CRETE — It would have been easy for Danville football coach Marcus Forrest to not watch the game film after Friday’s 70-18 loss to Crete-Monee at Warrior Field.
But, that wasn’t the case and Forrest was actually encouraged by a few things he did see.
“Looking at the film, it wasn’t as bad as the score showed, of course, it wasn’t good in any aspect when you give up 70 and only score 18,’’ he said. “But, one of the best things that I saw during the game and again on film, is that we did fight until the end.
“We didn’t score, and that was a lot of it. Because it was missed opportunities.’’
Forrest knew heading into the game that Crete-Monee (3-2) was going to be as good as anyone that Danville (1-4) played this season.
And when the Warriors scored 28 unanswered points in the first half, there was very little doubt about the final outcome.
“I think it was a little shock for some of the kids with the size and physicality,’’ Forrest said. “Crete is very much like a Peoria High, expect a little bigger in some areas like receiver. When they get things rolling, it can get out of hand really quick.’’
Danville actually forced a turnover on Crete-Monee’s to start the game and the Vikings had an opportunity to take the lead on their first possession.
“On our second play on offense, we had a receiver that wasn’t covered and we didn’t give the quarterback a chance to get him the ball,’’ Forrest said.
Forrest said there were other times in the contest when the Vikings missed chances for potential scoring plays.
“We would either have a lineman miss a back block, a lineman not put to the right person, and there were at least five times where the back took it inside when their was a major hole outside,’’ he said. “We were not dominated the whole game, but we just missed our opportunities to respond. And then, when you give up too many big plays, it puts you in a really bad situation.’’
Scoring touchdowns on Friday night for the Vikings were Diddy Robinson on a 54-yard hook-and-lateral, Jerry Reed III on a 58-yard run and Darius Jay on a 22-yard run.