Bulldogs perfect in district
North Forest’s defense didn’t play nice.
After spotting Worthing a two-touchdown lead, the Bulldogs bounced back with six takeaways, including three interception-return touchdowns, and rolled to a 54-15 win Saturday afternoon at Butler Stadium.
The win sealed an undefeated District 11-4A, Division I crown for North Forest (7-3, 7-0).
“It’s great for the program, the school, and the community,” North Forest coach Clifton Terrell said. “We’ve got great support from on our administrators and our student body, so we’re just loving this. We started off 0-3, but we turned it around.”
North Forest will open the playoffs with West Columbia at 6 p.m. Saturday at Delmar Stadium in Houston.
Worthing (4-5, 3-4) needed to win to get in.
The loss left it in a threeway tie for fourth with Kashmere and Yates, which
secured the final postseason berth in a tiebreaker.
The first quarter belonged to the Colts.
North Forest fumbled on its first possession, and Alquan Robertson recovered
for the Colts at North Forest’s 31.
Three plays later, quarterback Jashawn Jenkins threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Davion Edwards for a 7-0 advantage.
Then Worthing’s defense forced a turnover on downs, sparking a 16-play, 72-yard march that included a fourth-down conversion and ended with running back Kenya Stewart’s one-yard TD run.
Then a bad snap on the extra-point attempt turned into a two-point pass from Kenneth Jones to Robertson, and that gave the Colts a 15-0 lead.
That played was followed by Worthing successfully recovering an onside kick.
But the Colts weren’t able to keep the momentum going, instead turning the ball over on downs, and the Bulldogs came alive in the second quarter.
They pulled within 15-7 on a 35-yard strike from QB Melvin Houston to WR Delwen Russell.
Worthing lost a fumble on the ensuing series, but the Colts’ defense forced another turnover on downs, giving their offense another chance. But with less than a minute left in the first half, linebacker Kobe Wright picked a tipped pass from Jenkins, who’d just checked back in the game, and returned it 50 yards for a score.
Houston followed with a two-point pass to Joseph Davis, tying it 15-15 at halftime.
The second half was all North Forest.
The Bulldogs scored 54 unanswered points after falling behind 15-0, and forced four consecutive Worthing turnovers to end the game.
Two of those were picksixes — on an 11-yard return by defensive leader Gary Gray, and a 96-yard return by Jacoby Henry, whose big play led officials to call the game early.
“They’ve been good all year,” Terrell said. “Those guys are small but they’re fast and go to the ball.”
North Forest finished with 278 total yards and 11 first downs.
Houston completed 12 of 20 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Keith Willis carried 15 times for 53 yards and two scores.
Worthing had 276 yards and 21 first downs — but didn’t score after the first quarter.
“We had a heart-to-heart in the locker room,” Terrell said. “We came back before halftime, but then in the second half, they didn’t score.”