The Cooldown- Week 11
Cover Photo courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Staff Photographer Tom Fox.
There’s something bittersweet about the start of the playoffs each year. Six fantastic weeks of high stakes football, culminating at the state championships in Arlington, are all in front of us. Behind us are the 11 weeks that determined this year's playoff participants. Congratulations goes out to all the teams that made the playoffs, and a thank you and good luck next year to the teams watching at home. Over the next six weeks, teams will have a chance to make history and players will have a shot at cementing their legacy. Before we get to the playoffs, let’s recap a few games to wrap up the regular season.
Forney takes down Rockwall-Heath
The majority of the week 11 action happened on Thursday night as inclement weather moved several games up a day. Two matchups sent the regular season out with a bang on Friday night, both in District 10-6A. I will get to North Forney’s matchup with Rockwall below, but first, let’s talk about Forney’s 56-46 win over Rockwall-Heath.
This was a critical game for both squads as the winner clinched the last playoff spot and the loser went home. Despite the final score, this game actually got off to a bit of a slow start. Rockwall-Heath led Forney 17-7 at halftime and 26-7 in the early stages of the third quarter. The Jackrabbits didn’t lead this game until the fourth quarter, courtesy of a Nelson Peterson Jr. touchdown pass to DJ Pass. That score gave Forney a 27-26 lead and was the first seven points of what ended up being a 35-point quarter for Forney. The back-and-forth affair throughout the fourth quarter was happening at the same time as the wild ending to North Forney- Rockwall.
Forney quarterback Nelson Peterson Jr. completed 17 of his 32 attempts for 240 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 126 yards and a score on 14 carries. Javian Osborne led the way on the ground with 210 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. DJ Page led the Jackrabbits receivers with 11 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown and Preston Jackson hauled in five passes for 78 yards and a score in the win.
Rockwall-Heath played two quarterbacks throughout this game. Landen Dutka completed seven of his 19 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown while Prosper Neal completed seven of his 16 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Ashton Bradford carried the load on the ground, gaining 295 yards and scoring three touchdowns on 32 carries. Bradford also caught a touchdown pass from 11 yards out. Christian Contreras hauled in six passes for 114 yards and a touchdown and Shawn Gary added five receptions for 93 yards and a score.
Rockwall-Heath was on its way to clinching a playoff spot for the majority of this game but couldn’t ultimately hold on. Instead, Forney wins the most important game of its season by almost one score. Four of Forney’s five losses this season came in one-score games. Forney had just one win in a one-score game, 34-30 over Lake Highlands in the season opener, but Friday night’s win over Rockwall-Heath all but qualifies as a one-score win, especially considering the come-from-behind manner in which the Jackrabbits won the game. Forney opens the playoffs at Wylie East on Friday night.
North Forney defeats Rockwall
It was a good night for Forney ISD as North Forney held on to beat Rockwall 47-40 just as Forney was clinching the last playoff spot in District 10-6A. Rockwall led North Forney 40-39 with around two minutes to play, but the Yellowjackets lost 35 yards on a bad snap trying to punt the ball back to North Forney. Instead of pinning North Forney inside its own 20 yard-line, the Falcons got the ball on the Rockwall 10 yard-line. Legend Bey punched in the game clinching touchdown run three plays later. North Forney finished the regular season at 7-3 (5-1) and Rockwall capped off the regular season at 5-5 (3-3).
North Forney quarterback Legend Bey completed seven of his 16 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and also led the Falcons on the ground, rushing for 185 yards and three scores on 18 carries. Andikan Asuquo added 52 yards on 22 carries and Eli Otieno rushed three times for 10 yards and a score. Otieno caught five passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Brayden Fleming led the receivers with two receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Rockwall quarterback Brent Rickert completed seven of his 18 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Camron Marsh led the Yellowjackets receivers with three receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown while Triston Gooch caught three passes for 19 yards and a score and Jack Duckworth added a touchdown reception from 44 yards out. Jamir Wilson led the ground attack with 255 yards and two scores on 35 carries while AJ Hatcher chipped in 50 yards and a score on five carries. North Forney opens the playoffs against Wylie at home on Friday night and Rockwall takes on Sachse on the road, also on Friday night.
Prosper Rock Hill beats McKinney
Prosper Rock Hill took down McKinney 21-14 on Thursday night to clinch its first playoff appearance in school history. The Blue Hawks (6-4, 5-3) beat out Plano East (6-4, 4-4) and Plano (5-5, 4-4) for the last playoff spot in District 6-6A. The Prosper Rock Hill defense had to pitch a shutout in the second half to hold McKinney to 14 points and clinch the win. A touchdown run from Jaylon Brown-Delgado in the third quarter ended up being the game winning score for Rock Hill.
Prosper Rock Hill quarterback Christian Lewis completed 12 of his 15 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Jiyere Cogshell led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 59 yards and Jaylon Brown-Delgado added 41 yards and a score on 14 carries. Bryce Allen caught a 44 yard touchdown pass to lead the Blue Hawks receivers and Isaiah Orlandi added six receptions for 44 yards. Dominis Saidu caught three passes for 44 yards to give Rock Hill three receivers each with exactly 44 yards. The other Rock Hill touchdown came courtesy of a Jayden Bradley pick-six in the first quarter for the first score of the game.
McKinney quarterback Jeremiah Daoud completed seven of his 15 passes for 80 yards. Khristian Mackintrush caught four passes for 55 yards and Ja’Bree Bickham chipped in two receptions for 17 yards. Jacoby Propes led the ground attack with 158 yards on 17 carries while Makaden Frazier chipped in 77 yards and a score on 16 carries. Star linebacker Riley Pettijohn carried the ball twice for four yards and a touchdown in the loss. Prosper Rock Hill hosts Hebron in the bi-district round at home on Thursday night and McKinney takes on Denton Guyer on the road on Friday night.
Offensive Player of the Week
My Offensive Player of the Week is Forney running back Javion Osborne! Forney clinched a playoff spot in a win-or-go-home situation against Rockwall-Heath with a 56-46 win. Osborne rushed for 214 yards and four touchdowns in the win, powering Forney on to the bi-district round! If Forney can get past Wylie East this weekend, the winner of DeSoto and Killeen Shoemaker waits in the area round. Osborne will need to be just as productive to help keep Forney’s season alive over the next few weeks.
Defensive Player of the Week
My Defensive Player of the Week is Prosper Rock Hill defensive back Jayden Bradley! I couldn’t overlook the fact that Bradley came up with a defensive touchdown in a one-score game to help power Prosper Rock Hill to its first playoff appearance in school history. The Blue Hawks beat McKinney 21-14 due in part to Bradley’s two interceptions, pick-six, five tackles and a pass breakup. Prosper Rock Hill takes on a Hebron team that averaged 31 points-per-game in the regular season, so Bradley will need to continue to step up and make big plays if Prosper Rock Hill is going to advance to the area round.