Vanguard earns win over Forest
Knights beat Wildcats for 14th consecutive year.
A flag flies in as Vanguard’s quarterback Terrance Lewis (1) eludes Forest’s Knox Boutwell (44) for a large gain during a football game at Booster Stadium in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. Vanguard won the game 19-6. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
NOTE: This has been updated to correct the name of one player.
Vanguard junior quarterback Terrance Lewis passed for a touchdown and Travis Smith scored a rushing touchdown as the Knights continued their mastery of Forest with a 19-6 win on Oct. 31 at Booster Stadium.
The win, which improved Class 4A Vanguard to 8-2 on the season, was the Knights’ 14th consecutive triumph over their city rivals. Vanguard overcame four touchdowns called back because of penalties and Lewis only played the first half because of a slight injury.
“Winning a rivalry game never gets old,” said Vanguard veteran coach Edwin Farmer. “It’s good to get the win, but we had too many penalties and had four touchdowns called back. We have to get that cleaned up because we have the playoffs coming up and you can’t make those mistakes against good teams and expect to win. Terrance tweaked something so we kept him out of the second half as a precaution.”
The loss dropped Class 6A Forest to 6-4 overall in coach John Brantley’s first season at his alma mater. The Wildcats had three possessions in the red zone and came away with only a pair of field goals to show for it, which proved critical in the loss.
“The kids played hard,” said Brantley. “They didn’t quit tonight or all year and I’m really proud of this bunch. I couldn’t be happier with the year we had. This is the first winning season Forest has had in eight or nine years, and we have a bunch of kids coming back and I’m already excited for next year.”
Forest had to punt on its opening possession and Vanguard drove down the field behind strong running from senior James Pullings. But the Wildcats forced a fumble and recovered the ball on its 3-yard line.
Vanguard forced another punt and took over at its 28. The Knights put together a nine-play, 72-yard drive as Lewis completed long passes to Kemohn Pinckney to move the ball inside the 10. On second down, Smith swept around left end and cruised into the end zone from 7 yards out. The extra point by Lazaro Abuin gave the Knights a 7-0 lead with 4:02 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Forest was backed up at its own nine when junior quarterback Caleb Sanford went back to pass in his own end zone and a holding penalty was called on the Wildcats, resulting in a safety to make it 9-0.
Forest had to punt and a good return by Vanguard senior Desean Freeman gave the Knights excellent field position at the Wildcats’ 32. Vanguard scored in three plays with Lewis tossing a 12-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Stanley Jacobs. Lewis completed 8 of 11 passes for 175 yards in his one half of play. The point after by Abuin gave the Knights a 16-0 lead with 9:43 remaining in the second quarter.
Forest answered with its best drive of the night as Sanford spread the ball around to several different receivers. Sanford was 17 of 31 passing for 198 yards. The drive stalled and senior Kevin Morales came on to boot a 27-yard field goal to pull the Wildcats within 16-3 midway through the second period.
Vanguard motored down the field and Abuin converted a 23-yard field goal on the last play of the half to make it 19-3.
The Knights fumbled the second half kickoff and Forest recovered at the Vanguard 30-yard line. Forest running back Keziyrehun Rivers, who gained 41 yards on 15 carries, moved the ball inside the 10, but the Knights defense stiffened and Morales kicked a 22-yard field goal to make it 19-6.
On consecutive possessions, Vanguard had long touchdown runs negated by penalties. With their signal-caller and leader on the sidelines, James Bethea took over at quarterback, and the Knights were content to run the ball and burn the clock.
In the fourth quarter, a number of punts were exchanged before Forest had a long pass play from Sanford to Grayson Yancey to move the ball across midfield. The Vanguard defense, which had five sacks on the night, forced several incomplete passes and took over on downs late in the fourth quarter.
The Knights sealed the win on homecoming and senior night with their ground game by picking up a pair of first downs to run out the clock. Vanguard is locked into a postseason berth as Class 4A-District 5 champions. The Knights will find out who they will play on Nov. 6 when the selections are announced.
“It’s win or go home in the playoffs,” coach Farmer said. “We’ve had a good regular season but that’s behind us and now it’s time to focus on getting better and be ready to play our best football.”
Forest has a chance to get into the Class 6A playoffs as an at-large team. The Wildcats will also find out on Nov. 6 whether they will play another game or if their season is over.
“There’s an outside chance we get to play another game,” Brantley said. “Regardless, it’s been a successful year, and the Forest alumni should be happy. I’ve really enjoyed my first year at Forest and can’t wait for next year.”
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