards on the play, but retained possession.
When the night finished up, Forney had gained 461 total yards (209 rushing, 252 passing) and putting up 56 points. 6 of those points came from an 82-yard kickoff return by AT Atnip, which was an answer to Eastern Hills’ 99-yard kickoff return by Lexington Horne on the previous kickoff. Running back Blair Stewart, mainly featured as a blocking back, got in on the scoring with the last Jackrabbit touchdown of the night on a 7-yard pass from backup QB Cory Marr.
You can’t gain 461 yards and score 56 points without a dominating performance up front. The Forney offensive line continued to be a strong piece of this offense by controlling the line of scrimmage all night, giving Skipper time to throw, and opening big holes for the running backs. Despite starter Ryan Nevil going down with a high ankle sprain in the second quarter and other linemen playing hurt, the front five controlled the game all night long. In recognition of this banged up effort, the O-Line received a game ball as a group for their night of dominance.
Lest the defense be overlooked, it should be noted they turned in another strong performance. While not a shutout, the defense only gave up two touchdowns on the night. The shutout at halftime was the fourth time this year the defense had not given up a score in a half. The front 7 pressured the Eastern Hills quarterback all night and kept the Highlanders to under 300 yards of offense on the night – 115 rushing, 166 passing.
The defense also forced 5 turnovers on the night, creating several short fields for the offense. Senior Safety Jake Guercia and Junior Linebacker Sam Coltharp both had interceptions that resulted in great field position for the offense.
The final score was a 56-21 victory for the Jackrabbits. The Jackrabbits now take a 3-0 record into their bye week and have extra time to heal up and prepare for the district opener, also homecoming, against Royse City at City Bank Stadium on September 26, 2014.