On Friday, Nov. 3, North Forsyth’s Varsity football team played their last home game against the Apalachee Wildcats, winning a crushing victory with a final score of 42-13. Seeing as this was Senior Night for North Forsyth–a celebration of all seniors on the football team, cheerleading team, band and colorguard– the victory was the perfect addition to all the fond memories being celebrated from the past four years.
Several seniors from North’s football team noted how much they have valued their experience playing for North these past four years. Senior Braden O’Shields calls his teammates “brothers,” pointing out, “It’s a lot to leave behind, but I’m excited to move on to a new chapter in life.” Seth Dougherty, another senior, also emphasizes “It’s gonna be really tough [leaving]…we’re just a really close knit group.” As this was the last home game for these seniors, it definitely hit harder and pushed them to really give their all on the field.
When the game started, North deferred the coin toss to the Wildcats, who chose possession of the ball. However, within the first two minutes of the first quarter, North Forsyth scored a touchdown, giving them a quick lead of 7-0. Another touchdown was scored by the Raiders with just a little over 10 minutes into the game, furthering the lead to 14-0.
It was not until nearly seven minutes left in the second quarter that Apalachee was able to score a touchdown, pushing the score to 14-7 with a successful pointafter. Although Apalachee’s season was previously 0-9, this early success sparked a slight fear in the Raiders, with senior Jaxxon Otteson stating, “This is not how this game was supposed to go” from the sidelines.
North Forsyth took a quick timeout post-touchdown, reconvening in order to keep the game in their favor. Just a short 3 minutes later they were successful, pushing the score back to a comfortable lead at 21-7 with three minutes and 53 seconds left, then furthering said lead to 28-7 with 45 seconds left in the second quarter.
After a stunning half-time show by the North Forsyth and Apalachee marching bands and color guards, the game swiftly proceeded with North easing the score to 42-7 by the end of the third quarter. With spirits high and hopeful, North Forsyth put JV players onto the field for the fourth quarter as an early celebration of their win.
During the final quarter of the game Apalachee was able to manage a second touchdown with a failed pointafter to make the score 42-13, but it was too late in the game for the Wildcats to save it. The fourth quarter came to an end and this stayed the final score, giving a swift and overwhelming victory to Raider Nation.
The win may be slightly bittersweet with this being a sendoff for all the seniors who dedicated their last four years to North Forsyth football and the spirit of Raider Valley, but the future of Raider football is promising. After this win, North Forsyth has made it to the playoffs.
