By Marc Pruitt
For the Clemmons Courier

West Forsyth and East Forsyth closed another chapter in their spirited rivalry Friday night at Jerry Peoples Stadium in the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference opener for both teams.

The Titans gave the Eagles, who entered the game unbeaten and averaging 48 points per game, all they could handle before ultimately coming up short in a 16-10 loss.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for West, which fell 4-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

“It really just came down to a few plays here or there,” Coach Adrian Snow of West Forsyth said. “All I asked them to do tonight was fight. When we went to Oscar Smith (Virginia in the second week of the season) we fought. And I felt like tonight we did the same thing. (East) has been averaging a whole lot of points every week and our defense held them down tonight. They are getting better every week. And on offense, we just need to find one or two more guys who can make a play here or there.”

G’mone Wilson was the workhorse on offense, finishing with 96 hard-earned yards on 30 carries.

Jalen Ferguson connected with Trae Archie on a 14-yard touchdown pass that gave the Titans an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but those were the last points they could manage until late in the fourth quarter.

West led 7-3 in the second quarter and pinned East deep in its territory after a pooch punt by Shane Jarvis gave the Eagles the ball at their 4-yard line with 6:17 left.

But the Eagles mounted a 10-play drive that was capped by a 51-yard touchdown pass from Ty’Shaun Lyles to Micah Crowell. Andrew Conrad’s extra point gave East a 10-7 lead with 1:59 left in the half.

The Eagles had another shot to put some points on the board right before halftime, but Conrad’s 21-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

East extended its lead to 16-7 in the fourth quarter after capitalizing on a turnover. Ajani Jones intercepted a third-and-13 pass attempt by Jarvis at midfield and returned the ball to the West 18. Three plays later, Ronald Jackson scored on a 8-yard run with 7:19 left.

“You know when we play West, it’s always a field position game,” Coach Todd Willert of East Forsyth said. “Yes, we made our mistakes, but that was because of what they were doing. West is a lot better team than people think, and they showed that tonight. It’s smashmouth (football) when you get us two together.”

The Titans answered with a 17-play drive that resulted in a 23-yard field goal by Kaplan with 2:16 left.

On the ensuing kickoff, Kaplan attempted an onside kick that appeared to be recovered by Juwan Handy before the ball squirted through his hands and was recovered by East.

The Titans defense held firm on the Eagles, who started their final drive at their 42 with 2:14 left. West forced a punt and regained possession at its 19 with 55.7 seconds left and no timeouts, but Ferguson was sacked on the first two plays before time ran out.

“We were able to put together a few long drives, and those are always good, because the other team can’t score without the ball” Snow said. “And we had our chances. We lost to a good football team, and I’m proud of our kids and I was proud of our effort. We fought. There’s something to be said for that.”

West will travel to Davie County (3-4, 0-1 CPC) next Friday to take on the War Eagles, who lost to Reynolds 28-10 in their conference opener Friday night.

East Forsyth     0    10      0       6  —  16

West Forsyth   7      0       0       3  — 10

WF–Archie 14 pass from Ferguson (Kaplan kick)

EF—Conrad 26 FG

EF–Crowell 51 pass from Lyles (Conrad kick)

EF—Jackson 8 run (kick missed)

WF—Kaplan 24 FG