Forestville Central School District

By Joe Eckstrom

Special to The Post-Journal

After a 1-4 start, the Forestville Hornets came back to win three of their last four games to capture their second straight Class D Bowl title, defeating Ellicottville 32-6, Thursday at Southwestern Central School.

"We had a big turnaround in the second half of the season,'' Forestville coach Scot Greenough said. "The team played much better in the second half, especially the last couple of weeks. Even in our loss to Randolph, we played well.''

The Hornets took their opening drive from their own 29-yard line to Ellicottville's 27-yard line, but failed to convert on a fourth-and-5.

"I thought we moved the ball down the field well all game,'' Greenough said. "We missed on the conversion on our first drive, but the kids didn't quit."

With Ellicottville taking over at their own 27-yard line, Forestville had a chance to stop the Eagles on fourth-and-2.

However, the Hornets jumped offsides, prolonging the Eagles' drive.

Ellicottville's Pat Folland picked up 29 yards on a rushing play, which eventually led to a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Brian MacNeal for an Eagle touchdown.

Forestville started its ensuing drive from their own 24-yard line. The Hornets used an eight-minute drive to score on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Matt Thompson. The missed extra point left the game knotted up 6-6 with 4:43 left in the first half.

"We've had chances to play in the D Bowl before, we just never got the victory." Greenough said. "For us to repeat, especially after the start we had, it says a lot about the way the kids have worked throughout the course of the season.''

For the second time in the first half, the Eagles went for it on fourth-and-2 in their own end of the field.

This time, however, was unsuccessful, giving the Hornets prime field position to take the lead going into halftime.

Nick Huyck tip-toed along the sideline, making a 19-yard touchdown catch from Thompson to put the Hornets up 12-6 going into halftime.

That momentum carried over into the second half for Forestville as they scored three more touchdowns in the game. The first came with 5:25 left in the third quarter when Thompson scampered into the end zone from 18-yards out.

Less than three minutes later, Forestville scored on the first play of their next possession. Corey Bell took a handoff up the middle for the 68-yard score.

Bell finished the night with 169 yards rushing on 17 carries with a touchdown.

"Defensively, we had a couple mix-ups in the first half,'' Greenough said. "Once we got them straightened out, we were much better on defense. We didn't give up much in the second half."

After putting together lengthy drives all game long, the Hornets only needed one play to score once again.

Scrambling 10 yards deep in the backfield, Thompson was able to avoid the on-coming pass rush and connect with Tom Arnold for a 55-yard touchdown pass - his second of the game.

"Our offensive line allowed us to do so much,'' Greenough said. "I'm really proud of the way our guys played all season to get to this point. We have to give a lot of credit to our seniors.''

1^st team:  Matt Thompson, Zach Badgley, and Corey Bell

2^nd team: Mike Franklin, Will Walawender, Tom Arnold, and Niko Messina

Honorable Mention: Nick Huyck and Bryan Gibson