• Photo Showcase: Prep Football Friday

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An up-and-down Friday night for Jimmie Forsythe ended on a high note as the Omaha Burke senior found the end zone twice within 51 seconds midway through the fourth quarter, pushing his fifth-ranked Bulldogs to a 21-16 win over No. 9 Omaha Central.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Forsythe carried 29 times for 216 yards and was 9 of 10 through the air for another 86. His 67-yard scamper on the game's first drive gave Burke an early lead, and his two scores in the final quarter held up despite a late push by the Eagles.

In between, though, were a pair of critical fumbles that stopped drives in Central territory — something that Burke coach Paul Limongi said hadn't happened once in the three seasons Forsythe has been under center.

“It was just one of those games where we needed our leader,” Limongi said. “We needed him to take the bull by the horns and just help us pull out this victory.”

The win was still in doubt until the final few snaps of the game.

Central quarterback Will Burgess, working with a 10-7 lead, threw an interception on the first play of the second half to set Burke up near midfield. An 11-play drive that reached the Eagles' 2-yard line stalled when a snap whizzed by Forsythe, and Central safety Dennis Barfield fell on it.

Another fumble in the backfield ended a first-quarter drive that had gotten near the red zone, and one late in the game inside the Burke 10 nearly gave Central the ball back on the doorstep in the final moments.

“We did a lot of things bad tonight, but they're fixable,” Limongi said. “We didn't play that good of football. We came out and were physical and in good shape, continued to work hard, but we have a lot to work on.”

After falling behind 92 seconds in when Forsythe spun out of a tackle and raced down the left sideline for a long score, Central answered with its playmaker. Iowa State recruit Teddy Lampkin took the ensuing kickoff from one side to the other and raced 87 yards for a score.

The Eagles capitalized on Burke's first miscue by driving down for a 24-yard field goal from Mykal Ramsey. And they appeared to be on their way to making the second Bulldog fumble hurt, too, but a sack and inadvertent kneel down combined for 17 yards in losses and forced a punt.

Burke took the ball 80 yards on 14 plays, chewing up nearly seven minutes and finishing it off with a Forsythe score one play after he fumbled but was ruled down on the field. The Bulldogs recovered a pooch kick and tallied another one two plays later.

Central kept things interesting with a drive that netted a score with 3:19 to go, but Forsythe and company ran out the clock with three first downs to seal things.

“They just made one more play than we did,” Central coach Jay Ball said. “We were right there, we had a chance. They're a good football team, and we're going to be a good football team, too. We've just got to make more plays.”

Om. Central (0-1)..................7 3 0 6—16
At Om. Burke (1-0)..................7 0 0 14—21
OB: Jimmie Forsythe 67 run (Ameer Pinto kick).
OC: Teddy Lampkin 87 kickoff return (Mykal Ramsey kick).
OC: Ramsey 24 FG.
OB: Forsythe 6 run (Pinto kick).
OB: Forsythe 6 run (Pinto kick).
OC: Alex Williams 15 pass from Will Burgess (pass failed).
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: OC, Jackie Davis 9-32, Will Burgess 4-minus 19, Kennan Williams 3-13, Teddy Lampkin 2-3 Total 18-29; OB, Jimmie Forsythe 29-216, D.J. Avant 4-13, Jeremy Queen 3-5, Jordan Nelson 15-88 Total 51-322.
PASSING: OC, Burgess 11-18-1 196; OB, Forsythe 9-10-0 86, Avant 1-1-0 10.
RECEIVING: OC, Lampkin 6-133, Alex Williams 2-19, Davis 1-30, K. Williams 1-7, Calvin McCoy 1-7; OB, Nick Contreas 2-22, Nelson 2-26, Dillon Plath 2-9, Forsythe 1-10, Zach Oliver 2-23, Taylor Hopkins 1-6.

Contact the writer:

850-0781, nickrubek@hotmail.com

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