Ellis County Sports Your source for Ellis County Sports News
By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports
Ennis quarterback Collin Drake had himself quite the day in the Lions 33-14 victory Friday night against North Forney.
The Falcons entered the District 8-5A Division II tilt with an unblemished record through the first three games of the season, having allowed just 41 total points over that span.
Drake and the Sam Harrell-called offense changed that — rather easily — at Lion Memorial Stadium in Ennis.
Neither offense found its footing on the opening two drives of the ballgame, with Drake throwing an ill-advised interception and the Falcons then exiting the field after a three-and-out.
The Lions then needed just four plays for Drake to find paydirt from 4 yards out. His rushing touchdown came with 8:32 to play in the first quarter and was aided greatly by a 66-yard scamper by Devion Beasley.
The game quickly turned into a defensive battle.
A second Drake interception — this time near the midway point of the second quarter — was negated one snap later when the Lion defense picked off North Forney quarterback Zach Tucker.
Drake then completed a short pass to Dyllan Santos and took the ensuing snap 89 yards to the house for a 14-0 Ennis lead with 7:59 to play in the first half.
The Falcons offense showed a little life following the Lions score, mounting an 11-play drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by Jacob Soto.
The 14-7 Ennis lead held through the end of the first half.
It did not hold for long after the break, however.
North Forney squandered the opening possession of the second half and the Lions needed just three plays to add to their advantage.
Drake completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Santos with 9:56 to play in the third quarter. The extra-point kick missed, leaving the Lions up 20-7.
Angel Aguilar later added the first of his two made field goals on the evening about seven minutes of game time later. His 39-yard field goal came shortly after a 5-yard North Forney touchdown pass from Jacob Acuna to Collyn Shipley, and put Ennis on top, 23-14, as the game headed toward the fourth quarter.
Just under two minutes into the final quarter, Drake found Laylon Spencer for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
Aguilar then added a 22-yard field goal with 5:52 to play in the game for the 33-14 final score.
BY THE NUMBERS
Drake led the Lions offense with 207 of the 442 total yards.
The signal-caller finished the game 12-of-21 passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns to two interceptions. He then added a game-high 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries (9.13 YPC).
Beasley rushed eight times for 79 yards and Jarius Jones added six carries for 38.
Spencer finished the game with 79 receiving yards on three catches. He now has 478 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 17 receptions this season, averaging just over 28 yards per catch.
It was confirmed by EnnisFootball.com this past week that his 312 receiving yards in a week-two loss to Bishop Dunne were the most-ever in a single game in program history. He surpassed the previous record set — 254 yards — set by Broderic Jones against Waxahachie in 2000. Jones also recorded 232 receiving yards, which is the third-most in program history, in 2001 against Mesquite Poteet.
The Ennis defense limited the Falcons to just 267 total yards, with 195 of those coming on the ground.
Ty Collins led the North Forney offense with 99 rushing yards on 14 carries. Three different quarterbacks combined to complete 5-of-20 passes for 73 yards.
UP NEXT
The Lions, who improved to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in 8-5A, return to district action at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road against Terrell.
____
Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@kbec.com
