Rockets face tough schedule, focused on one opponent at a time

By Anthony S. Puca ~ Sports Writer
Posted 8/16/21

After great spring practice and a successful Lift-A-Thon, the Forrest Rockets have continued to work hard during the summer and the first couple weeks of school as they prepare for the 2021 campaign …

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Rockets face tough schedule, focused on one opponent at a time

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After great spring practice and a successful Lift-A-Thon, the Forrest Rockets have continued to work hard during the summer and the first couple weeks of school as they prepare for the 2021 campaign that kicks off Friday night at archrival Eagleville. 

“We will worry about Eagleville in Week 1, right now we are focused on ourselves and we are just trying to get better every day,” said fourth-year Forrest head coach Eli Stephenson. “Our kids come to work every day, our attendance is excellent, and they come in with a great attitude and get better every day.” 

“That first spring practice wasn’t very good, but we got better every day and the kids are really starting to get there, we just want to peak at the right time.” 

Stephenson sports a 24-12 overall record, a 12-4 region record, 3-3 in the postseason, and one region title in in 2019.   

Road warriors   

Usually the home field is an advantage, but that is not the case in this rivalry as the Rockets hold a 6-4 road record and the Eagles have won five-out-of-nine at Chapel Hill since 2003.   

Forrest has claimed three straight double digit wins over the Eagles, who dropped down to Class A this season.  

“It’s always a close game over there, we can’t score on them, they can’t score on us, it’s a defensive battle year in and year out,” Stephenson said. “We love playing those games, it’s a rivalry game for us and its always special playing Eagleville.” 

Battle of the North and South renewed 

In a 2021 schedule full of rivalry games, maybe the biggest of all is the Week 2 home opener versus intra-county rival Cornersville. 

The Rockets have won the last 13 Battles of the North and the South, including a 49-14 win in the last meeting in 2014 at the Murrey E. Holton Memorial Field in Chapel Hill. 

“We are really looking forward to playing them, we haven’t played them in a while,” Stephenson said. “Coach (Gerard) Randolph does a great job with them, they are always physical, fundamentally sound, and they really get after it.” 

“That is what we try to do around here, we have about the same philosophy and that will be a big game for both of us and I hope the crowd is really big.”     

The Bulldogs last win in the series came in 1996 in a 13-7 victory at Frog Bottom. 

In Week 3, Forrest opens up Region 5-AA play when they host the Loretto Mustangs, who have lost all four region meetings with Chapel Hill since 2017.  

“Loretto was young last year, they have a lot of returning players and they always have some good athletes,” Stephenson said. “They will be a lot better this year and that will be a good region game to open up with.” 

Things don’t get any easier in Week 4 as Forrest travels to Lynchburg in what may be the longest lasting rivalry of all for the Rockets as these games date back to near the turn of the 20th Century. 

Forrest has won six straight over a Moore County squad that spent a couple years near the .500 mark before busting out to an 11-2 record last season with their only two losses coming against eventual Class A state champion Fayetteville, including a 38-29 loss in the state tournament quarterfinals. 

“Moore County is a solid ballclub, coach (Kris) White has done a great job, they are fundamentally sound and physical,” Stephenson said. “It’s always tough going over there down in that hole, but we are looking forward to it and it will be a good game for us.”   

Homecoming versus the Eagles 

Region 5-AA foe Summertown travels to Forrest for homecoming in Week 5 as the Eagles will try to break an all-time four-game stranglehold by the Rockets, including a Covid-19 forfeit last season and seven point losses in 2018 and 2019. 

“It’s become a pretty nasty rivalry, I think it comes from all those years of playing baseball and basketball,” Stephenson said. “They are a tough team to play, they have great athletes, they are country kids, and they play hard from the first whistle to the last whistle.” 

Forrest has a couple of all-time thorns in the side, one being Waverly and the other the Marion County Warriors, who will host the Rockets in Week 6. 

It will be the longest road trip of the regular season for Forrest when they travel to Jasper in an attempt to break a 0-3 record versus a Marion County squad that knocked the Rockets out of the playoffs with wins at Chapel Hill in 2009, 2015, and 2016. 

“I look for one long trip a year in case you have to go a long way for the playoffs,” Stephenson said. “It’s going to build our team, win or lose.” 

“We saw them in the passing league and they have some good looking cats playing.” 

The Rockets stay on the road in Week 7, travelling to Wartrace for another heated rivalry contest with the Champions, who knocked off Forrest 17-14 at Chapel Hill last season to break a six-game losing streak over the blue and white. 

TSSAA realignment has the Champions back in the same region with Forrest after spending four years in Region 4-AA. 

“Cascade got us last year, that was a tough one, and we let that get away from us,” Stephenson said. “It’s been a rivalry in the past, coach (Jake) Tyre has built them back up, so we just have to play our game and we will be alright.”     

Week 8 brings some rest for the Rockets as they get the week off from a game night before hitting the road again in a Week 9 region matchup at Richland. 

Forrest has not played the Raiders since 2010 when they won 35-0 at Chapel Hill and the Rockets sport a 4-2 over the Giles County school since 2003. 

“We have not played them a long time in the regular season, but coach (Nick) Patterson is building a good program and he is building it the right way,” Stephenson said. 

Last two games at home

Another longtime foe comes to town in Week 10 as the East Robertson Eagles make the long trek from Cross Plains in an attempt to bust a five-game Forrest winning streak, including a 10-0 opening season loss last year in the rain at “The Rock”. 

“I’m glad they have to come here again,” Stephenson said. “They have the Taylor Groves kid too and they are going to be athletic, so we just have to play our style of football.” 

Groves, who recently recommitted from Michigan, is one of the top 10 football prospects in Tennessee according to the 247Sports Composite. 

Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Virginia Tech. Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina are all now in the running to sign the four-star athlete. 

Groves had a huge sophomore season in 2019, compiling 57 tackles and seven interceptions on defense and had 49 catches for 739 yards and five TDs on offense. He suffered a minor knee injury last season and played in only seven games for the Eagles. 

The colorful regular season schedule ends in style as the Mt. Pleasant Tigers come to town for the first region game between the two programs since 2004. 

The Tigers have won four out of the last six meetings versus Forrest since 2003, including the last four in a row and playoff wins in 2006 and 2012 at Mt. Pleasant.  

“Mount Pleasant always has great athletes, we just have to keep them in front of us,” Stephenson said. “That’s the key to that game.” 

After a 6-4 regular season record in 2020, look for the Rockets to improve to 8-2 and make a strong playoff run.