The Farmers stumbled and fell 51-20 to Garland Naaman Forest this past Thursday/Friday in what could have been a great opportunity to make some noise. Naaman Forest simply overwhelmed the Farmers with their athleticism and execution during the majority of the game. Combine that with several costly turnovers and Lewisville stood no chance.

The game started in an almost embarrassing fashion as the Rangers rang off 21 points, all in the first quarter alone with RB Jerome Regal rushing for a 10 yard TD, a QB John Harris 18 yard run through a hole the size of which a truck could drive through and then an ankle breaking reverse field 61 yard touchdown run in which it looked as if QB John Harris was going to be stopped for a loss. However, the second quarter was a different story with the Farmers finally making a stand and holding the Rangers off the scoreboard and scoring 13 unanswered points. Truthfully, the Farmers could have been tied had QB Brandt Sadlowski’s passes not been interfered with by the whirling winds of the storm that was quickly approaching.

So at halftime it seemed as if the Farmers had the momentum and then the game was called due to lighting. Friday afternoon came and the Farmers came out fairly flat while Naaman Forest came out poised and ready to end the game early. The situation was not helped as yet another onside kick was called that sailed quickly out of bounds. The Rangers then scored on 30 yard and 4 yard Harris runs. To add insult to injury, the Rangers scored two point conversions after both of those touchdowns. Lewisville then attempted to make one last comeback when they got an interception and then started driving deep into Ranger territory, however the Ranger defensive line got through and was about to sack Sadlowski as he threw up a desperate pass that was intercepted and returned 65 yards for the game clinching score. From that point, each team’s backups scored touchdowns and the game ended.

Final Thoughts:

Lewisville’s weaknesses combined with 5 turnovers are what doomed their chances in this game. It would have taken a very high caliber team to be able to come back from as many mistakes as the Farmers made throughout the game. Sure, there were some glimmers of hope, especially in the second quarter as the Farmers cut into the Naaman Forest lead and seized the momentum but as goes the way of turnovers, usually luck is not on your side either and that was clearly seen when lighting struck to delay the game until the following day and that completely diffused any momentum the Farmers had held. To make matters far worse, it certainly didn’t help trying yet another onside kick to start the second half. To me, that’s instilling a mindset into your defense that "We’re sorry but we don’t believe you can hold Naaman Forest".

But, a lot of credit should be given to Garland Naaman Forest though. They have a very capable running back and a stud QB which is actually orally committed to Texas (shades of Vince Young about him). Although the most significant factor was their offensive line and its ability to create gapping holes that any back could have run through. It’s going to take a lot of moral fortitude and playing at a level above what is normal for the current Farmer defense to really stop good run based offenses. Either that or make a change in personal and put some heavier bodies on the defensive line to match up against the run oriented teams we face.

A Look Ahead:

The Farmers host Grapevine later this week in their second home game. Grapevine is looking pretty bad although their offense is probably slightly improved over last year but so is Lewisville’s as long as they execute. Look for a preview late Thursday on this game.