Prince George’s football notebook: Forestville’s offensive line is blocking, eating well
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Version 0 of 1. The reward system that revitalized the Forestville football team’s offensive line and pushed the Knights to the cusp of their first region title in more than a decade only came about during Week 5 of this season. Senior tailback Keven Thomas first hatched the idea to “feed the big fellas,” as an incentive if Forestville rushed for more than 250 yards in a game. So every week, when the Knights reeled off wins in three of their last four regular season games over the past month, Thomas, quarterback James Green, Coach Moe Thornton and whoever else was willing to chip in, began to go down the street to America’s Best Wings and buy 200 to 300 chicken wings. Only the offensive line could eat them, during weekly film sessions with Thornton. This all culminated Saturday when Forestville beat Fairmont Heights, 22-12, for its first playoff win since 2006 by producing two 100-yard rushers and gaining more than 335 yards on the ground. “I know they’re going to be asking about them,” Thornton said Sunday. “I can’t show up Monday without those wings.” The Knights will face top seed Manchester Valley (7-4) in the 1A North final Friday, but they entered this postseason having lost in the region semifinal game seven of the past eight years. The last time they made a run to the state semifinals, Thornton was playing running back in 2000. Forestville (6-5) lost to Fairmont Heights, 35-6, on Oct. 10. but that setback spurred the Knights’ resurgence this fall. They bonded during a week of back-to-the-basics practices, and the offensive line soon found its groove. The regular meals are emblematic of the improvement Forestville has enjoyed in recent weeks. “They’ve really been working hard and they deserve a bulk of the fame. At the beginning of the season, they weren’t working as hard as they are now,” Thomas said of the offensive line. “We’ve all come together as a family and decided on one goal, and that one goal is a championship. ” Thornton said Fairmont Heights sometimes used nine players in the box this past weekend, but Green (138 yards, two touchdowns), Thomas (109 yards, one touchdown) and senior Kharie Lawrence (88 yards) still had success in Forestville’s run-heavy attack. The defense has given up just 18 points combined in the last four wins. So Thornton is hopeful Saturday’s victory “exorcised those demons,” associated with so many years of playoff disappointment. “This run would mean everything because nobody thinks Forestville still has talent,” Green said. “Everybody doubted us.” Potomac (Md.) and Gwynn Park won state championships in different classifications (2A and 3A, respectively) back in 2005, but neither has returned to the state semifinals since then. Both schools, however, are now one win away from erasing that distinction together. Gwynn Park (8-3) reeled off its seventh win in a row by beating top seed Thomas Stone in the 2A South region semifinals Friday night. The top-seeded Wolverines then followed with a 56-14 win over Magruder in the 3A South semifinals Saturday. Potomac (9-2) won its first playoff game under Coach Ronnie Crump last season before losing to Thomas Stone in the 3A South finals. The Wolverines host Wheaton (7-4), which won its first playoff game in 20 years this past week, in the 3A South final on Saturday. “The guys who experienced last year, they have a better vantage of what it takes just to get to a state semifinal, or compete for a state championship. It’s very important to take care of business this week,” Crump said. “Last year, we had the same idea, and we looked great on tape and we played great sometimes. But being good on paper doesn’t mean anything.” Gwynn Park will travel to Patuxent (9-2) Friday for the 2A South final. Wise (11-0) and Eleanor Roosevelt (9-2) will represent Prince George’s County in the 4A South final that same night. |