Plowing along
Hoxie Coach Tom Sears lost a lot of offensive production from last year’s team that played in a state semifinal game for the first time ever. He does have a steady hand at quarterback, though, and that’s allowed the Mustangs to continue playing at an equally high level this season.
Cade Forrester has accounted for nearly 900 yards of total offense and 15 touchdowns for Hoxie (3-0), which is coming off a 33-6 blowout of Gosnell. The senior, who was a triple threat last year after throwing, catching and running for scores, was 8-of13 passing for 132 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 27-point victory.
“We knew all along that he’d come in and play well for us,” Sears said of Forrester, who took over at quarterback in the Mustangs’ 20-18 semifinal loss to McGehee when then-starter Daylon Powell was unable to play. “He would’ve started for a lot of people, but he was right there behind Daylon. He showed what he could do down there in McGehee after being brought into a very tough circumstance and almost pulled off a big win for us.
“But Cade worked extremely hard in the offseason to get himself ready for this opportunity, and he’s playing really well for us.”
Hoxie is playing at nearly the same clip it was a year ago when it reeled off victories in its first 12 games. The Mustangs may not be scoring at the same pace as they were in 2021, but Sears said he’s been impressed with the things his team has shown.
“Just being versatile,” he said. “We can run and throw, and I feel like we’ve got confidence in both phases. That makes it tough on a lot of people to be able to cover both of those.”
Defensively, Hoxie has allowed 33 points less after three games this year than what they gave up at the same juncture last season.
“We’ve progressively gotten better,” Sears noted. “But for us, we’ve got to keep it going. We’ve got Harrisburg next, and they always play hard. It’s a rivalry game for both of us, too. We know each other, and the kids know each other.
“That makes it tough. We’ve just got to play and keep progressing, and that’s what we talk to the kids about. Just trying to improve each week.”