Forrest County AHS found itself in an expected offensive shootout with two talented running backs going head to head. However, the Aggies were on the losing end as Lawrence County came out on top in the 47-42 loss.
FCAHS had a chance to win the game as the Aggies drove to the Cougars’ 10-yard line with about 10 seconds left. Notably, running back Keeghan Rodgers, who has now run for over 1,000 yards, ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the game.
“We had the ball in midfield down five, with about two minutes ago in the game, and the game ended at the 10-yard line,” FCAHS coach Larry Dolan said. “We got down there in a couple of plays. We were trying to spike the ball, and we had a fumbled snap. Didn’t lose the ball, but we didn’t get a good spike, so the game ended like that. I think there was an inadvertent whistle, the white hat blew the way he started waving it off, and the ball was there because he thought it was a spike. Somebody came here from their sideline and said that we fumbled it, so they discussed it, and then they ran off the field, and that was the ball game.
“It’s a tough way to end it, but I was proud of my guys with the way we fought. They never gave up. It was a great high school football game for somebody to watch. I just wish we could have come out on top.”
FCAHS’s start-to-region play doesn’t get much easier as the Aggies take on Columbia, the defending 4A state champions. Columbia (5-1, 1-0) shut out Sumrall last week for a 33-0 win.
“This is kind of murderer’s row right here,” Dolan said. “It’ll be our third homecoming game in a row. We’ll go over there and see if we can play well again.
“They’re just really athletic. They have a lot of athletes. They’re a lot younger. They had a bunch of seniors last year, but they are getting better every week with a bunch of young guys. When people have those kinds of athletes, it’s hard to beat them. They are well-coached as well. We have our work cut out for us. Defensively, they’re not as big as a couple of teams that we have played, but they’re super fast, so we’ll be seeing a different kind of defense this week. Offensively, they run a ton of formations. They are spread offense and kind of do what all other spread teams do. They’ll spread you out and run the ball. Once you start extending the run, then they will RPO you.”
FCAHS goes on the road to face Columbia at 7 p.m.
“Every game that we’ve played so far, it’s not a lot to do with the opponent as much as it is with us as far as what we can control and what we try to fix,” Dolan said. “I think our kids may have gained a little confidence playing as we did against Lawrence County. They were very good on offense. We just want to play a perfect game. If somebody beats us and we play our best game, then we can live with it.”
