Forestview comes alive in the second half, clinches title outright

                It took Forestview until the second half to really get going. But once they did, East Gaston simply had no answers. John Crawford’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sanders was Forestview’s only score in the first half. East Gaston had a chance to tie it up before half-time, but fumbled at the five-yard line.

                In the second half, the Jaguars went right to work. Crawford capped off the opening drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Mills.  Trey Heavener’s kick made it 14-0. The Jaguars extended the lead to 21-0 with another Crawford pass. This time, it was a seven yard touchdown pass to Moe Neal.

                The Jaguars would put the game away in the fourth quarter with a five-yard touchdown run by Moe Neal. Heavener’s kick made it 28-0. Backup quarterback Colton Guthrie punched one more in from the one-yard line. The extra point was blocked.

                The Jaguars also won the turnover battle 4-1. The Jaguars forced two fumbles in the first half and snagged two interceptions in the closing minutes. East Gaston had an interception late in the first half.

                Moe Neal led Forestview with 145 yards rushing, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. Crawford accounted for 118 total yards (80 passing and 38 rushing) and three touchdowns. Alex Adams led East Gaston with 104 yards passing.

                The Jaguars clinch their first ever outright conference title. The Jaguars also pitch their first home conference shutout since 2008, when they beat North Gaston 45-0.

                “I’m tickled to death. We have a great group of kids.” Said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin “We got great guys on offense and defense. We lost lots of great players from last year’s team. We set some expectations and this group is buying in.”

                Prior to this game, Forestview went three out of four games without allowing a touchdown in the first half. Though they were down 6-0 to Ashbrook before escaping with a 48-22 win. They were up 14-6 on Huss at half-time allowing only two field-goals before pulling away 36-12. In their matchup with North Gaston, they were up 21-3 at half-time. They won 42-17.

                “Defense was lights out. 34-0 to nothing against a darn good football team.” Medlin said “East Gaston did a good job and they played hard (against us).”

                “Moe Neal is good.” Said East Gaston head coach Sean Joyce “I felt in the first half we did a great job defensively to give us a good chance.”

                “At half-time, it should have been 7-7. We hit a pass and we fumbled at the five-yard line. We tell the kids to continue to fight and don’t look at the scoreboard to determine your efforts.”

                “Getting into the playoffs is big.” Joyce added “We get to have another week. This group can be dangerous. They have been tight, believe in each other and is the best group I have been a part of.”

                Both teams will find out who they will play next Friday, later on today when the playoff brackets come out.