Round 1 | Forreston vs Luther North
Forreston
The Forreston Cardinals, ranked #1 in Class 1A and entering the playoffs as the #2 seed in the north bracket of playoffs played host to Luther North out of the Northeast Athletic Conference in round 1 of the IHSA state playoffs Friday night.
In typical Forreston fashion, Forreston wanted the late game time and it was awarded. The Cardinals wasted no time in showing they are the #1 team in the state. After a quick 3 and out to start the game on defense, Forreston would strike on their 1st offensive play from scrimmage as Gavin Fuchs took the hand off from Hunter Daws up the middle and raced 61 yards to the end zone under a minute and a half into the game. Another quick defensive stand and Forreston was at it again, driving the field in under 3 minutes. This time it was Matt Akins punching it in from 1 yard out and giving the Cards a quick 14-0 lead.
A 51 yard TD run by Lane Henneman followed by a 50 yard TD run by AJ Christensen had the Cards in the lead 27-0 at the end of the 1st quarter. The 2nd quarter would start the same way as the 1st ended as another Forreston drive took under 2 minutes and saw Akins reach pay dirt a second time, this time from 3 yards out. Just over a minute later Fuchs would hit the end zone again on a 67 yard TD run. Just over 2 minutes later Henneman would see the end zone a second time from 55 yards out. After Luther North fumbled the kick off, a second later saw Akins score his 3rd TD of the night on a 49 yard run. Hunter Rogers would cap the 1st half scoring with 67 yard TD run as the Cardinals built a 61-0 halftime lead.
Garett Badertscher would cap the scoring on the night for the Cardinals in the 3rd quarter with 29 yard TD run just 5 minutes into the second half. Forreston would put on a route with an opening round 67-0 win over Luther North Friday night.
Forreston will host Stark County in the 2nd round next week for their 4th matchup in 5 seasons in the playoffs, as Stark County won 35-14 over Elgin Westminster Christian Friday night in their 1st round matchup.
For the game Forreston had 710 yards of total offense as 10 different players carried the ball for the Cardinals. The 710 rushing yards sets a new IHSA Class 1A record for most rushing yards in a game and the 10 rushing touchdowns also sets a new IHSA Class 1A record. The Cards were led by Gavin Fuchs who had 3 carries for 143 yards and 2 TD's. Matt Akins carried the ball 9 times for 112 yards and 3 TD's. AJ Christensen had 4 carries for 83 yards and 1 TD, Lane Henneman had 6 carries for 138 yards and 2 TD's, Hunter Rogers had 4 carries for 103 yards and 1 TD, and Garett Badertscher had 6 carries for 44 yards and 1 TD. Also getting in on the action for the Cardinals were Cade Kuelling with 4 carries for 23 yards, Joe Bowers had 3 carries for 25 yards, Austin Schramm had 3 carries for 21 yards, and Ben Sketo had 5 carries for 18 yards.
The Cards held Luther North to 90 yards of total offense. The Wildcats were led by QB Marcus Wenzel who was 11-27 passing for 94 yards. Samuel Zarate-Miller had 5 receptions for 67 yards for Luther North. Luther North finished the night with -4 yards rushing as the Cardinal defense swarmed to the Wildcat runners all night long, suffocating any chance they had to gain yards.
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Forreston vs Stark County
