Slidell High rolls over Fontainebleau

Slidell High senior quarterback Blake Forbis put on an aerial display Friday night striking on four touchdown passes and one rushing score, sparking the Tigers to a lopsided 44-7 victory over the Fontainebleau Bulldogs at the Dawg Pound.

Slidell (4-3, 3-2) rode the arm of Forbis, who connected on 16-of-20 passes for 238 yards. He also showed his elusiveness with 63 yards on 14 carries, outracing Bulldog defenders for a 27-yard scoring jaunt in the third quarter.

Fontainebleau (4-3, 2-3) didn’t have an answer for Forbis or his favorite target junior receiver Armand Williams, who caught three TDs, covering 18, 37 and 38 yards. Williams finished the night with six receptions for 112 yards.

Fontainebleau was able to put some early pressure on Forbis in the first quarter, but that only temporarily slowed down Slidell until Forbis found Williams with an 18-yard toss with 1:40 left in the first quarter, finishing off a seven-play, 55-yard drive. Chris Barnes booted the PAT to make it 7-0.

Forbis really cranked it up in the second half.

“Everything just started working with everything going right. I had a little bit more time to throw the ball in the second half,” Forbis said.

The senior signal caller said he has no idea how Williams gets so open. “Armand is incredible. One-on-one, I don’t think anybody can cover him. If it’s one-on-one, he’ll break the tackle or catch it over him. He’s a great wide receiver. He’s a good guy to have,” Forbis added.

Slidell second-year coach Artie Liuzza, the Tigers’ former long time offensive coordinator, said watching No. 12 (Forbis) reminded him of another Slidell quarterback, who also wore No. 12, his son Stephen (2006 SHS grad now playing for Cornell).

“Blake is really good. He kind of reminds me of another No. 12 we used to have. He is elusive. He is really smart. He knows the game,” Liuzza said.

Following the first touchdown pass to Williams the Tigers’ were also able to move the ball downfield on their next two possessions, but came away empty missing two field goals. Following the second miss, Fontainebleau fumbled on first down with Slidell’s Chris Tranchina recovering the ball at the Bulldogs’ 21. Tranchina also intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter.

Forbis wasted no time, hitting Tyler Ziegler who made an excellent diving catch for the Tigers’ second score with 6:41 remaining in the half. Barnes nailed the point after for a 14-0 lead.

FHS quarterback Addison Melancon put together a seven-play drive, picking up two first downs, but facing third-and-nine at the Slidell 49, he was sacked for a 10-yard loss with 3:40 left in the first half.

On the Tigers’ possession, Slidell ran the ball picking up eight yards. Following a Fontainebleau personal foul penalty, the Tigers had a first down at the Bulldogs 43. FHS’ Gerald Gruenig sacked Forbis assisted by Justin Church for a loss of seven. On the next play, Forbis made his only mistake of the night. Bulldog junior Jeremy Fos picked him off after making a nice break on the ball getting position in front of the intended receiver. FHS could only muster one first down before punting. Slidell picked up one first down, but then decided to let the clock run out ending the first half with the Tigers up 14-0.

Slidell received the second half kickoff. Forbis took the Tigers on a five-play, 71-yard scoring drive. Forbis carried twice for 18 yards, and Jaron Wiggins, who finished with 59 yards on nine carries, gained 15 and one yard on the next two plays to move the ball down to the FHS 37.

Forbis unleashed more of his magic, tossing a strike to Williams to push the margin to 20-0 with 9:50 left in the third quarter. Barnes point after was good.

After holding FHS on their next possession, SHS put together another quick scoring drive, traveling 87 yards on seven plays. Forbis called his own number, weaving through the Bulldog defense for the final 27 yards with 4:41 to go in the quarter. Barnes tacked on the PAT to increase the margin to 28-0. Forbis completed three passes for 29 yards, and carried the ball for 59 yards on the drive.

Slidell kept its foot on the accelerator with Forbis hooking up with Williams on a 38-yard touchdown for his third TD catch with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. Barnes made the PAT to increase the lead to 35-0.

Williams, who has 4.56 forty-yard speed, said he and his teammates were confident coming into the game.

“I could see that their safeties were very young. The corners were dropping back, and then coming up. I took advantage of that to open the game up,” Williams said.

“Our chemistry was low at the beginning of the season. As we progress, we are starting to learn what a real team is, by working together. I can see it at practice, and I can see it in the weight room. The chemistry is getting better and better,” the junior receiver added.

The Slidell defense, which was solid throughout the game, held Fontainebleau on its next drive. Facing fourth-and-17 from their own 13 the ball was snapped over the punter’s head for a safety.

SHS running back Zachary Johnson tallied the Tigers’ final TD as he blasted up the middle outrunning the Fontainebleau defense on a 33-yard run.

Barnes converted his final point after for a 44-0 advantage.

Fontainebleau scored its only points of the game with 8:40 left when the Tigers’ backup quarterback fumbled a snap, and the Bulldogs Justin Church recovered in the end zone. Hunter Starring kicked the point after to avert the shutout at 44-7.

Slidell had a field day picking up 18 first downs, gaining 473 yards of total offense, 238 through the air and 235 on the ground.

Slidell’s defense turned in an outstanding effort holding Fontainebleau to just 10 first downs with 161 yards of offense. The Bulldogs rushed for 119 yards with only 42 yards through the air.

Perrin Sims topped the Bulldogs with 41 yards on seven carries followed by Vinnie Tonagel with 33 yards on eight rushes. Fullback Clay Fritscher had 24 yards on seven totes.

Liuzza credited his defense with turning in a great performance.

“Our players executed well. I can’t say enough about the play of our defense. My concern was those guys (Fontainebleau) grinding out yardage and taking time off the clock with us maybe not having a chance to get on the field. Our defense did an outstanding job to shut them down. The defensive coaches had a great plan,” Liuzza added.

Slidell hosts the Hammond Tornadoes this week, while Fontainebleau travels to the Swamp to battle the Ponchatoula Green Wave.