In this cross-town rivalry, both teams come in at 1-1 on the season. The North Forsyth Raiders had a dominant win against Forsyth Central and won 35-7 last week, while the West Forsyth Wolverines are coming off a loss to the Marietta Blue Devils 24-17. West Forsyth is 10-4 all-time against North Forsyth, but the Raiders have won the last two matchups.
North Forsyth coach Robert Craft shed some light on the rivalry, how it came to be, and the trophy that is involved and given to the victor.
“The rivalry goes back to when West Forsyth was opened. Of course, I wasn’t here at the time, but from what I understand, when West was opened, many students from North got redistricted to West,” said Craft. “A crosstown rival. We have a trophy called the Leatherhead trophy that the winner gets every year. That makes the rivalry even bigger. A lot of these kids grew up playing against each other or playing with each other in rec and middle school. It will be a great atmosphere on Friday Night.”
West Forsyth Coach Dave Svehla talked about the keys to victory in this matchup and why North Forsyth has been the winner the last two years.
“If we are going to have a chance to beat North, we have to make those handful of plays. Quite frankly, they have done it the last two years against us,” said Svehla. “They have done a good job of making plays when it mattered most, which is why I think they got two victories in a row. We are going to have to make those plays this year if we are going to have a chance to win.”
Coach Craft preached consistency and being sound as a football team as keys to victory.
“We gotta be consistent. That is our motto on this football team. I really think our team has a chance to do big things this year,” said Craft. “We have to be sound in all three phases. West is a really good football team. If you are missing in any area offense, defense, or special teams, you have a chance to really be exposed by an opponent like West.”
An interesting story to add to this matchup is that both star players, RB Peyton Streko and LB Colin Miller played together in youth football, and both players are committed to the same college. Both coach Craft and Svehla raved about the opposing players.
“A cool story here Colin Miller and Peyton Streko are both committed to the Air Force. This time next year, they could be teammates,” said Craft. I don’t know Streko like I do Colin, but if he is going to Air Force, he is certainly a solid football player with great character and grades.”
“Collin is everything a coach would want in a high school football player. He is a big, strong, physical kid. He can do all kinds of things,” said Svehla. “He is an outstanding runner, hard to bring down, and active defensively. I don’t know him personally, but if he is committed to the Air Force, I am sure he is a tremendous kid character-wise.”
Miller has 18 total tackles (1st on his team) on the season and four rushing touchdowns. Peyton Streko has 230 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the young season.
Key matchups to consider in this game are the revamped offensive line for North Forsyth, which has five new starters, and the stout defensive line of West Forsyth, which has been getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
“Our offensive line is an area where we have five new starters. However, we feel like those guys are just getting better every day,” said Craft. “When you graduate five seniors like we did last year on the offensive line, that is an area of concern for you. We are excited about these young guys up front. We feel like they are growing and have a desire to improve every day.”
“We have been able to put a little bit of pressure on both teams that we played. We covered their kids pretty well and were still able to flush them out and make him either run or throw the ball away generally,” said Svehla. “I think I’ve been pleased with the front seven just competing. We are a little undersized, but our kids play hard. I think they have done a really good job rallying to the football.”
Middle Linebacker Riley Mckee leads West Forsyth with 3.5 sacks on the season.
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