Second-half surge sends Foreman past MP

MOUNTAIN PINE — For the second time in as many weeks, Mountain Pine was battered in the second half by a Class 2A contender Thursday night at Stanley May Field.

Outscored 28-8 in the second half of a 49-22 loss at Mount Ida, the Red Devils surrendered 29 second-half points to Foreman in a 49-21 defeat.

“We didn’t travel well this week and were real sluggish in the first half, but we finally woke up in the second half,” Foreman coach Mark King said. “We just calmed down and started playing our style of football. We played fast and played physical, and it showed.”

The Gators set the tone for the rest of the game with a four-play, 41yard drive to open the third quarter. Kyren Batey’s 11-yard touchdown run stretched Foreman’s lead to 27-14 and the rout was on.

Mountain Pine mishandled an exchange on its ensuing drive and Foreman’s Isaac Carver found CJ Green for a 37-yard touchdown three plays later.

Green later rumbled for a 27-yard score with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter as the Gators entered the final frame up 41-14.

“The exchange was bad; we tried to pick it up and run with it instead of falling on it, and the game just got out of hand from there,” Mountain Pine coach Sam Counce said. “They threw it across the middle and we didn’t turn our eyes back to the guy coming across. We just blew some coverages and they took advantage of it.”

Green’s 44-yard touchdown followed by Batey’s two-point conversion enacted the mercy rule and running clock with Foreman leading 49-14 early in the fourth quarter. Green finished with 163 rushing yards while Batey chipped in with 61.

Mountain Pine set the final margin on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Collin Smith to Kason Porter with less than a minute to play.

“They have a lot of speed and we couldn’t get out on the corner with them,” said Counce. “We got caught up inside with our linebackers and they just outran us on the corners.”

Mountain Pine ran 16 plays on the game’s first possession, reaching the two-yard line before coming away empty-handed after a goal-line stand by the Gators.

Foreman’s fumble two plays later gave the Red Devils a second chance, and Fay Haywood broke loose for a nine-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter.

The Gators knotted the score on their ensuing drive with a 43-yard score from Green, setting the stage for a back-and-forth first half.

“They were kind of loading the box and trying to get to the mesh point, and when we would pitch it and get to the edge, they didn’t have any run support,” King said. “We’ve had that all year long. This is the second game all year where we’ve had to play four quarters. Mountain Pine, they play hard and they get after you; they made us play for four quarters.”

A 63-yard touchdown run by Corey Lovewell stretched Foreman’s lead to

13-6 at the end of the opening period, but the Red Devils refused to back down.

After Lovewell’s one-yard plunge early in the second quarter, Smith connected with Josh Walpole for a fouryard touchdown on fourth down and goal while the Red Devil defense made three stops inside the four to pull within 20-14 at the half.

“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t been in these situations and I’m not sure that the kids understand how important it is to focus up and get things right,” said Counce. “I think sometimes the lack of experience in these situations hurts us.”

Smith completed eight of 11 pass attempts for 61 yards, Walpole with five catches for 37 yards. Haywood was held to a season-low 73 yards on

15 carries.

“We knew he was going to be the bell cow and he’s the guy they go to, and rightfully so, he’s a great player,” King said. “He’s hard to tackle and one guy’s not going to get him down. We worked all week on gang tackling and having 11 guys around the football.”

Finishing third in 2A-7, Mountain Pine (7-3, 5-2) will travel to the 2A-6 No. 3 seed in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs next week. Foreman (8-1, 6-1) will host the 2A-6 No. 4 seed.

“They got their feelings hurt by these guys over the last two weeks and we’ll see if they step up,” Counce said. “That’s what champions do and that’s what we expect out of these kids.”