The Forrest Rockets, coming off two straight wins in which they scored a combined 68 points, managed just three points versus a tough Eagleville defense that made 10 offensive points stand up Friday night in a 10-7 win in Chapel Hill, marking their fourth consecutive win over the Rockets.

"They are a 2A team, so we might see them down the road," said Forrest head coach Brian Coleman. "They had beaten us three years in a row and it was going to take a lot of effort to beat them. They are a well-coached football team and we knew it was going to be a struggle."

Hale makes splash

It was a rainy night at "The Rock", making it perfect conditions for the Eagles' standout running back Chris Hale, who grinded out 94 tough yards on 22 carries in the contest, improving his career total to 3,176 yards.

Hale scored on a 21-yard touchdown scamper on the opening possession of the game before coming up with an interception inside the Eagleville 15-yard line, spoiling the Rockets' initial possession of the game.

"Chris is just a good football player, he is a team player," said Eagleville head coach Steve Carson. "He was a little banged up late tonight and he had to suck it up and he did. We are just glad he is on our team."

Four plays after the Hale interception the first quarter ended with Eagleville possessing the pigskin and a 7-0 lead.

Points were rare

The Eagles threatened, but the Forrest defense held, stopping the visitors' drive at the FHS 36-yard line.

Both squads went three-and-out on subsequent possessions leading up to a decent Forrest drive, but no points.

The first half ended with the Rockets holding a goose egg and the second half began with punts by both squads.

The Rockets turned up the dial on the ground game on their next drive that began at their own 11-yard line as Tyler McClendon sparked the offense with some hard-nosed runs, including a huge 29-yard bruising effort that put the ball on the Eagleville 37-yard line.

Twenty yards later, Eagleville called timeout with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter, but Zach McClendon ruined the defensive plan for Eagleville when he bulled his way to a first down at the 12.

Field goal

A false start pushed Forrest back and after three plays that did not result in a first down, Chris Haggard made it a 7-3 ballgame, splitting the goalposts on a 33-yard field goal with 41.5 seconds left in the third quarter.

Both teams had to punt on their next touches before the Eagles took over in Forrest territory with 9:40 remaining in the game after Coleman opted not to go on fourth down and one at the FHS 18-yard line.

After a poor punt gave Eagleville the ball at the FHS 43-yard line, five runs by Hale and two by Thomas Carter gave the Eagles a chance to open up a touchdown lead when they drove to the Forrest 21-yard line.

Kicker Luke Duross delivered on a 31-yard FG that went right down the middle, making it a 10-3 ballgame with 6:02 remaining.

Fever pitch

Forrest had their backs against the wall, trying to move down the field for a score and with 4:04 left, Weston Vallance picked off Thaddeus Reyes at the FHS 38-yard line.

Eagleville was content to keep the ball on the ground and wind the clock, forcing Coleman to burn all three timeouts before the Rockets finally got the ball back with 1:52 left in the game.

There would be no comeback for the home team as Forrest could not mount any aerial attack and the game ended.

Forrest dropped to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in District 9A, while the Eagles improved to 4-1 and first place in league play with a 2-0 record.

Forrest praised

"Both teams were physical and both teams played well, but we were able to get that early score and that was the difference in the game," said Carson. "It's nice to be 2-0 in the league, but there is a lot of football left to play and Forrest is going to be right there in it. They are a really good football team that is physical, well-coached and they are going to win a bunch of games."

Tyler McClendon ended up with 106 yards on 17 carries for Forrest, while Zach McClendon had 24 yards rushing, Jacob Daughrity managed just 6 yards on a bad wheel, Reyes had 3 yards, and Brandon Anderson had a single yard on two carries.

Reyes' only completed pass in five attempts was a five-yard toss to Daughrity.

The Rockets travel to Page (1-3) on Friday, while the Eagles host namesakes Grace Baptist Academy (1-3).

"Big game next week versus Page, they throw the ball a lot and we are going to have to go over there prepared for it," said Coleman.