By Brian Gosset
X – @gosset41
X – @gmsportsmedia1
gmsportsmedia2023@gmail.com
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WAXAHACHIE – Forney had a chance for overtime last season, but missed a field goal in the final minute as Waxahachie escaped with a 37-34 road win in Week 3. On Friday, the Jackrabbits had multiple opportunities to tie the game in the second half, but the Indians came up with big plays again.
3-star TCU commit Jerry Meyer III tossed three touchdowns, two to 3-star Texas commit Kohen Brown and Waxahachie knocked off Forney 35-14 in a Class 6A non-district showdown at Lumpkins Stadium.
The Indians, #19 in the state and #7 in the GM Sports rankings, defeated Ennis in Week 1. They led 17-16 at halftime against Coppell in Week 2 before the game was called due to lightning and rain. Meanwhile, Forney suffers its first loss after edging out Lake Highlands and earning an impressive Week 2 win over College Station A&M Consolidated.
Waxahachie committed three penalties on the opening drive, but the Indians still managed to go 70 yards in 12 plays while shaving off half the first-quarter clock. Meyer hit Zaeden Smith for 27 yards and then Brown made a nice snag down the sideline for 36 yards. Following a few failed attempts to get into the endzone, back up QB Nolan Barnard scored on fourth-and-goal at the 1 to give Hachie a 7-0 lead.
Waxahachie dominated the first quarter, but only led 7-0.
The Indians gained 102 yards and ran 18 plays against the Jackrabbits’ eight yards and seven plays.
Each team continued to gain good yards, but the scoreboard remained the same until 3:16 left in the second quarter. Forney forced a punt, but on the play, the Waxahachie punter dropped the ball, picked it up and kicked it just before getting taken down by three Jackrabbits. A flag came out and Forney was called for roughing the kicker to give Hachie a fresh set of downs to midfield.
Two plays later, Waxahachie got a 44-yard TD from Meyer to Brown for a 14-0 lead.
Forney got a much-needed touchdown on the ensuing drive. After a three-yard loss, QB Nelson Peterson Jr. found Preston Jackson, who scored from 52 yards to cut the lead to 14-7 with 2:15 left in the half.
Waxahachie went driving again and could’ve gone up 14 or 10 points.
Meyer threw a 13-yard pass and drew a roughing the passer 15-yard penalty. The ball was moved to the Forney 31. Then Meyer found Jordan Smith for a 28-yard gain down to the 2. However, on third down, Waxahachie thought it broke the goal line for a touchdown, but with no timeouts left, the refs ruled the play just short. The field goal team rushed out to the field, but the clock expired leaving it 14-7 at the intermission.
Forney ran to the locker room while Waxahachie coaches were upset.
After a few minutes talking to the refs on the field, the Indians left for the lockers up seven.
Waxahachie held the Jackrabbits to a three-and-out to start the third and then its offense scored to go up 21-7. A short punt set up the Indians at the Forney 45 and four plays later, Meyer and Brown connected for a 22-yard touchdown with nine minutes in the quarter.
The Jackrabbits got back within seven on the next drive.
Peterson hit Imari Jehiel, who got good yards after the catch to turn the play in a 34-yard gain. Then one of the best running backs in the country scored one of the best touchdowns of the season. 4-star Notre Dame commit Javian Osborne took a hand off up the middle and hurdled a defender before scoring from 20 yards to make it 21-14.
Osborne, who’s ranked the 8th best back in the 2026 class by 247Sports, rushed for 3,500 yards and 64 touchdowns the past two seasons combined.
Forney then recovered the ensuing kickoff after Hachie couldn’t secure the ball.
However, just two plays in, the Hachie defense jarred the ball loose after a reception and recovered at the 9.
The Indians turned that into a 91-yard scoring drive. Brown got another 22-yard reception and Meyer later hooked up with Smith on a 38-yard touchdown to extend the lead back to 14 at 28-14 with five to go in the third quarter.
Meyer played for Lake Mead Christian in Nevada as a freshman and set a state record with 58 TD passes in 2023 before moving to Waxahachie for his sophomore season.
Waxahachie picked off a pass attempt, but was called for holding prior to the throw. The flag gave Forney a first down at the Indians’ 29-yard line, but a fumble and 10-yard loss stalled that possession as the Jackrabbits had to punt on fourth-and-20. Forney also managed to get to the Hachie 34 on another drive, but a fourth down pass was batted down to give the ball back to the Indians with 7:26 left in the fourth.
The Indians sealed it with a game-ending drive that lasted over five minutes.
Smith capped it off with a 17-yard touchdown run to give Hachie a 35-14 advantage.
Waxahachie will start District 11-6A in Week 4 against #2 Duncanville while Forney will finish out its non-district slate against Boswell. Both games will kick off on Sept. 19.
