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ELLAVILLE – The 2022 Schley County High School Football Team is coming off a season in which it went all the way to the state finals before losing to Bowdon 39-31 in the state championship game. To make it that far, a team must have talent and the Wildcats certainly had the talent. On Thursday morning, March 23, in front of teammates, family members, coaches and friends gathered in the media center at Schley County High School, two of the Wildcats that made up that talent, Demarkis Clark and Luke Forehand, officially signed letters of intent to continue their education and play at the next level.

Clark, a middle linebacker on the Wildcats’ squad, is headed to Thomas University in Thomasville, GA. The school will be playing football for the first time ever this fall. As for Luke Forehand, he is headed to Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, KS as a preferred walk-on tight end/H back for a year before transferring to Kansas State for his final three years.

Both Clark and Forehand had stellar individual seasons for the Wildcats in 2022. As a running back on offense, Clark rushed for 28 yards on six carries and scored one rushing touchdown in a limited role. Defense, however, is where Clark really shined. As a senior middle linebacker in the SCHS defensive backfield, Clark amassed 35 solo tackles and 35 assisted tackles for a total of 70 tackles on the season. He also had 2.5 sacks for a loss of 12 yards and had three hurries on the season.

Clark was recruited by small schools such as Midway University in Midway, KY, but decided on being a part of the start up program at Thomas University. He plans to major in Business and would like to get his barber’s license and open up a barbershop after graduation. As far as what his fondest memory is of being a Wildcat at Schley County High School, Clark said that his performance in the game against Manchester this past season was the highlight of his career and his most favorite memory. “That was probably my greatest memory because, like, before I went out there, I wasn’t even a starter,” Clark said. “It was, like, going out there and doing what I did, it really put me in the position where I am now.” In that game, which ended up being a 28-6 win for the Wildcats, Clark had six solo tackles and nine assisted tackles for a team-leading total of 15 tackles.

Luke Forehand, who played outside linebacker and tight end for the Wildcats, signed his letter of intent to be a preferred walk-on tight end and H back at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, KS. A preferred walk-on means that the player’s spot on the roster is guaranteed, but there is not a scholarship for the player at his particular position. However, Forehand says that he has been told that an available scholarship will show up later on in the season. After one year at Hutchinson CC, Forehand says he would like to head up the road to Manhattan, KS to join the Kansas State football team and compete for the KSU Wildcats for the remainder of his college career.

As a Schley County Wildcat, Forehand caught five passes for 50 yards and scored two touchdowns in 2022, but on the defensive side of the ball as an outside linebacker, he recorded 44 solo tackles and 52 assisted tackles for a total of 96 tackles on the season. Forehand also recorded seven sacks on the season for a total loss of 54 yards and he had nine hurries.

Forehand garnered interest from schools such as Florida State, Tennessee and NC State and Georgia Southern showed a lot of interest as well. Forehand also visited both Kansas State and Thomas University, where Demarkis Clark is headed, but in the end, he decided that after one year at Hutchinson, he would head over to Manhattan to compete for the Kansas State Wildcats. “They (KSU) were too full this year to take on any 23s (high school seniors), so they told me, ‘Hey, lets go to a JUCO for a year and we will talk to you next year,” Forehand said. “So that’s the plan as of right now: go there for a year and transfer out to K State next year.”

Forehand is not sure what he will major in at this time, but stated that after college, he would like to be an airplane pilot. As far as what his favorite memory about attending Schley County is, Forehand stated that without a doubt, getting to the state championship game was his fondest memory. “We may not have pulled it out and come out on top, but it was most definitely one to remember. It was a good year to play for the Wildcats,” Forehand said.