Trailing Amundsen by seven points at halftime of the Big Shoulders Conference opener last Thursday night, Foreman head coach Jason Nikson focused on the positives.
"We talked about this being a turning point for the season," Nikson said. "If we wanted to be successful we just needed to come out, cut down on the mistakes and play football and then we would win the game. They came out and responded."
The Hornets played much more focused football in the second half and won 23-22 at Hanson Stadium, but they still had to hold off a late Vikings' rally.
Amundsen (1-3, 0-1) couldn't get much going in the second half and things didn't look good when they got the ball on their 11-yard line with 1:41 to play in the fourth quarter and no timeouts.
But that's when the Armilio Lopez air show reopened. It took just seven plays for the Vikings' quarterback to hook up with Cartiea Henning on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds to play. With no kicker to attempt the PAT, it was a win-lose situation for Amundsen.
The call was for Henning to go left, but when he saw there was no where to go he headed right. He was met by Jeremie Groves, Chris Thomas and Gregory Thomas. They forced a fumble and Foreman's Danielson Ortiz fell on it to secure the Hornets' hard-fought victory and help them improve to 4-0 on the season.
"It all came down to that play and we came through on it," Groves said. "I knew I just had to hit him and force him out of bounds."
The game started out very strangely for both teams. On the opening drive, Foreman moved all the way down to the Amundsen 11-yard line before a fumbled snap gave the Vikings the ball.
Amundsen couldn't move the ball and was forced to punt from its end zone. A fumbled snap hurried the punter, who managed to get off a punt only to see it land at the three-yard line and bounce back into the end zone. The Vikings recovered and it was called a safety for a 2-0 Hornets' lead.
On the ensuing free kick, Foreman never got control and Amundsen recovered on its own 42-yard line. The Vikings proceeded to go on a 58-yard scoring drive capped by a 44-yard touchdown pass from Lopez to Ronald Zollicoffer.
Lopez converted the two-point play with a pass to Akiree Mangle for an 8-2 lead with 4:18 to play in the first quarter.
Foreman responded by going on a nine-play 63-yard scoring drive that was finished by a 34-yard touchdown pass from Oscar Maldonado to Pedro Ivery. Israel Cervantes kicked through the extra point attempt and the Hornets held a slim 9-8 advantage with 11:52 remaining in the second quarter.
The Vikings would take the lead into the break after Henning scored on a 3-yard run with just three seconds left to play in the half. Henning found the end zone on the two-point try for a 16-9 Vikings lead at halftime.
After that first half I knew it was going to be a battle," Maldonado said. "We just had to finish."
Foreman's defense came out fired up to start the second half and gave the Hornets great field position after a punt. Maldonado took advantage as he slung a 25-yard touchdown pass to Groves. The extra point kick by Cervantes knotted the game at 16-16 with 3:02 to play in the third quarter.
The Hornets would take control in the fourth quarter as Maldonado tossed his third touchdown of the game, this time a 75-yard pass to Groves. The extra point by Cervantes was good and Foreman held a 23-16 lead with 9:09 remaining in the game.
"Coach Nikson said we were going to pass the ball this year," Groves said. "We weren't going to be a one-dimensional team and now we're passing the ball."
For Maldonado, it was another solid outing. The senior tossed for a career best three touchdowns and was 5-of-11 for 145 yards - and most importantly - no interceptions.
"Last year I didn't start too well and I had four interceptions and two touchdowns against Bogan," Maldonado said. "I just had to come in here and keep my mind focused and stay poised."
While the passing game got all the touchdowns, it was running backs C.J. Young (13 carries, 57 yards) and Zadairreis Parson (6 carries, 67 yards), who kept the defense honest with a strong ground game.
Foreman has shown that they will be one of the teams to beat in the Big Shoulders Conference.
"We want to take that next step from being one of those teams in the middle of the pack to one of those teams that everyone is shooting for," Nikson said. "But we're not taking anything for granted."
Up next for the Hornets is Schurz, 5:30 p.m. today at Lane Stadium.
"We go into Schurz and we know they play defense," Nikson added. "We're going to practice just as hard as ever and keep getting better."
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