This past Friday night was the scheduled home opener for West Forsyth as it faced Oak Grove.

However, the long-anticipated game had to wait an hour because of a lightning delay before the game.

But after a slow first quarter by the Titans they rolled past the Grizzlies 36-10 at Jerry Peoples Stadium with a dominating effort by quarterback Riley Horton, running back CJ Blevins, and a stout defense.

“We tried to talk about it before it even happened,” Coach Kevin Wallace of West Forsyth said of the delay. “We were predicting to have a delay, so we were trying to mentally prepare for it right away. I think we’ve just got to get comfortable. Quarterback, it was Riley’s first game here, and the first thing he said was, ‘Lot of people here.’

“He just needed to relax a little bit. And once he did, I mean he started executing and he just had to see.”

Horton, a transfer from Parkland, was 14-of-25 passing for 259 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed for 58 yards on six carries with a touchdown.

“I would say (I) was way more comfortable (than the first game at Asheville Reynolds),” Horton said. “I just relied on my guys a little bit more. We had a great week of practice coming into this game, so i knew that if I just keep working with them the more comfortable it made me.”

The Titans (2-0) were held in-check the first two possessions of the first quarter. The Grizzlies (1-1) went three and out on their first drive, but they scored on a 3-yard touchdown by running back Karson Williams with 5:10 left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.

“We had a couple things go our way,” Coach Rob Creason of Oak Grove said. “I felt good about that. Credit to West, that’s a good football team.”

West Forsyth answered with 7:38 left in the second quarter after Blevins, a transfer from Southwest Guilford, darted in for a 47-yard rushing touchdown to make it 7-6. However, the two-point conversion pass failed.

Blevins finished 123 yards rushing on 16 carries and a touchdown.

“Once we started going up the field downhill and not bouncing outside, I thought we starting doing a lot better,” Wallace said.

West Forsyth took possession with 5:19 left in the second quarter on its own 48-yard line. West Forsyth scored eight plays later on a 21-yard run by Horton to take a 12-7 lead. However, Horton’s run for two points failed.

“I just transferred here,” Horton said. “It’s a different environment – lot more people, lot more support – and I’m excited for the rest of the season because it honestly boosted me. I was kind of nervous before the game, seeing everybody here, seeing this packed stadium, but once I realized (they were) here to support us I was ready and it kind of boosted me.”

On the ensuing possession, Williams fumbled and Keshaun Gregory of the Titans recovered it with 1:33 left in the second quarter on the Grizzlies’ 24. Place-kicker Kosta Dupuy kicked a 28-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Titans a 15-7 lead at halftime.

“We made some mental mistakes early and it just kind set us back,” Creason said. “And obviously you’re playing some young guys that are going to have some hiccups, and we just learn through games like this. We’re only going to get better from this, and I feel really good about that.”

West Forsyth added to the lead with 8:51 left in the third quarter after Jailyn Moore caught a 42-yard touchdown and Dupuy added the extra-point kick to push the lead to 22-7.

“He’s got to see it. He’s got to see it,” Wallace said of Horton’s reads. “We kind of know going into a game what it’s probably going to be, but we’ve also still got to make that read and execute it. And once he calmed down, he was fine.”

Horton threw his second touchdown with 8 seconds remaining in the third quarter on a 30-yard pass to Hunter Cruise to help extend the lead to 29-7.

“I think we kind of came out slow kind of in the first quarter,” Horton said. “You know, mental mistakes, flags, things like that, but after the first quarter we kind of set down as a team and talked. Everything just started clicking and we watched film a little bit, and we knew it was going to be there. And that’s what we ran.”

Oak Grove scored with 10:08 left in the fourth quarter after Eli Fulcher kicked a 31-yard field goal.

“The biggest thing that I saw was we’re not doing things that we typically do,” Creason said. “And that could be credit to them.”

West Forsyth finished with 205 yards rushing on 29 carries and had 489 yards of total offense. Oak Grove was held to 9 yards rushing on 25 carries and had 184 total yards.

“(The defense) is playing really well right now,” Wallace said. “Last week was really well. They didn’t give up a touchdown last week. So, this week, one touchdown, so they’re playing well, they’re playing fast.”

The Titans scored their final touchdown with 9:19 left in the fourth quarter after Cruise caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from Horton.

“I think I have the best O-line in the state,” Horton said. “They can do anything they want to, anytime they want to. That’s what made my game better and I trust them. I know I step back I’ve got all the time I want. That’s what made my game much easier.”

Next week will be a stiff challenge with Weddington (2-0) coming to Clemmons. Weddington won last year’s NCHSAA Class 4-A state championship after defeating Wilmington Hoggard 56-21 to finish 14-2 overall. This season, Weddington defeated Charlotte Providence Day 13-7 in the first game and defeated Charlotte Ardrey Kell 14-0 this past Friday.

West Forsyth traveled to Weddington last year and lost 44-22 after West Forsyth finished with 290 yards. Weddington, coached by Andy Capone, lost 12 starters from last year, including quarterback Tyler Budge, who is now playing at Georgia Southern, and receiver Keenan Jackson is now playing at N.C. State.

Senior Gregory Fee, who is 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, is playing quarterback for Weddington and junior Kelson Tate, who transferred from North Mecklenburg, is playing receiver.

“A new quarterback, so he’s there,” Wallace said. “But he was a backup last year.”

The Warriors still have plenty of talent. Senior Traden Odom, a 6-4 defensive lineman, has committed to Ohio State, junior Aiden Harris, a 6-3, 240-pound defensive lineman, and junior Drew Harris, a 6-2, 235-pound defensive lineman, and junior Thomas Davis Jr., the son of the former Carolina Panthers player. Davis is a 6-2, 205-pound linebacker who is a top national recruit.

“We just focus on the teams that we’re playing,” Horton said. “But I know they’re a pretty good team. They won states last year. But us, we’re just going one practice at a time, one play at a time, and we’re just going to see what happens.I think we can do a lot of things that people aren’t expecting.”

Oak Grove;7;0;0;3;–;10

W. Forsyth;0;15;14;7;–;36

OG – Karson Williams 3 run (Eli Fulcher kick)

WF – CJ Blevins 47 run (pass failed)

WF – Riley Horton 22 run (Horton run failed)

WF – Kosta Dupuy 28 FG

WF – Jailyn Moore 42 pass from Horton (Dupuy kick)

WF – Hunter Cruise 30 pass from Horton (Dupuy kick)

OG – Fulcher 31 FG

WF – Cruise 76 pass from Horton (Dupuy kick)

Records – Oak Grove 1-1, West Forsyth 2-0