Nov 1, 2009 By Jonathan Guth 3 min read

Arnold Walker and Jake Forsythe knew what they had to do to snap Laurel Highlands’ three-game winning streak in the cross-town rivalry, and they did not disappoint the home fans in Uniontown’s 40-22 win over Laurel Highlands. The victory gives Uniontown a second-place finish in the Keystone Conference and a home game, but perhaps more importantly, a win over the Mustangs.

Walker, a senior, was an integral part of the Red Raiders’ offense in last season’s 19-12 loss to Laurel Highlands, and he did not want the same thing to happen in his final season at Uniontown.

“This game was so important to me,” Walker said. “We were down at halftime, but if the defense held, I knew we would be fine. I really admire Mr. Fortugna. He is someone I look up to.”

Walker gained 211 yards on 25 carries, and scored two touchdowns. Forsythe, a junior, carried the ball 17 times for 154 yards, while scoring two touchdowns. The Red Raiders racked up 390 yards rushing, and all five of their touchdowns came on the ground.

Fred Johnson has been showing the ability as a returner, but got into the action with a 20-yard touchdown run.

“Jake’s a good back, and I wish him the best of luck in the future,” Walker said. “Fred is just a sophomore, and will do good things in the future.”

Forsythe has witnessed Walker’s evolution first hand, and is the first to credit the offensive line for the job it did against the Mustangs.

“I really owe my performance to the offensive line,” Forsythe said. “The credit goes to the big guys up front. The wide outs did a good job blocking for me and the other backs. Arnold is doing a terrific job, and all the backs look up to him.”

Uniontown will host a playoff game next week, and due to the lack of respect the Keystone Conference is given, it should be against a top-tier team.

The Red Raiders were a No. 1 seed in 2001 and played host to Highlands, but fell in the first round. Uniontown does not want to repeat that, however it will be a huge underdog when the matchups are announced Monday.

“It’s going to be a real hard game Friday,” Forsythe said. “It will be two good teams playing against each other.”

Even though it will be an underdog, the Red Raiders will gladly take a home game over traveling to Thomas Jefferson or Hopewell any day.

“I really want to run hard next week,” Walker said.