Forestview Reaches Another Milestone

                 Playoffs? Been there! Second round? Been there too! How about winning over ten games? Not until tonight! Coming in with a 10-2 record the Jaguars hoped to set a new record by getting their eleventh win. They did exactly that in their 37-13 victory over Pisgah. Not only did they manage that but Moe Neal became the first Forestview running back to surpass over 2,000 yards in a single season. The Jaguars also play on the Thanksgiving weekend for two consecutive years.

                The Jaguars got things started with a one-yard plunge by defensive tackle/fullback Tate Payne. Trey Heavener’s extra point made it 7-0. The Black Bears would answer that score with a touchdown of their own. Quarterback Lucas Hall’s three yard touchdown run and Mason Fox’s extra point tied the game up.

                An interception by Caleb Mills put Forestview back in business after being stopped on their previous possession. Moe Neal got on the board with a 29-yard touchdown run. The kick was blocked, however. Another interception in the first half, this time by Montavis Rogers, put Forestview in very god field position. But mistakes and penalties backed them up and they ended up having to punt it back to Pisgah.

                Unable to punch it in the end-zone, the Black Bears settled for a 27 yard field-goal by Mason Fox. The score was 13-10 at half-time. The Black Bears would turn it over one more time before this was over. It was on their first drive in the second half. Josh Freeman tipped a pass from Hall and intercepted it. He returned the interception to the 13-yard line. Neal did the rest with the 13-yard touchdown run on the next play. Heavener’s kick gave Forestview the 20-10 advantage.

                Pisgah did manage a long drive that chewed up plenty of clock in the third quarter. The drive went into the fourth quarter, but stalled inside the Forestview ten-yard line. The Black Bears settled for another Fox field-goal. This time it was from 24 yards out.

                With the Black Bears closing in, the Jaguars knew they had to make something happen. And they did! They were backed up on their own 17-yard line. Quarterback John Crawford threw a pass to Caleb Mills near midfield and he took it all the way to five-yard line. The Jaguars were stopped on third down so they settled for a 31-yard field-goal by Trey Heavener. That gave Forestview a 23-13 lead with less than seven minutes to go.

                Time was running out on Pisgah. On fourth-and-six at midfield, Lucas Hall’s pass intended for Joseph Inman fell incomplete. On the ensuing play, Moe Neal gashed through the Bears’ defense for a 50-yard touchdown run. Heavener’s kick made it a three-possession game. Forestview would add another touchdown late when linebacker/fullback Jaylen McCree rumbled in from the seven-yard line, dodging what looked like the entire Pisgah defense.

                That was all she wrote!

                “We knew coming in we would be outmanned so we had to get physical with them early.” said Bears head coach Brett Chappell “We had Moe Neal bottled up for most of the night, but he broke our backs (with the 50-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter).”

                “We took our shots early.” Chappell said of his team’s interceptions early in the game “But it did not kill us. Our defense came up big.”

                “Eleven wins, first time ever.” said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin “Playing on Thanksgiving two years in a row and first time having a (Forestview) running-back rush for 2,000 yards. A lot of firsts these past two years. I think the only thing that's left is to win a championship.”

                “Lights out!” Medlin said of the defense “They have only given up 13 points a game since the end of the regular season.”

               Moe Neal finished the night with 131 yards and three touchdowns and has 2,028 yards on the season. John Crawford passed for 133 yards. All them went to Caleb Mills.

                Forestview will travel to play former Big South openent, Crest, next week.