Friday, Nov. 15, Forge (#6) headed down to Stafford (#3) to face the Indians for the second time this season, but this time, in the first round of playoffs.
After a historic season for Stafford and a seven year playoff drought, they were back. The Indians were hoping to make a deep run, but due to a strong performance on both sides from Forge, they had to say “night night” to their postseason dreams.
The Eagles started the game strong, getting on the board with a touchdown from Josiah Bryson (‘25) in the third minute of the first quarter.
The defense put the pressure on Stafford’s high performing offense, led by impressive quarterback Zion Gray, forcing the Indians to kick a 24 yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Luckily, our offense was quick to respond, thanks to Protus Nyuydze’s (‘25) 54 yard touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Stafford was able to score their first touchdown. However, Forge responded with a punt from Sean Hill (‘25) pinning them deep which led to a safety, making the score Forge 23, Stafford 10.
In the third quarter, Bryson scored his third touchdown of the night, followed by two touchdowns from Stafford at the beginning of the fourth.
With about five minutes left in the game, quarterback Brock Brimhall (‘26) connected with Taysean Jones (‘26) for another touchdown. Then, Bryson got on the board again, scoring the two-point conversion.
Bryson finalized the lead for the Eagles with his fourth touchdown of the night, making the final score 45-24.
Although Forge was able to pull away with the win, it was not without difficulties and thanks to a lot of preparation, mentally and physically.
Stafford previously gave Forge their first loss of the season, making this game not only important but also a necessary evil to some.
“I was telling some of the guys that I think if we would have beat Stafford in the regular season, I don’t know if we would’ve won Friday. That loss hurt, that whole weekend after the loss really hurt and it was tough,” Jaden Thurston (’25) said.
Overall, the team had to come together to achieve their common goal to hopefully extend their season and come out with the win.
“Being able to stick together and not automatically start going at each other when things get rough, and being able to face adversity is one of our strongest skills”, Jaylin Harris (’25) said.
This Friday, Nov. 22, will be another district opponent rematch for the Eagles as they will be heading to North Stafford for regional semifinals.
