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Smith, East Forsyth roll over Myers Park 42-14
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Published: November 15, 2008
East Forsyth didn't win a state championship last night, but the Eagles' 42-14 win over Charlotte Myers Park certainly had the players thinking.
The Eagles used a road-grader mentality on a foggy and soggy night, springing Christian Smith for 161 rushing yards and using a three-touchdown explosion in the third quarter to move into the second round of the NCHSAA's Class 4-AA West playoffs.
East (11-1) will play at home again next week against Huntersville Hopewell (8-4). Hopewell advanced last night with a 34-26 win over Charlotte Vance.
David Collins, East's 6-7, 295-pound left tackle, was a jolly giant after the game.
"It's a great time being an East Forsyth Eagle right now," said Collins, who along with his linemates paved the way for East to rush for 311 yards. "All my offensive-line boys got after it. At first we were going to do 50-50 (run-pass) like we always try to do, but with the rain and weather we decided to tuck it in and run."
Senior quarterback Danny O'Brien of East contributed 115 of East's rushing yards and ran for two touchdowns on a night when he attempted only eight passes, completing two for 58 yards.
But Coach Todd Willert of East said that after Smith sidled up next to him on the sideline and said, ‘This is the first time I can feel my groove,' there wasn't a good reason to pass the ball.
"You hear him say that, you give it to 17," Willert said. "You want to talk about someone who gets no respect, it's Christian Smith. He's not the fastest guy, but you see what he did tonight. Christian is all heart, he's the heart of our team."
The going has been tough for Smith, a 5-10, 195-pound senior, as he dealt with pain from a severely sprained ankle for most of the season. But Smith, who carried 24 times and scored on runs of 6 and 30 yards, said there was a reason for his big night.
"It's my healthiest game of the year," he said. "Now that my ankle has gotten in shape, we are really rolling and I am real excited about it."
The Eagles' defense struggled, especially in the first half, to stop running back Eric Smith of Myers Park, a 5-7, 183-pounder, who bounced away from trouble often and finished with 162 yards on 21 carries.
But Smith got only five carries in the second half, when East turned the game into a blowout in the third quarter.
East, which led 14-7 at halftime, got in trouble on the first play of the third quarter when O'Brien fumbled at the end of a run and Myers Park recovered at the East 25. But the Eagles stuffed the Mustangs on four plays, and then marched 75 yard in eight plays, with O'Brien weaving his way through traffic on a 20-yard touchdown run to cap the drive.
Myers Park drove 59 yards to the East 13, but on fourth and 3, quarterback Stuart Ahlum fumbled the exchange and Edwin Allen, a 6-0, 175-pound senior defensive end, scooped the ball up and sprinted 86 yards for a touchdown that helped the Eagles go ahead 28-7.
On the Eagles' next possession, Smith burst through a gaping hold and went 30 yards untouched for another score.
"Edwin Allen, what a great play, and we have been making plays like that all year," Willert said. "To have a defensive lineman do that, I didn't know he could run that fast. We moved him from linebacker to the line this year and his speed, its been a major factor and it's helped our defense so much."
B.J. McKeever scored on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 42-7.
"Of course the competition is going to get tougher," Collins said. "But if we keep focusing and getting after it in practice and keep our minds set on the final goal, we will get it."
■ Mason Linker can be reached at 727-7324 or at mlinker@wsjournal.com.
Myers Park 0 7 0 7 -- 14
East Forsyth 7 7 21 7 -- 42
EF -- O'Brien 1 run (Boyer kick)
MP -- Williams 32 run (Snydr kick)
EF -- Smith 6 run (Boyer kick)
EF -- O'Brien 20 run (Boyer kick)
EF -- Allen 86 fumble return (Boyer kick)
EF -- Smith 30 run (Boyer kick)
EF -- McKeever 5 run (Boyer kick)
MP -- Richardson 29 pass from Ahlum (Snyder kick)
Records -- East Forsyth 11-1, Myers Park 5-7
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