After knocking off Moore County the previous week, the Forrest Rockets showed no signs of a letdown on Friday night, as they defeated the Cornersville Bulldogs 45-7 on the road to run their record to 3-1.

The last three meetings between the two teams had been tightly contested, but the Rockets overwhelmed Cornersville (2-2) with a barrage of big plays in Friday's contest and built a 38-7 lead in the first half before coasting to the 38-point victory.

The Rockets recorded four plays of 50 yards or more en route to piling up 433 yards of total offense. Forrest gashed the Bulldogs on the ground and churned out 322 yards of rushing on 49 carries.

Big plays

"We didn't expect to get that many big plays. That's not really our type of offense. We like to grind it out, but when we get big plays we'll take them," said FHS coach Brian Coleman. "Cornersville's a tough team and didn't give up. They're well coached and played hard for four quarters so we're excited about the win."

Quarterback Thaddeus Reyes showcased his all-around skills and accounted for four of the Rockets' six touchdowns. Reyes rushed for 75 yards and two scores on seven carries, returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown, and completed 2-of-6 passes for 89 yards and a TD to go along with an interception.

Forrest running back Tyler McClendon toted the ball 15 times for 82 yards, while Brandon Anderson tallied 75 yards on four carries. Jacob Daughrity also added a 55-yard touchdown run before leaving the game in the first quarter due to a leg injury.

Backup quarterback David Andrews completed 1-of-4 passes for 22 yards and a touchdown as well, while Nolan Ferris had two catches for 89 yards and a TD. Placekicker Chris Haggard also caught a 22-yard touchdown pass, converted all six extra points, and hit a 27-yard field goal.

Linebacker Justin Black paced the Bulldog defense with 11 tackles. Blake Tomlin and Chance Dyer notched eight and seven tackles respectively as well, while Kyle Dickson and Devante Spencer both had six tackles. Jody Sullivan also recorded an interception for Cornersville, and Levi Henry recovered a fumble.

Defense shines

Having yielded just a total of 23 points in their first three games, the Rockets turned in another strong defensive performance on Friday and limited the Bulldogs to just a 168 yards of total offense while forcing five CHS turnovers.

Cornersville had little success running the ball against Forrest's rugged defensive front and mustered just 17 yards rushing on 27 carries. Bulldog quarterback Stone Riner led the Bulldogs with 16 yards on eight carries, while Dyer toted the ball 12 times for 10 yards to go along with two receptions for six yards.

Riner did complete 9-of-16 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, but tossed two interceptions. Backup quarter Zack Welch also threw an interception on his lone pass attempt.

"We were limited in what we could do. We tried to play to Stone's skill set, but they took that away. They did a great job defensively and they're a good football team," said Cornersville coach John Denton. "We just have to go back to work on Monday. We're not going to let one game dictate our season. We have a pretty resilient team and I expect them to bounce back."

Senior wide out Tyler Lowery paced CHS' receiving corps with four catches for 95 yards, while Black hauled in two passes for 39 yards. Welch had one reception for 11 yards as well.

Defensive lineman Logan Ray led Forrest's defense with eight tackles. Logan Hollingsworth also registered six tackles and Boone Sweeney had five tackles. Ferris, Cage Hargrove, and Chris Haggard all recorded an interception for the Rockets as well, while Harmon and Chance Hargrove each recovered a fumble.

Early start

Forrest forced a three and out by the Bulldogs to start the game before Daughrity broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown run on the Rockets' opening possession to give FHS a 7-0 lead.

After Lowery returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to the Forrest 46, Cornersville picked up a first down on three straight runs, but Ferris picked off a pass by Riner at the Rocket 31 to halt the Bulldog drive.

Anderson then ripped off a 58-yard run to move the ball down to the CHS 11, before Reyes scored on a three-yard touchdown scamper three plays later to make it 14-0.

Following another Cornersville punt, Reyes hooked up with Ferris for a 67-yard touchdown pass to stretch Forrest's lead to 21-0 with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

Bulldogs strike back

The Bulldogs briefly stemmed the Rockets momentum when Riner hit Lowery for a 76-yard touchdown strike to narrow the gap to 21-7 before forcing Forrest to punt on their ensuing possession.

After Cornersville failed to pick up a first down on their next offensive series and were forced to kick the ball away, Reyes fielded the punt and weaved his way for a 44-yard TD to stake FHS to a 28-7 advantage with 7:33 left in the second quarter.

Forrest forced the Bulldogs to punt once again before Reyes burst up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown jaunt to extend the Rockets' lead to 35-7.

Cornersville started their final possession of the first half at their own 45 thanks to a 31-yard kickoff return by Riner, but the Bulldogs picked up just seven yards on their next four plays and lost the ball on downs.

Forrest then advanced down to the CHS 10 with the aid of a 13-yard run by Anderson and a 22-yard catch by Ferris before Haggard booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the half to push Forrest's lead to 38-7.

Second half

The Bulldogs had a couple of chances to cut into the deficit in the third quarter after forcing two Rocket turnovers. Cornersville, however, was unable to cash in on either opportunity, as they were stopped on downs at the FHS 26 on their opening possession of the period before Harmon recovered a Bulldog fumble at the Forrest 19 late in the stanza.

Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Haggard hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Andrews with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter to cap the Rockets' 45-7 win.