Victory still alludes the North Forrest football program.
The drought now stands at 1,064 days since the Eagles have had a win. Despite taking a 31-6 loss to Resurrection Friday night, North Forrest coach Todd Lowery is confident that streak will end this season.
"There's a learning curve," Lowery said. "(A win is) going to happen any week. It could be next week, or it could be three weeks.
"We kept playing. We kept doing our job. We didn't unravel. They weren't arguing with each other. There was no turmoil or strife. They just kept doing their job and kept working on what they had to do. That's something I'm very proud of."
While the scoreboard may not have shown it, as a team with no seniors, North Forrest (0-2) showed several signs of potential. Resurrection relied mostly on chunk plays and took advantage of North Forrest's mistakes to come away with the win.
The North Forrest Eagles got off to a slow start after going three and out on the first drive. Resurrection's Daniel Pickens scored on a 46-yard touchdown run to go up 7-0.
"Big plays hurt us tonight," Lowery said. "(Resurrection) didn't march it down the field and drive on us. They got us on some big plays. With a young team like this, we have to learn to have good eye discipline and read their keys. When that didn't happen, they made us pay for it at times."
Then on the ensuing kickoff, North Forrest fumbled but forced a turnover to end Resurrection's threat. However, on the next play, North Forrest's quarterback threw a pick-six to push the deficit to 14-0.
After the Interception, North Forrest marched the ball down to Resurrection's 5-yard line but failed to punch in a touchdown.
"Offensively, we just have to get better," Lowery said. "We have to get better at being more explosive and with our blocks. Our running backs are starting to see and understand the offense. We see the growth, but we just have to pull it all together."
Two possessions later, midway through the second quarter, Resurrection (2-0) pushed the lead to 21-0 after quarterback Max Askew threw a touchdown pass from 29-yards out.
However, just before halftime North Forrest went on the board after running back Davion Young broke out a 33-yard touchdown run. A blocked PAT kept the game at 21-6 at the half.
At the start of the third quarter, the Resurrection Eagles put together their longest drive of the night in terms of plays. Resurrection had 10 plays go for 51-yards, which resulted in just a 34-yard field goal. North Forrest's defense held Resurrection to 127 yards of offense in the second half, as well as forced a drive to end in a missed field goal. Resurrection's only touchdown in the second half came on a blocked punt inside North Forrest's 10-yard line.
"We are not there yet," Lowery said. "We still have a lot of learning to do. I'm really proud of the fight they showed when they got down 14-0. They settled down and started playing the game like we have been teaching them."
In total, North Forrest's defense held Resurrection to 292 yards of offense, but its own offense mustered just 133 yards as Young led the team with 58 rushing yards.
"It's mistakes," Lowery said. "We weren't blocking who we were supposed to, and it's against a well-coached team. I don't want to take anything away from Resurrection. They are a well-coached team and have some good ball players. We have to learn how to win."
North Forrest will hit the road to face East Marion next week.
