Riverside booted from playoffs

The pain and disappointment from the last second loss in 2011 at Decatur County Riverside is just a distant memory now as the Forrest Rockets exacted their revenge in a pressure packed 23-20 come from behind win over the Panthers in Friday night's opening round of the TSSAA Class 2A playoffs at "The Rock" in Chapel Hill.

"We showed a lot of mental toughness and pride tonight," said Forrest head coach Brian Coleman. "There was just unbelievable fan support tonight, everybody was excited and I hope the boys did Chapel Hill proud tonight because the pride of this team is they fight for four quarters, every game."

Field goals do job

A trio of second half field goals by Forrest's Chris Haggard, including the deciding 37-yard field goal with 3:31 remaining in the game was the difference in the contest for the Rockets, who fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter before staging a furious comeback.

"Chris Haggard had one heck of a game tonight," said Coleman. "He's been key for us all year and has been consistent, so I am proud of him because it takes a lot of guts to stand in there and make that field goal."

The Panthers scored on the first possession of the game via a Luke Ward 18-yard TD pass to C.J. McElrath, and after the Rockets fumbled on first down, Ward made it a 14-0 contest on a one-yard touchdown run.

Ward, who tossed the Hail Mary pass that beat Forrest in that fateful 2011 quarterfinal, had a big game versus the Rockets again, throwing for 149 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing the ball 25 times for 130 yards and one score.

Game-changer

With Riverside up by two scores, the complexion of the game changed dramatically on a big fourth down stop by the Rockets with 8:03 left in the first half.

Buoyed by the defensive stand, the Rockets would score twice before the first half ended with both scores coming on fourth down plays, beginning with a Thaddeus Reyes 11-yard TD pass to Jacob Daughrity that capped off a six-play drive with 4:58 remaining in the second quarter.

After another defensive stop by Forrest, the Rockets marched 57 yards on 10 plays before Tyler McClendon bulled his way into the end zone on fourth and goal from the one-yard line with 6.6 ticks left in the first half.

Haggard's extra point boot tied the game at 14.

First Rocket lead

Riverside's defense stopped the Rockets to begin the second half, but four plays later, Zach McClendon sacked Ward on a fourth down and four at the Panthers' 44-yard line.

Forrest drove to the Riverside 15-yard before Haggard put the Rockets in front for the first time in the game when he drilled a 27-field goal with 5:30 remaining in the third quarter.

The Forrest defense responded, stopping Riverside on a three-and-out to force a punt.

Backed up at their own eight-yard line after a special team's penalty, Forrest began to pound the rock, running the ball 11 consecutive times, including a huge 44-yard scamper by Austin Harmon.

The drive stalled at the Riverside 12-yard line and the Rockets settled for another Haggard 27-yard field goal to open up a 20-14 lead with 10:58 left in the contest.

Back to a tie

Ward and the Panthers were not done yet as they marched 60 yards to the Forrest five-yard line, where Ward found McElrath again for a touchdown, re-knotting the contest at 20.

In a sign of good fortunes to come, Giovanni Jimenez' extra point try clanked off the crossbar and the game remained even with 8:58 left in the season for one of the two teams.

Harmon returned the ensuing kickoff to the Forrest 40-line where the Rockets continued to run the football.

The Rockets marched forward when Harmon converted a three-down play, but moments later, Forrest faced a fourth down and two at the Riverside 33-yard line.

Reyes' hard count drew the Panthers off side to keep the drive alive before runs by Tyler McClendon and Harmon moved the ball to Riverside 21-yard line where the visitors called timeout with 4:27 remaining in the game.

Winning kick

Moments later, a third down pass fell incomplete and Haggard came on for the biggest kick of his career.

The senior standout did not disappoint the Chapel Hill faithful, line-driving the 37-yard attempt through the middle of the uprights, lifting the Rockets to a 23-20 lead with 3:31 left in the contest.

"It was unbelievable, I can't explain the feeling, I am just glad to be moving on and I don't want it to end," said Haggard. "I knew the kick was definitely in my range, I practice kicking every day, so I just did what I did and kicked the ball like I usually do and it went through."

On the next play from scrimmage, Tyler McClendon picked off Ward and the Rockets took over at the Riverside 40-yard line.

Final moments

Forrest ran the ball three straight times, forcing Riverside to use all of their remaining timeouts before Haggard nailed a perfect punt, pinning the Panthers back at their own five-yard line.

It was deja vu all over again as Ward went to work, moving the Panthers with a run and pass mix down to the Rockets' 24-yard line before an incomplete pass stopped the clock with 27.3 seconds left in the game.

Boone Sweeney broke through the Riverside line on the next snap, sacking Ward at the 27-yard line as the clock ran out with Ward spiking the football.

One second was put back on the timer, setting up a last gasp play for the Panthers.

Ward dropped back and threw the ball to McElrath heading to left pylon in the back of the end zone, but the pass sailed over his head, ending the game and sending the Rockets (8-3) to Adamsville (8-2) for a second round matchup with the Cardinals on Friday night in a first ever meeting between the two squads.

Stats

Tyler McClendon rushed for 96 yards on 21 carries, leading the Rockets in the ground game that amassed 310 yards.

Harmon finished with 77 yards on seven carries, Jacob Daughrity ran for 75 yards and had the one TD reception for 11 yards, while Brandon Anderson ran for 25 yards, and Zach McClendon netted 19 yards.

Reyes rushed for 18 yards and completed two out of four passes for 23 yards.

Slayton Wild had one catch for 12 yards for Forrest.