The Forrest Rockets invaded Unionville Friday night, destroying the Community Vikings 42-0 for their second consecutive blowout win, continuing the march towards the post-season that commences on Nov. 8.

"These are all important region games and the boys came out tonight and took care of business," said Forrest head coach Brian Coleman. "I thought we had a good week of practice and it showed on the field in the intensity the team played with tonight."

Forrest outgained Community 323-100 in total offense on the night with most of the damage coming in the ground game as the blue and white rushed for 295 yards, while the Rocket 'D' held the Vikings to a measly 46 yards rushing in the contest.

Running it in

"We knew we had to run the football to win the game, that's what we do," said Coleman. "And let's give credit to the offensive line, coach (Kyle) Stacey had them ready and they played a heck of a game."

Tyler McClendon had another big night, rushing for 92 yards on just nine carries in the contest, including two touchdowns.

Brandon Anderson ran for 66 yards on six touches, Zach McClendon had 53 yards on six carries and scored once, Jacob Daughrity rushed for 37 yards, Alex Roheiler ended up with 13 yards, and Chance Hargrove ran for 9 yards.

Rocket senior quarterback Thaddeus Reyes had an efficient night, rushing for 27 yards and two touchdowns, while going 3-4 for 28 yards and no interceptions in the aerial attack.

Perfect strategy

Forrest won the opening coin toss, deferring to the second half and the strategy worked to perfection when Anderson intercepted Quinn Frost's first pass attempt of the night and returned it 35 yards for touchdown on the second play from scrimmage.

"Brandon has been big for us all year," said Coleman. "That is just what you want when you defer and I think that play set the tone for us the rest of the game."

Another huge mistake by the Vikings on their next possession helped the Rockets again when a Darian Pride long touchdown run was called back on a holding penalty and two plays later, Community punted the ball away.

T-Mac takes off

It took the visiting Rockets just five plays to reach the Community end zone with Daughrity starting the drive with an eight-yard run and Tyler McClendon gained one yard on second down before taking off on a 50-yard jaunt down to the Community 12.

Two touches later, T-Mac scored from seven yards out and Chris Haggard added the extra point, making it 14-0 with 6:57 remaining in the first quarter.

The Rocket defense was fired up as Anderson and Tyler McClendon made tackles in the backfield on consecutive plays before a holding call on the Vikings pushed them back into a bad third and thirteen situation.

Frost tried to pass on the play, but Tyler McClendon drilled the receiver, who could not hang on, forcing a Community punt.

Third TD

Once again, Forrest went on the march, driving 51 yards on just six plays with Anderson coming up with the big play via a 40-yard run that moved the ball to the Community 12-yard line.

Reyes would punch it in moments later, giving the Rockets a comfortable 21-0 lead.

The Rockets forced another three-and-out and the Chapel Hill offensive line continued to dominate the line of scrimmage as Forrest needed just eight rushing plays to score again with Tyler McClendon ending the 68-yard drive with a bruising 2-yard touchdown run.

Haggard's PAT was good and the Rockets led 28-0 with 9:05 remaining in the first half.

Big plays

Chance Hargrove came up with a big hit on the ensuing kickoff, stopping the Community return man dead in his tracks at the 23-yard line.

Three plays later, Rocket cornerback Cage Hargrove got in to the act, breaking up a third-down pass play to force another Community punt.

This time, Forrest put together a backbreaking 14-play drive that burned 6:23 off the clock before Reyes bounced outside for a 7-yard touchdown with 18.6 seconds left in the first half.

Haggard's extra point was true, making it 35-0 at the half.

Time for mercy

The mercy rule was in affect as the second half began with the Vikings kicking the ball out of bounds, giving Forrest great field position at the 45-yard line.

Six plays later, Zach McClendon scored from a dozen yards out, making it 41-0 and Haggard made the PAT.

Mercifully, the clock continued to tick as Forrest went to mostly second teamers for the remainder of the game.

Daughrity would spoil a Vikings scoring effort with an interception at the end of the third quarter and on the final Community drive of the game, the Rockets held on defense to complete the shutout.

Resting up

Forrest (5-3, 3-1) will have a bye week to heal up some bumps and bruises before finishing the regular season with a road games at MTCS (5-2, 1-2) and Fayetteville City (3-4, 2-2).

"This is a good time for a bye week," said Coleman. "We need a little healing and the kids are on fall break. We will get back to work on Tuesday, get a game plan in for MTCS and we will be ready to go in two weeks for these two important region games that will decide playoff positioning."