Forrest Lift-A-Thon strengthens Rockets’ future

Anthony S. Puca Sports Editor
Posted 4/28/21

The Forrest Rockets hosted their annual Lift-A-Thon at the Chapel Hill Lions Club Memorial Fieldhouse Friday night and it was a huge success as 65 high school and middle school players lifted iron in front of a packed house of supporters.

“I thought the senior class showed out,” Forrest head coach Eli Stephenson said. “They set new personal records (PR) for themselves."

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Forrest Lift-A-Thon strengthens Rockets’ future

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The Forrest Rockets hosted their annual Lift-A-Thon Friday night at the Chapel Hill Lions Club Memorial Fieldhouse Friday night and it was a huge success as 65 high school and middle school players lifted iron in front of a packed house of supporters.

“I thought the senior class showed out,” Forrest head coach Eli Stephenson said. “They set new personal records (PR) for themselves."

“And the middle school has good numbers for this up-coming season, if they stay together, they will have a bright future here at Forrest.”

Parents and supporters donate money to the players, who try to improve incrementally for the three rounds of lifting.

“It was a huge success, it was a packed house,” Stephenson said. “We always have great support from the community.”

All the proceeds go to the football program to buy equipment and fund other gridiron activities.

“The Lift-A-Thon is a fundraiser for the Forrest football programs,” Stephenson said. “We also want to show the parents and community all the hard work the players have been putting in during the offseason.”

Braden Jones stole the show for the Rockets with a clean sweep in all three lifting categories, squatting 500 pounds, benching 295, and the upcoming senior added a 300-pound power clean for a 1,035 total.

Rising sophomore Tayton Swift placed second with a 965-pound total, rising junior Dominic Smithson was third with 935 and rising junior McCalister Wilson and rising sophomore Mikey Stoddard tied at 900.

The Rockets lost 13 seniors last year, but Stephenson is confident that his hard working squad will progress physically in the weight room, in the film room, and on the field in preparation for the 2021-2022 campaign.

“This offseason we have used the weight room as a way to get stronger and build mental toughness,” Stephenson said. “Hopefully, we take what we gained from the weight room to the field.”

Stephenson is entering his fourth season as Rockets’ head coach and has compiled a 24-12 overall record with a solid 12-4 region mark and a 3-3 post-season record.

The Rockets finished in second place in last year’s Region 5-AA standings after winning the region in 2019 with a 5-0 record.

The Rockets open the 2021-2022 season at archrival Eagleville on Friday, August 20.

In Week 2, the Battle of the North and South recommences when the Cornersville Bulldogs travel to the Murrey E. Holton Memorial Field in Chapel Hill.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

Week 3-Loretto ®

Week 4 at Moore County

Week 5-Summertown ®

Week 6-at Marion County

Week 7 at Cascade ®

Week 8-Bye

Week 9 at Richland ®

Week 10-East Robertson

Week 11-Mt. Pleasant ®

Top 5 Lifters

Squat

Brayden Jones -500

Tayton Swift -475

Dominic Smithson-405

Hommy Torres -405

Mikey Stoddard –405

Bench

Brayden Jones 295

Dominic Smithson – 285

Cameron Orr -265

McCalister Wilson -260

Mikey Stoddard -250

Spence Tankersley -250

Power Clean

Brayden Jones -300

Layne Strasser -275

McCalister Wilson -265

Spence Tankersley -260

Cameron Orr -260