Cedar Shoals loses 22-14 to East Forsyth in nail-biter

The Cedar Shoals Jaguars began regional play on Sept. 2 against the East Forsyth Broncos, a new opponent for Cedar Shoals and a new school in general. The Jaguars lost the game 22-14, but they fought until the very last second.

Previously, East Forsyth pummeled Seckinger 48-0 in a battle between new schools, as this is the first school year for Seckinger. Cedar is coming off of a pair of tough losses against Clarke Central and Monroe Area, being outscored 98-13 in those two games.

Rain poured nonstop before the game, causing both sides of the bleachers to be nearly empty until a few minutes into the game. After it stopped raining it became a perfect night for football. 

“It changes footing,” Head Coach Leroy Ryals said. “We have no excuses, they’re playing on the same field as us.”

This game showed some new strengths for the Jaguars, but also some weaknesses. Which ones really stood out?

Strength: Kick return tag team

Cedar showed how good they can be when it comes to kick returns and special teams. Senior Toby Bolton and junior Devin Hester consistently gave the Jaguars strong field position to start drives, including a return to midfield by Bolton on the opening kickoff.

Hester returned a kick 96 yards for a touchdown against Monroe Area. He’s one of the best kick returners in Class 4-A, consistently giving the Jags strong field position.

“It helps with field position big time, and really sets the tone of the game,” Ryals said.

Weakness: still can’t stop the run

The Jaguar defense continues to struggle against the run, as they gave up a total of 279 rushing yards. East Forsyth chose a fitting nickname for their school: they ran the ball like a Bucking Bronco, with three rushing touchdowns.

“We missed too many tackles,” Ryals said. “If we could connect on those tackles we would be in a different position”

Every team that the Jaguars have faced so far was run heavy, creating a disadvantage.

 “We need to execute better in order to have any success,” Ryals said

Strength: the secondary comes first

The pass defense for the Jaguars was impressive, as they held Broncos sophomore quarterback Brock Szakacs to only 75 passing yards while completing 8 passes on 15 attempts. In Szakacs’ previous game against Seckinger, he had 176 passing yards while completing 10 out of 12 passes.

“They don’t usually pass the ball,” Ryals said. “We were able to play good coverage when they put the ball in the air.”

The defense sacrificed run defense for pass defense, but they hope to break even and have both for their next game. 

“We just didn’t execute,” Ryals said. “If we can work on our fundamentals and execution, it should be a recipe for success.”

Weakness: can’t close the door

Late into the game, Cedar led 14-9, but the Broncos scored 13 unanswered points and made many defensive stops. 

“We just didn’t play strong defense,” Ryals said. “We gave up too many long runs that came back to haunt us.”

In the final minutes of the 4th quarter, it was fourth and goal and the Jaguars were down eight points, needing a touchdown and a two point conversion if they were going to win. The ball was snapped far too high and junior quarterback Mandrell Glenn fumbled it, recovering 30 yards from the endzone. It was a turnover on downs and the Broncos got possession and killed the clock. 

“This is another spot where we just need to execute,” Ryals said.

The underdog comes out on top

Cedar Shoals were heavy favorites for this game. It was the first ever region game that East Forsyth has ever played, meaning that it’s also their first ever region win. 

“In games like these, we don’t want to expect a win,” Ryals said. “If we expect to win, we’ll become overconfident and start feeling defeated when we’re not winning.”

The Jaguars have a bye week this week, before leaving Athens for the first time as they go up against the Walnut Grove Warriors on Sept. 16.