WEATHERFORD — Abilene High struggled to contain Weatherford’s 1-2 punch of quarterback Ken Seals and running back Dezmond Forrest and couldn’t find a rhythm offensively in a 43-14 loss to the Kangaroos on Friday.
Forrest rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns, while Seals completed 17 of 24 passes for 257 yards and two scores to fuel the Kangaroos, who bolstered their own playoff chances and took a bite out of the Eagles’ with the lopsided win.
The loss dropped AHS to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in District 3-6A play, pinning the Eagles’ postseason hopes on a win over district leader Euless Trinity in their final game of the regular season next week at Shotwell Stadium.
“We didn’t play very good,” Abilene High coach Mike Fullen said. “We didn’t play well as a team (Friday night). We got outplayed on both sides, so it’s a tough one.”
Abilene High trailed just 7-6 late in the first quarter after Phonzo Dotson answered Forrest’s first touchdown with a 33-yard scoring run of his own. But the extra point attempt was blocked, and Seals hit Rey Huang with a 13-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing possession to put the Kangaroos (6-2, 2-2) up 14-6 and start a run of 36 unanswered points.
Forrest scored the next three Weatherford touchdowns — from 1, 4 and 1 yard out — to stake Weatherford to a 30-point lead, and Seals, a Vanderbilt commit, capped the scoring for the Kangaroos with a 27-yard strike to Nicholas Schwikal.
The Eagles, who were outgained 499-135 and had just six first downs, got their final points on Seals’ lone mistake — a third-quarter interception that Colton Wilson returned 47 yards to the house.
Dotson led AHS in rushing with 46 yards on seven carries, while quarterback Matthew Ezzell hit 10 of 23 passes for 79 yards. Tre Phillips was the Eagles’ leading receiver with 47 yards on six catches.
In addition the big games it received from Forrest and Seals, Weatherford got 100-yard receiving days from Jorden Wheeler (6-116) and Schwikal (4-106).
The Eagles will have to rebound quickly from Friday’s loss as they host Trinity (7-1, 3-1) next week in a must-win game. With losses already to North Richland Hills Richland (3-5, 3-1), San Angelo Central (5-4, 3-2) and Weatherford (6-2, 2-2), AHS will need to beat the Trojans and have either Trinity or Weatherford lose out to reach the postseason.
“We’ll bounce back. We’ll fight,” Fullen said. “We fought (Friday night). We just didn’t play very well. I expect our guys to accept the challenge of playing Trinity and playing them at home. We’ll show up and we’ll be ready to play.”
DISTRICT 3-6A
WEATHERFORD 43, ABILENE HIGH 14
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | ||
| Abilene High | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 14 |
| Weatherford | 14 | 15 | 14 | 0 | — | 43 |
FIRST QUARTER
WEA — Dezmond Forrest 6 run (Isaiah Gomez kick), 6:20
AHS — Phonzo Dotson 33 run (kick blocked), 4:23
WEA — Rey Huang 13 pass from Ken Seals (Gomez kick), 2:04
SECOND QUARTER
WEA — Forrest 1 run (Gomez kick), 9:08
WEA — Forrest 4 run (Huang run), 7:20
THIRD QUARTER
WEA — Forrest 1 run (Gomez kick), 7:57
WEA — Nicholas Schwikal 27 pass from Seals (Gomez kick), 6:20
AHS — Colton Wilson 47 interception return (Michael Bartlett pass from Matthew Ezzell), 3:45
| AHS | WEA | |
| First downs | 6 | 23 |
| Rushes-Yards | 20-56 | 44-242 |
| Passing | 79 | 257 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 10-23-0 | 17-24-1 |
| Punts | 8-30.3 | 2-26.5 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-75 | 6-45 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Abilene High, Phonzo Dotson 7-46, Esai Jaques 5-28, Davonta Mayse 2-2, Eric Abbe 2-0, Matthew Ezzell 4-(-1). Weatherford, Dezmond Forrest 28-215, Aaron Walkotten 10-39, Ken Seals 4-(-3), Seth Robertson 1-(-4), Team 1-(-5).
PASSING — Abilene High, Matthew Ezzell 10-23-0—79. Weatherford, Ken Seals 17-24-1—257.
RECEIVING — Abilene High, Tre Phillips 6-47, Jeshari Houston 2-18, Colby Ernst 1-8, Frederick Johnson 1-6. Weatherford, Jorden Wheeler 6-116, Nicholas Schwikal 4-106, Dezmond Forrest 3-13, Rey Huang 2-19, Seth Robertson 1-6, Aaron Walkotten 1-6.
RECORDS — Abilene High 3-6, 2-3; Weatherford 6-2, 2-2.