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Forney Advances But…

by Paul Martin

Dallas Times Herald
Saturday, 19 November 1966

 

CEDAR HILL – Not every Tom, Dick and Harry can personally mark up more rushing yardage than the combined efforts of the opposing team, but Forney’s Tom, John, Sam and Larry could and did Friday night.

Those omnivorous Jackrabbits ingested a little Tiger meat without breaking stride and did nothing to tarnish their ranking as the state’s No. 1 Class A team by clubbing Glen Rose 35-6 in a bi-district hassle.

And leading the carnage was Forney’s Fearsome Foursome – quarterback Johnny Wortham, Halfbacks Tom Cheney and Sam Beeler and fullback Larry Bush.

From the time the Jackrabbits parlayed a recovered fumble into a touchdown with less than 2 minutes gone until the clock frustrated a scoring drive two hours later the issue was never in doubt.

 

Yardstick

STATISTIC 
FORNEY 
GLEN ROSE 
First Downs 
22 
10 
Rushing Yardage 
328 
42 
Passing Yardage 
26 
148 
Passes 
3-8 
11-25 
Passes Intercepted by 
Fumbles Lost 
Punts 
3-27 
3-36.7 
Yards Penalized 
7-95 
2-10 

 

Forney punched across its first TD with a minute and 50 seconds gone, snared another bobble and converted it into seven more points only three minutes later and notched a third time before another four minutes had elapsed. The Rabbits, District 14-A champions, put all 35 points on the board before Glen Rose, 13-A titlist, broke the scoring ice. Forney now moves into the regional playoff against the winner of the Honey Grove-Frisco fuss, which is slated Saturday night in Sherman.

Last year’s Jackrabbits gained the state quarterfinals. This year’s team is undefeated in 11 games and has racked up 513 points while allowing only 24.

Bush, who scored two of the Rabbit TDs, rambled 118 yards in 17 trips for a 6.9 average. Cheney picked up 104 yards in 14 jaunts for a 7.4 average. Beeler and Wortham chipped in 49 and 48 yards, respectively. The Tigers managed only 42 yards on the ground.

Beeler and Cheney each hit paydirt, Beeler’s marker coming on a 25-yard scamper.

End George Schlebach notched the other Rabbit tally on a 16-yard aerial from Dale Penny. Don Morrison systematically split the uprights after all five 6-pointers. Another Forney counter, this one on a 22-yard sprint by Cheney, was nullified by a penalty.

Glen Rose quarterback Bennie Nickell lofted a mighty 35-yard pass to end John Shackelford late in the fourth quarter for the Tigers’ lone TD. His conversion pass was batted away. Guard Gary Whittemore recovered the fumble that set up Forney’s first tally and Lyndell Garner snared a bobble that set the stage for the second. In all the Tigers lost the ball four times on fumbles that had two passes intercepted, both by Dale Pinson.

Limited to 20 offensive plays in the first half while the Jackrabbits were clicking off 52, the Tigers stormed back after the intermission and started flinging the ball often and accurately. Nickell connected on 9 of 16 for 127 yards and Ricky West flipped a 17-yarder. Shackelford was the favorite target, snaring 8 for 109 yards.

An interception blunted one Tiger scoring thrust that carried to within inches of the goal line and stiff defensive play halted another Glen Rose touchdown bid that carried to the 14.

An overflow crowd estimated at 3,000 witnessed the contest.

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