Marshall County Tribune: High School Sports: Bulldogs hope to end Rocket run (09/21/12)

Forrest quarterback Brooks Lamb (14), seen here going head-on versus White House-Heritage got the week off to heal his bumps and bruises before taking on the Bulldogs this week at "The Rock" in the Battle of the North and South.
(Photo by chapelhillbill.com)

Forrest (2-2) has won 11 consecutive skirmishes in the intra-county Battle of the North and South series versus Cornersville (2-2) and former Bulldog assistant coach Joe Moos is hoping to make it an even dozen for the Rockets when the two squads meet Friday night at "The Rock" in Chapel Hill with game time set for 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs last win in the series came via a 13-7 win in 1996 at Cornersville, as touchdown runs by Chad Warren and Jamie Holt were enough to offset a single TD run by Rocket running back Josh Floyd.

With the win, the Bulldogs claimed the first WAXO "Battle of the North and South" trophy that was in "Frog Bottom" for just one season before being captured by the Rockets the following year in a 25-0 shutout in Chapel Hill.

Cornersville's Cody Coblentz and Chance Dyer tackle Mt. Pleasant quarterback Princeton Harlan for a 6-yard loss in the first quarter last week. The Bulldog defense will have to bounce back to their early season form if they want to beat Forrest this week.
(Photo by Pap)

Touchdown runs from Rod Crutcher, Troy Blalock, Bubba Paul and a 27-yard quarterback keeper by Jimmy Wayne Walls highlighted the Rockets' scoring attack.

The WAXO sponsored trophy has been in the Forrest trophy case ever since.

The Rockets won seven in row from 1998 to 2004 before the series went on a hiatus until being resumed in 2009.

MCHS head coach Aaron Pitts walks out for the pre-game coin toss at Giles County with his captains Connor Vannatta (7), Tyler Sechrest (76) and Tyrone March (79).
(Photo by Anthony S. Puca)

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Forrest has taken three straight since the resumption, including a 51-40 shootout win last season in Cornersville.

Both squads are looking to bounce back from disappointing losses with the Bulldogs losing to Region 6-A foe Mt. Pleasant 53-21 in Cornersville last Friday night, while the Rockets have had a week off to stew over a 35-20 loss at White House-Heritage in Week 3.

The contest will be evenly matched and it could go either way, going down to the final possession as it has in the last two years.

The Marshall County Tigers have lost three straight since an opening season win versus Coffee County and need a win very badly to get back on track.

Giles County blasted MCHS 45-14 in Pulaski last week, but the Tigers never gave up and showed some signs early in the game that they are ready to turn the corner, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Winless Spring Hill (0-4) could be the perfect recipe for a bounce back win and an opening to get back into the district race and playoff chase for Marshall County.

Look for the Tigers to march to an easy 41-14 win at Preston Hopkins Field in Lewisburg this week and give them some much-needed momentum going into their final five game stretch of games versus District 12-AA opponents.