Anytime a team rebounds from a winless season to a postseason berth the following year, it sets ground for much speculation in regards to how much more success can be obtained by the team. Garland Naaman Forest did such as they embarked on a remarkable turnaround season in 2016 that resulted in a playoff game against Jesuit after finishing the regular season at 5-5 and 4th in District 10-6A.
Despite losing to Jesuit 32-6 in that playoff game to put them at 5-6 on the season, the ceiling for Naaman Forest had been elevated and has now led to a restless anticipation for the 2017 season.
Naaman Forest will more than likely find themselves jostling for the higher seeding against Garland Lakeview Centennial as those two can be considered to produce another postseason berth and round up the early playoff predictions with Sasche and Rowlett looking like the frontrunners in the district one again.
Naaman Forest will be optimistic as they will be returning their leading rusher and a few key defensive players that witnessed both the woes and successes a program can go through and that no doubt provided invaluable experience for them that will hopefully continue an upward trend for Naaman Forest.
Key Losses
QB Broderick Hampton, RB Isaiah Coffer-Jones, WR Travis Taylor, TE/DL Adrelan Brown, DB Reggie Simpson
Naaman Forest loses their signal caller in Broderick Hampton and an instrumental part of their run offense in Coffer-Jones. Both Hampton and Jones tally up 726 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Hampton threw for an additional 599 yards and five touchdowns.
Travis Taylor will be some experience lost at the receiver position and so too will Adrelan Brown whose athletic prowess saw him pull double duty at tight end and on the defensive line. Reggie Simpson will be a loss as well in the secondary.
Key Returners
WR Davaceia McCartney, FB Ty’reek James, DL Nico Ezidore, LB Jourdan Boze
Offensive Newcomer of the Year Davaceia McCartney will allow Naaman Forest to open their playbooks possibly with a talent such as him lining up at receiver. McCartney had 21 catches for 317 yards and six touchdowns. Leading rusher Ty’Reek James returns after grinding out 615 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Nico Ezidore and Jourdan Boze will pose as threats on the defensive side of the ball as they return after a strong 2016 season.
The Verdict
Naaman Forest can be expected to continue trending upward and it’s hard to see them not increasing their win total from last year even if it is by a small margin of one or two games. They have viable weapons on both sides of the ball and it would be hard for the current upperclassmen on the team to return to the feeling experienced just two seasons ago. Expect Naaman Forest to once again produce a strong season.
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Incomplete article. The best defensive players for Naaman are gone. Nehemiah Lewis, Tyrese Jackson and Adrelan Brown are the defensive players that played double duty, and allowed Naaman to have a respectable season. Nehemiah Lewis has exceptional athletic abilities. He played varsity for 3 seasons, made 2nd team All District for 2016-17; and an All District Honorable Mention for 2015-16 season.