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Game moved to Thursday; kickoff set for 7 p.m.

By Jay Spivey
For the Clemmons Courier


Last Friday’s 58-0 rout against winless Parkland at Jerry Peoples Stadium allowed West Forsyth a chance to celebrate after the game, as well as the weekend, following its first win of the season.
However, the new week means it’s time to get back to business for West (1-4, 1-1) as it prepares to play at Glenn (2-3, 1-1) in a Central Piedmont 4-A game. But things became a little more complicated after the announcement Monday morning that the game was moved to 7 p.m. on Thursday because of the forecast for heavy rain and wind from the remnants of Hurricane Ian, which is expected to trek through North Carolina all weekend.
Coach Adrian Snow went to see former Titan K.J. Henry, who now plays for Clemson, play against Wake Forest Saturday. Then Snow said it was back to business.
“After that, we’ve got to get ready for the Bobcats,” Snow said. “I’ll be there for K.J. And then after that game, I’ll get home and try to figure it out.”
The Titans finished with 418 total yards, including 257 rushing on 28 carries and held Parkland (0-5, 0-2) to 43 total yards.
Running back Caman Chaplin, led West Forsyth with 132 yards rushing on 11 carries and added two touchdowns. Quarterback Bert Rice completed 9 of 10 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns.
“Everyone was hyped,” Chaplin said. “Whenever there was a big play, we would get hyped. It was just fun. The team did their thing and whenever they did big plays we just got hyped and had fun.”
On the opposite extreme, Glenn led Reagan (3-2, 1-1) by 12 points with 5 1/2 minutes remaining last week, but Reagan came back to win 28-26.
“We can’t lose that game,” Coach Antwon Stevenson of Glenn said. “That’s on me, man. It’s not on the kids. Kids played their butts off. Just got to find a way to get them off the field and find a way to win.”
Glenn defeated West Forsyth 22-12 last year in Clemmons. The teams didn’t play during the spring season in 2021 because of COVID-19. In 2019, West Forsyth won 34-7 in Kernersville, and in 2018, West Forsyth won 30-13 in Clemmons.
“I think it’s a belief thing,” Stevenson said. “You go for a while and you don’t beat a team. It’s just like playing East (Forsyth) for a few years. Kids didn’t really think we could win, we could beat them. I think, the same thing with West.
“It’s one of those things where I felt we were where Parkland is at one point in time about six or seven years ago. We were there. We were that team.”
Although the history between the two teams in minimal because both teams were in different conferences until 2017, the biggest game in the series was in 2017 in Kernersville in the final game of the regular season. Both teams were 10-0 and were playing for the Central Piedmont 4-A championship. West Forsyth won 17-14 to win the conference championship.
“Coach (Stevenson) does a great job with those guys,” Snow said. “They’ll be ready to play. We’ll be ready to play. They’ve got some good athletes and they’re talented.”
As for Glenn’s game at Reagan last week, running back Brandon Sutton went down with cramps. Quarterback A’Mario McClure injured his non-throwing shoulder and, according to Stevenson, will be out the next 3-4 weeks. He was replaced by freshman Jerrell Crawford.
“You know what, it’s funny because I started with Stephon (Brown). And then I had that one year where I didn’t really have what I would say is a top-tier quarterback, nothing against the guy that was there,” Stevenson said.
“And then I had Cam(den) Coleman. So now this is just, (Crawford’s) just the next guy. Unfortunately, I have to throw him into the mix right now. He’s a composed kid.”
No matter who’s on the field Thursday night at Marty Stanley Stadium, this new rivalry will continue to flourish.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Chaplin said. “But if we come out and do what we’ve been doing, get better, we should come out with a W.”