D.J. Haskell's kickoff return lifts East Forsyth past Winder-Barrow, 34-30
D.J. Haskell’s 95-yard kickoff return flipped East Forsyth’s fourth-quarter deficit into a 34-30 win over Winder-Barrow. The Broncos stayed unbeaten at 3-0.
D.J. Haskell turned one kickoff into the kind of play East Forsyth will talk about for a while. After the Broncos fell behind in the fourth quarter, Haskell raced 95 yards for a touchdown and East Forsyth held on for a 34-30 win over Winder-Barrow on Thursday night.
The return changed the rhythm of the game in an instant. East Forsyth had just lost the lead, but Haskell’s run swung it back and helped the Broncos finish the night with their third straight win. The result pushed East Forsyth to 3-0 and gave the program another early-season marker that it can answer when pressure rises late.
For a team still building its own identity, that response mattered as much as the final score. East Forsyth did not drift after giving up the lead in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Broncos answered with special teams speed and a play that broke the game open at exactly the right time. In a tight game against Winder-Barrow, that kind of immediate response can define how a team sees itself in September and beyond.
The win also carried extra weight for a program that is still young by Forsyth County standards. East Forsyth High School officially opened in August 2021 after Forsyth County Schools broke ground on the campus in May 2018. The Broncos nickname honors the former Bennett Park community, tying the school to the part of northeast Forsyth County it represents each week.
Brian Allison started the East Forsyth football program in 2021 after previous head-coaching stops at Union County and Winder-Barrow. By 2023, AccessWDUN reported that Allison had 161 career wins over a 28-year head-coaching career, and athletic director Matt Hollis said he was the right coach to launch the program. That background helps explain why a comeback like Thursday’s resonated so strongly: it was another sign that East Forsyth has moved beyond simply being new.
The matchup also fit into a larger regional picture. The Georgia High School Association’s 2025 alignments placed East Forsyth and Winder-Barrow in Region 8-5A along with Jefferson, Madison County, North Oconee and Flowery Branch. Even in a non-region setting, a win over a familiar regional opponent added to East Forsyth’s resume and kept the Broncos perfect as the season gained momentum.
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