Jaguars Force Four Turnovers, Topple Mustangs 20-7

               DENVER: Last year then these two teams played, it was a defensive prize fight with Forestview coming away with the 7-6 victory. This game would look very similar at first as points were hard to come by. But a little history would be made tonight as Forestview kicker Holt Cloninger would set a school record by hitting a 52-yard field goal to get Forestview on top 3-0 in the first quarter. The Jaguars would add to their lead in the second quarter when quarterback Jake Lee connected with Jacob Ash for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Cloninger’s extra point was good.

                The Mustangs tried to get a drive going at the bottom of the second quarter, but the drive would stall as quarterback Chase Jones was intercepted by Kyra Peterkin with less than a minute left. The Mustangs would be plagued with four turnovers on this night (three fumbles and one interception). One of those fumbles was a bad snap that was recovered by Forestview’s Turner Edwards. That led to another Forestview score. Jake Lee would use his feet instead of his arm for the Jaguars score when he took it in from the one-yard line. Cloninger’s kick made it a three-possession game with the point after kick.

                Not willing to go down without a fight, the Mustangs were facing fourth and 14. But instead of punting, Sydney Dollar ran the ball 29 yards. Add a personal foul on Forestview to the mix and the Mustangs were at the Jaguars 25-yard line. Two more penalties on the Jaguars would put the Mustangs even closer. Lucas McConnell would cap the drive off with a four-yard touchdown run. Ryan Shanklin’s extra point kick was good.

                Holt Cloninger would hit another 52-yard field goal to put the Jaguars up 20-7. Cloninger attempted another field-goal with less than five minutes left in the game, but it was wide left. He would finish the night going 2-for-4. That miss would not matter much however. The Mustangs were not able to muster up another drive and the Jaguars took over on downs to run the clock out.

                “I thought (Jake Lee) was gritty, tough and made good decisions. He’s the leader I expect him to be.” Said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin “I thought the defense played lights out. I thought East Lincoln played hard. It wasn’t easy by any means. It’s just a great way to start the season. We moved some people around to where maybe they could help us the most. But I thought the effort was tremendous for the first game.”

“They got us on the fake punt and we got a couple of penalties. Overall, they played really well.” Medlin said about East Lincoln’s scoring drive.

“That’s big every time you have a chance to score once you get to the 40-yard line.” Medlin said about Cloninger’s two 52-yard field goals “He’s legitimately got a chance from 55+. He gives you a good weapon.”

                “Forestview’s pretty dang good. I’ll tell you that much. They’re going to surprise people this year.” Said East Lincoln head coach David Lubowicz “Defensively, I thought we played stellar. You put the ball or in their hands four times, you’re not going to win a lot of those ball games. I can’t say enough about how good the defense played. They played a very good game. I can’t imagine that anybody who played offense for Forestview is going to wake up and not be sore because they were smacking.”

                Forestview will be home against Clover next week. East Lincoln will have a bye week before hosting Ashbrook.