Forrest entertained Loretto in Friday night’s Homecoming game at the Murrey E. Holton Memorial Field in Chapel Hill where the Rockets easily took care of business in the Region 5-AA contest via a 41-7 blowout win over the Mustangs to remain undefeated on the season.

“It’s always great to get a Homecoming win, we came out ready to play and they didn’t let anything distract them,” Forrest coach Eli Stephenson said. “Homecoming week is always hectic around here, they came out focused, they are a mature team and they knew what to do.”

The seventh-ranked Rockets (5-0, 2-0) are one of only five undefeated teams in Class 2A and host a surprising Lawrence County squad this week in a non-conference matchup before travelling to Summertown next week for a huge region tilt with the Eagles.

“We are looking forward to a big 4A school coming in and we will be ready for them,” Stephenson said. “Another big crowd like this would be great for next week, it’s always good when the community comes out to support us and we thank them for it.”

Summertown (4-1, 1-0) knocked off the eighth-ranked Lewis County Panthers 21-14 at Hohenwald on Friday and host Loretto this week.

“Our goal is to win the region and get a home playoff game and we are one step closer to that right now,” Stephenson said.

Forrest’s potent ground attack was on display once again Friday night as the Rockets rushed for 369 yards in the contest with senior standout Nick McClendon leading the way with 121 yards on just 12 carries and three touchdowns.

Junior Hunter Pendley got five touches and made the most of them, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown while senior Cole Villazon had three carries for 48 yards and a score.

Rounding out the solid running game was Aiden Freeman with six carries for 44 yards, Blaize Sweeney had five touches for 32 yards, quarterback Max Kirby tucked it in three times for 29 yards, Joseph Whittaker had four carries for 18 yards, and Micah McClendon had two chances for four yards.

“Our backs this year know to follow us and we will take them get home and we know they will follow us and get home,” senior lineman Tate Garvin said.

Kirby continued his solid season behind center, going 4-for-6 for 50 yards, including a first quarter 29-yard touchdown toss to Spencer McCown.

Forrest scored a touchdown on its first five possessions of the game as McClendon scored on runs of six, 33, and 20 yards while Villazon went house from 52 yards out and McCown caught his first touchdown pass of the 2019 campaign.

“It was great to come out with a Homecoming win, there were a lot of distractions this week, but we came out with the ‘W’,” Villazon said. “When we were little we didn’t lose much and coming in this year we knew there were some things that had to be changed.”

“I think the big reason we are doing so well is the good leadership, the leadership that comes with the seniors, we know what to do and what not to do.”

McCown leads the Rockets in receiving on the year, averaging 21.3 yards per catch with 10 receptions for 213 yards.

While the Forrest offense was lighting up the scoreboard, the defense was stout, allowing a measly 81 yards of offense to the Mustangs.

“Our defense stone-cold them all night long,” Stephenson said. “We had great field position all night long and that says a lot to our defense, we held them to a lot of three-and-outs.”

“A shout out to our special teams, we have been working hard at that and they came out to play, so now we are winning at all three phases of the game.”

The Rockets controlled the line of scrimmage as they had the ball for 32 minutes while Loreto had just 12 minutes of offense in the game.

Both teams had one turnover apiece with Villazon coming up with second quarter interception for the Rockets.

Loretto had six offensive series in the first half with four ending with punts, one over on downs on a combined fourth-down sack by Nick McClendon and Sweeney, plus the Villazon pick.

“It was Homecoming, we had to come out and dominate from the first quarter to the fourth,” Garvin said. “We knew they were done for when we put it in twice and they didn’t answer.’

Zoe Long’s first goal attempt of the season was blocked at the end of the first half, but the 35-0 halftime lead led to a running clock for much of the second half.

Long was 5-for-6 on PAT attempts in the game and is 17-for-19 on the season.

Leading 35-0 at the half, Forrest added to the total as Nick McClendon returned the second half kickoff to the Lewis County 43-yard line and from there, the Rockets needed just five running plays to make it 41-0 as Pendley capped off the drive with a 1-yard plunge for the score.

With the Mercy Rule in effect, Lewis County had the ball just two times in the second half, punting on its first series before finally getting on the board on a Logan Fisher 9-yard run with three minutes left in the contest.

Forrest ran out the clock on the final possession of the game with the big play coming on a Pendley 29-yard run as Forrest drove to the Loretto 3-yard where they took a knee to end the contest.

The Rockets’ resurgence can be attributed to a return of the running game as they have rushed the ball 223 times for 1,884 yards (8.4 yards per carry) and 23 touchdowns, while fumbling the rock just one time.

Kirby has been efficient the entire season as the junior signal caller has completed 25-of-32 passes for 440 yards and two touchdowns with just one interception.

Chapel Hill has not started a season at 6-0 since the 2016 season when they won nine straight to start the season, won a school record 11 games, and went to the Class 2A state quarterfinals for the first time.

Loretto 0 0 0 7-7

Forrest 14 21 6 0-41

Scoring

First Quarter

Forrest-Nick McClendon 6-yard run, Zoe Long PAT, 8:04

Forrest-Spencer McCown 29-yard pass from Max Kirby, Zoe Long PAT, 3:08.

Second Quarter

Forrest-Cole Villazon 52-yard run, Zoe Long PAT, 11:12.

Forrest-Nick McClendon 33-yard run, Zoe Long PAT, 7:11.

Forrest-Nick McClendon 20-yrd run, Zoe Long PAT, 3:45.

Third Quarter

Forrest-Hunter Pendley 1-yard run, PAT blocked, 7:56.

Fourth Quarter

Loretto-Logan Fisher 9-yard run, Andy Juarez PAT, 3:00.

Total Offense: Loretto 81, Forrest 419.

Rushing: Loretto 53, Forrest 369.

Passing: Loretto 28, Forrest 50.

First Downs: Loretto 12, Forrest 21.

Turnovers: Loretto 2, Forrest 1.

Penalties: Loretto 6-60, Forrest 6-70.

Time of Possession: Loretto 12:00, Forrest 36:00.

Forrest Offense

Rushing: Nick McClendon 12-121-3TD, Hunter Pendley 5-73-TD, Cole Villazon 3-48-TD, Aiden Freeman 6-44, Blaize Sweeney 5-32, Max Kirby 3-29, Joseph Whittaker 4-18, Micah McClendon 2-4, Tayton Swift 3-0.

Passing: Max Kirby 4-6-50-TD, Tayton Swift 0-0-0-0.

Receiving: Spencer McCown 1-29-TD, Cole Villazon 2-12, Charlie Edmonson 1-9.

Kicking

PAT: Zoe Long 4-5.

FG: Zoe Long 0-1.

Defense

Tackles: Noah Hill 10 (SACK), Nick McClendon 9 (.5 SACK), Tate Garvin 8 (SACK), Blaize Sweeney 7, Joel Burton 7 (1.5 SACKS), Max Kirby 7, Sammy Williams 6, Cole Villazon 5, Spencer McCown 3.

Region 5-AA Standings

Forrest 5-0, 2-0

Summertown 4-1, 1-0

Eagleville 4-1, 1-1

Lewis County 3-1, 1-1

Loretto 2-2, 0-1

Community 1-4, 0-2