Published: August 30, 2008 12:37 am            

Forest Hills captures a win over Somerset

SIDMAN — Forest Hills fell behind early in Friday night’s season opener against visiting Somerset, but the Rangers took control of the contest in the second quarter and eventually scored on six consecutive possessions en route to a 50-20 win.

A balanced offensive attack for the Rangers was paced by junior quarterback Zack Glessner and senior tailback Scott Mehall.

Glessner completed 13 of 16 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for two more scores. Mehall rushed for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also caught six passes for 110 yards.

“They gave us some different looks and capitalized on a couple of our mistakes early,” Forest Hills coach Don Bailey said. “But our kids pulled it together and made some big plays.

“Defensively, we made a few adjustments and were able to shut down their option.”

The Rangers held the Golden Eagles without a first down for more than two and a half quarters.

Somerset’s Gunnar Smith recovered a Rangers fumble at the Somerset 41 on the initial Forest Hills possession, and three plays later Chase Dykstra broke free on a counter play and raced 60 yards down the sideline to put the Golden Eagles on top 6-0.

The Rangers answered quickly on the ensuing series, as a 72-yard run by Mehall set up a 2-yard sneak by Glessner. Patrick Donoughe added the extra point to put Forest Hills ahead by one.

Forest Hills fumbled again on its next possession, giving Somerset great field position at the Rangers 16. Four plays later, Adam Jones scored from 2 yards out and followed with a two-point conversion pass to Dykstra that regained a 14-7 edge for the Eagles at the 3:45 mark of the first quarter.

Glessner’s 1-yard sneak capped an 11-play, 60-yard Ranger scoring drive early in the second quarter that brought the Rangers within one. Donoughe later drilled a 34-yard field goal with 4:45 left in the half that put Forest Hills on top 16-14.

The last two minutes of the half saw the momentum swing completely in the Rangers’ favor. An option pass from Josh Paulson to Mehall that covered 45 yards led to a 4-yard touchdown strike from Glessner to Paulson with 1:26 remaining. Somerset attempted to go downfield in the final minute, but Jones was picked off by Jason Shope at the Eagles 35. Glessner immediately hit Mehall down the sideline for a 34-yard gain, and Mehall then plowed in from the one. Tyler Rosenberger’s two-point conversion catch put Forest Hills ahead 30-14 at the break.

“Our inexperience showed in the second quarter,” Somerset coach Steve Costea said. “We got frazzled and made mistakes.”

Forest Hills effectively put the game away with two third-quarter touchdowns. Mehall ran in from the 2 and Jason Kostan scored from the 7.

Trevor Niemiec’s 32-yard touchdown run with 4:32 to play completed the Eagles’ scoring, and Adam Wingard’s 3-yard touchdown for the Rangers with less than two minutes left set the final.

        

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