HIGH POINT
Darren Walker of East Forsyth made amends in a big way last night at Simeon Stadium. Walker lost a fumble on a punt return, but compensated nicely with a thrilling return of a blocked field goal which helped propel the Eagles to a decisive 31-6 victory against High Point Central.
With the win, East capped a nearly perfect regular season as the Metro 4-A Conference champion. It's been a long title dry spell for the Eagles, who last won a league crown in 1992. Now this team turns its attention to the opening round of the state playoffs next week.
"It's been a long four years for our seniors, and there was some pressure on us to win it because we've had a very good season," said Coach Todd Willert of East Forsyth, whose team is 10-1 and 5-0. "There were some who didn't believe we could do it. We never felt that way. This is not the same East Forsyth program that people have grown accustomed to watching over the past 10 to 15 years."
East grabbed a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and High Point Central never recovered. Christian Smith caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Danny O'Brien and A.J. Perea recovered a Bison fumble which led to Zach Boyer's 26-yard field goal. But the play of the night was delivered by Walker in the closing seconds of the quarter.
High Point Central (6-5, 2-3) took over at the East 40 after Walker muffed a punt, which was recovered by Aaron Leach of Central. Trailing 10-0, Central appeared poised to cut into the deficit, but its scoring drive stalled and the Bison had an opportunity to score on a short-range field goal. Walker, however, single-handedly denied the Bison when he smothered Austin Miller's kick, then scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 75 yards down the left sideline to give his team what proved to be an insurmountable lead.
"I almost got there too fast," said Walker, who has blocked four field- goal attempts this season. "Once I beat the blocker, I was able to make the block in such a way that gave me chance to recover it. The ball was laying there, I picked it up, and all I could think was that I had to ‘house it' (score the touchdown)."
Willert agreed that Walker's play helped change the complexion of the game. Had Central scored, it would have been a 7-point game at halftime.
"That was the turning point," Willert said. "That helped set a tone and we continued by playing a perfect second half. I really liked the way we closed this one out. Hopefully, this will carry over to the playoffs."
East had 264 yards of total offense. O'Brien completed 7 of 10 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns and he also ran for 65 yards. Smith displayed his versatility with a scoring run and a touchdown catch to go with 63 rushing yards.
For Smith, the win is especially gratifying because his season started slowly because of nagging injuries. But now he's healthy and primed to help his team go deep in post-season play. "Winning the Metro feels good," said Smith. "That's all we've talked about since we were freshmen, and now it's come true. Our team deserves it, we worked for it."
East Forsyth 17 0 7 7 -- 31
HP Central 0 0 0 6 -- 6
EF – Smith 32 pass from O'Brien (Boyer kick)
EF – Boyer 26 field goal
EF – Walker 75 blocked field goal return (Boyer kick)
EF – Kloc 22 pass from O'Brien (Boyer kick)
EF – Smith 2 run (Boyer kick)
HPC – Isley 27 pass from Adams (run failed)
Records: East Forsyth (10-1, 5-0 Metro); High Point Central (6-5, 2-3)
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