The Forrest Rockets travelled to Portland Thursday night for a Week 2 non-region matchup versus the 4A Panthers and led 14-0 before giving up 20 unanswered points in a 20-14 loss.

Like most games around the state, the contest was moved back a day because of the incoming stormy weather associated with Hurricane Laura, but Forrest coach Eli Stephenson did not believe the change of plans had any impact on the outcome.

“I thought we let this one get away,” Stephenson said. “The players came out playing physical on offense and we were able to get the running game going and mix some passes in there too.”

“On defense, we came fast and physical and were able to get off the field on third down.”

Forrest won the opening coin toss and went to work, gaining back-to-back first downs on a pair of Max Kirby tosses to Joseph Whittaker out of the backfield to move to the 46-yard line before a fumble recovered by the Rockets put them in a second-and-twenty-two hole.

Sophomore Tayton Swift quickly erased the deficit, taking a handoff and scampering 43 yards for a first down at the Portland 13-yard line.

A personal foul on the Panthers gave Forrest a first-and-goal, but a holding penalty on the Rockets moved the ball back to the 20-yard line.

Swift ran for three yards on first down before Max Kirby found Boston Follis on a 17-yard touchdown strike.

It was the second time this season the two Forrest seniors hooked up for a score.

Carson Baker’s extra point boot was true and the Rockets led 7-0 with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The Forrest defense stymied the Panthers’ first drive to force a three-and-out and a punt before taking over at their own 37-yard line.

The Rockets looked like they were in high gear as they moved in to Portland territory when senior offensive lineman Reese Thrasher went down with an injury on a four-yard run by Swift.

Forrest kept on moving and faced a second-and-ten at the Portland 37-yard line when the first quarter ended.

Kirby picked up the first down with a nice run up the gut and Swift ran for three more yards before Stephenson called a timeout.

They must have seen a weakness in the Portland defense because on the next snap, Swift took the handoff and ran right, busting his way to the 1-yard line where Kirby punched it in on a quarterback sneak.

Baker’s PAT was right down the middle and Forrest led 14-0 with 9:33 remaining in the second quarter.

A bock in the back penalty on Portland on the ensuing kickoff put the Panthers in a deep home at their own 14-yard line.

Forrest jumped offsides and then the Panthers went deep as Braden Thornton found Dylan Gulley for an 82-yard touchdown bomb behind the Forrest defense.

Zach Meador kicked the extra point to cut the Forrest lead in half with 8:27 remaining in the first half.

“I didn’t think we played aggressive defense after that,” Stephenson said. “We played back on our heels.”

The Rockets looked like they were ready to answer on offense as they drove the ball downfield.

On the sixth play of the drive, Kirby completed a pass to Hollis, who ran to the Portland 17-yard line for a first down.

From there, the Rockets went in reverse after holding call and a Panthers sack by Isaac West pushed the ball all the way back to the 39-yard line where the drive stalled out and Portland took over on downs with 2:22 left in the first half.

The first half ended with Forrest in the lead 14-7, but they would not threaten on offense the rest of the night.

The defense did get a turnover on the Panthers’ opening second half possession when Kirby made a big hit and forced a fumble that he recovered at the Portland 38-yard line.

The Rockets’ offense went three-and-out and Portland took over at their own 14-yard line after a Christian Hammond punt.

Portland began to pound the Forrest defense in the ground game, running the ball 10 straight times down to the Rockets’ 35-yard yard line when Thornton found Devon Fuqua on a first down pass at the 25-yard line.

On the next snap, Gulley took a handoff and broke to the outside, running all the way to the end zone for a touchdown.

The PAT kick was no good and the Rockets still led 14-12 with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter.

The Rockets took over and faced a fourth-and-four at the Portland 45-yard line when time ran out in the third quarter.

On the first play of the final quarter, Swift took the handoff and it looked like he had a first down, but it was not to be as a questionable spot gave the ball back to Portland on downs.

“We had an option called and it didn’t work,” Stephenson said. “Then we went for it on fourth down and came up a yard short.”

The Panthers took over and kept pounding the rock all the way down to the Forrest 23-yard line when Thornton completed a six-yard pass to Freddy Paxton.

Forrest senior Layne Strasser came up with a huge sack on Thornton to push the ball back to the 24-yard line where the Panthers tried a field goal, but the Meador boot fell short and the Rockets took over with 7:40 remaining in the contest.

McCalister Wilson was hurt on the drive and had to be taken off the field by ambulance, but good news followed later that evening when Wilson was released from the hospital after recovering from a stinger.

The Rockets’ offense went backwards on the ensuing drive and they had to punt from their own 14-yard line.

Disaster struck when Gulley burst around the end and blocked the kick and Will Napier recovered the ball for Portland at the Forrest 11-yard line.

“Anytime you get a punt blocked, it is a bad turnover,” Stephenson said. “We have got to focus this week on our special teams, especially punts.”

Om the next snap, Box ran in for the score and then caught the 2-point conversion pass from Thornton and the Panthers were in front for the first time in the game at 20-14 with five minutes remaining in the contest.

“In the second half, Portland was more aggressive and physical than us,” Stephenson said. “We didn’t do a good job of getting off the field on third down.”

The Rockets tried to put together some offense and moved the ball to the Portland 32-yard line before West sacked Kirby to force a fumble and Mason Swonger recovered to seal the Rockets’ fate.

The Panthers ran out the clock and both teams moved to 1-1 on the season.

Forrest entertains arch-rival Eagleville in the Region 5-AA opener Friday night at the Murrey E. Holton Memorial Field in Chapel Hill.

The Eagles (0-2) lost 35-13 at Cornersville on Saturday and lost twice to the Rockets last year, including a season ending playoff loss.

“Now we are in the games that matter, a region game,” Stephenson said. “Eagleville is a rival for us.” “We won't have any problem getting the players focused, they will be focused. We just got to focus on our technique.”

Both Reese and Wilson's game status has yet to be determined.

“I hope we will get both of them back in a couple of weeks,” Stephenson said. “I'm not sure, we will have to see what the doctors have to say.”

Swift had another big night out of the backfield for the Rockets, rushing the rock 17 times for 169 yards.

“Swift did a great job of following his blockers and hitting the hole,” Stephenson said. “We preached all week for the backs to hit the hole, and for the most part all of them did that.”

Forrest 7 7 0 0-14

Portland 0 6 6 8-20

Scoring Plays

First quarter

Forrest-Boston Follis 16-yard pass from Max Kirby, Carson Baker PAT, 6:30

Second Quarter

Forrest-Max Kirby 1-yard run, Carson Baker PAT, 9:33.

Portland-Dylan Gulley 82-yard pass from Braden Thornton, Zach Meador PAT NG, 8:27.

Third Quarter

Portland-Dylan Gulley 25-yard run, Zach Meador PAT NG, 3:50.

Fourth Quarter

Portland-Caden Box 11-yard run, Box 2-pt pass from Thornton, 5:00.

Total Yards: Forrest 285, Portland 290.

Rushing: Forrest 209, Portland 131.

Passing: Forrest 76, Portland 159.

First Downs: Forrest 14, Portland 13.

Turnovers: Forrest 2, Portland 1.

Blocked Punt: Dylan Gulley (Portland).

Fumble Recovery: Mason Swonger (Portland).

Forrest Offense

Rushing: Tayton Swift 17-169, Brenton Burchell 7-23, Joseph Whitaker 4-10, Max Kirby 7-7-TD, Micah McClendon 1-2, Aden Freeman 1-0, Boston Follis 3-(-2).

Passing: Max Kirby 5-for-6, 76 yards, TD, No INT.

Receiving: Boston Follis 3-67-TD, Joseph Whitaker 2-9.

Forrest Defense

Tackles: Noah Hill 5, Max Kirby 3 (FUM REC), Brenton Burchell 2, Aiden Freeman 2, Micah McClendon 2, Layne Strasser 2 (SACK), Tayton Swift 2, Layne Bowman 1, Boston Follis 1, Hunter Pendley 1, Reese Thrasher 1.

Portland Offense

Rushing: Caden Box 8-59-TD, Devin Fuqua 10-27, Dylan Gulley 2-26-TD, Braden Thornton 8-10, Jalen Pero 1-6, Isaac West 1-3.

Passing: Braden Thompson 8-for-12, 159 yards, TD, No INT.

Receiving: Dylan Gulley 2-101-TD, Isaac West 2-35, Caden Box 2-13, Freddy Paxton 2-10.