Football Game Preview: Forest Bearcats vs. Morton Panthers + How To Watch

The Forest Bearcats will take on the Morton Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

On Friday, everything came up roses for Forest against Richland as the team secured a 41-3 victory. Considering the Bearcats have won five contests by more than 21 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Forest's defense and their five sacks. Leading the way was Shamar Evans with two. Gregory Keeton was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 13 total tackles (6.0 for loss).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Morton). They took their game on Thursday with ease, bagging a 73-28 win over Raymond. The Panthers have beaten the Rangers the last five times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Rangers has come to flipping the script.

Morton's win came from a few key players Forest will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Dakota Martin, who rushed for 105 yards and one touchdown. Those 105 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Avonte Reese, who picked up 69 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.

Morton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Dolph Mcdonald and Davarius McDonald. Mcdonald got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Morton's victory bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Forest, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.

Forest took their victory against Morton when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 28-3 score. Will the Bearcats repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.