Mediocre football?
While West Forsyth and Reynolds continued to roll, each moving to 5-0 with victories last Friday, I am starting to wonder if high school football in Forsyth County is, as a whole, much closer to mediocre than good this season.
One football coach I respect and spoke to last week said: “It’s bad.”
This is not to throw water on West or Reynolds, two programs that are busy earning all these wins, but the truth is, everyone will know the answer to the question once the playoffs start, and in some cases, before then.
There are signs — Carver is having an unexpectedly rocky go of their nonconference schedule, and Parkland has seen much better days. Mount Tabor, which seems to be a county juggernaut most every season, even has two losses.
Mount Tabor still has a chance to join West, Reynolds, and 4-1 Glenn at the top of the Forsyth County pecking order. The Spartans got some key players back in their lineup for the first time in last week’s 34-7 win over North Forsyth — Matt Turner, Hunter Somerville, Taylor King, and Corey Parker, Jr. — and players like that can make a dramatic difference in any game.
“We can’t say we are a young team anymore, now that we are halfway through the season, but those are guys we really count on,” Coach Laymarr Marshall of Mount Tabor said.
I think people will look at North Forsyth’s 1-4 record and get the wrong idea. North is a better team than last year — maybe a step behind defensively, but much better offensively with Krishawn Coleman, a junior quarterback who is going to make a name for himself before he is finished.
North had Mount Tabor on the ropes early last week, leading 7-0 and driving in for another score. But the Vikings turned it over, one of seven turnovers they would commit, and that’s no way to beat any team, much less Mount Tabor.
I did hear one interesting thing that happened during Reynolds’ 14-7 win over hard-luck East Forsyth last week. From what I was told, a Reynolds’ defensive player took a wrist band from one of East’s offensive players, and was in possession of the band for part of the third quarter.
The wrist bands, used by some high school teams, have offensive plays and are mainly used by teams that use a No-Huddle Offense.
I have sketchy details on what transpired, but I am positive it did happen. Never heard of that before. Wonder how much it would help?