North Forsyth’s varsity football team reigned victorious against the Lambert Longhorns at the homecoming game on Oct. 30, bringing home a final score of 34-20. The Raider student section theme was pink out in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month; from the field view, it was evident every student participated. Raider Nation took this win at home in Raider Valley. 

The first score of the game occurred in the first quarter when Jared Lucero, #5, ran the ball 13 yards into the endzone. Senior Josh Swearingen, #92, kicked the punt for the extra point and was successful. Soon afterward, Austin Colon,#15, was injured and was escorted off the field. The first quarter ended with a score of 7-0: North in the lead. 

Junior Patrick Corrigan, #7,  scored a touchdown with just under 12 minutes left in the second quarter; however, the punt for the extra point was unsuccessful. After a stretch of time, North fumbled and Lambert recovered it, which made the Raiders lose 6-yards. Eventually, the Longhorns played offense again, and Lambert’s Elijiah Castillo, #45, ran the ball down the field until Corrigan tackled him. Junior Bentley Wheeler, #11, followed up on Corrigan’s incomplete tackle in order to finish it.

Longhorn Robert Riddle, #3, was on the carry when Wheeler tackled him before Riddle was able to enter the endzone. The referees threw a flag well before the play. The call was holding against Lambert, which negated the run. 

Ashton Smith, #15,  Lambert’s quarterback and punter, successfully passed the ball 12-yards into the endzone for a successful pass. The Longhorns went for the extra point, but it was not converted. Lambert’s Jack Wise, #7, intercepted a Raider pass. North’s Patrick Corrigan, also #7, intercepted a pass too. The score at halftime was 13-6.

To start off the third quarter, Longhorn Aidan Smith, #21,  scored a touchdown. Lambert attempted to do a two-point conversion; however, there was a foul on the play. The referees deemed Lambert a false start; therefore, the points weren’t counted. The score was 13-12 with Raiders still in the lead. On the punt return, junior Jumel Lewis, #15, caught the ball and ran all the way into the end zone scoring a touchdown for the Raiders. The punt was good, so the score was brought to 20-12. 

Lucero had his second touchdown of the night with barely over five minutes left in the quarter. The extra point was a success. Raider senior Colin Blackwell intercepts a Lambert pass. The third quarter ended with a score of 27-12.

Kicking off the final quarter of the game, the Raiders scored another touchdown. Senior Carson Brown, #49,  deflected a Lambert pass, making it incomplete. Robert Riddle, Longhorn, carried a touchdown. The Lambert two-point conversion was completed with 17 seconds left in the game. Nonetheless, the Raiders won 34-20.

As always, both teams went on the field and gave it their all. It just so happened that on Oct. 30 North’s “all” was greater than Lambert’s. Next week is a bye week for the Raiders; however, North will be excited to see all their Raider fans in Raider Valley on Nov. 13 –Friday the 13th– when they will play against South Forsyth.