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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

KERNERSVILLE – Hopes were sky-high Friday night for No. 14-seeded West Forsyth as it traveled to play No. 3 East Forsyth in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 4-A football playoffs in a rematch of a regular-season game played three weeks ago.  

However, the result was a second loss as the Eagles defeated the Titans 56-19 at Fred E. Lewis Stadium, ending the Titans’ season. 

East Forsyth finished with 522 total yards and West Forsyth (8-4) finished with 385. 

“We couldn’t make plays. We couldn’t get the ball to bounce our way,” Coach Kevin Wallace of West Forsyth said. “And it was kind of one of those nights. The snowball rolls right into another one. So, we had opportunities to make plays. We didn’t.” 

It was the complete opposite for East Forsyth (12-0), which plays host to No. 6 Mooresville (11-1) in the third round of the playoffs the day after Thanksgiving. 

“We’re a pretty good football team,” Coach Todd Willert of the Eagles said. “…We’re great with who we are. We’re just happy. We’ll just try to win another one.” 

East Forsyth led with 11:14 left in the second quarter after Jaylin Murry, who accounted for four touchdowns, caught a 36-yard touchdown from quarterback Bryce Baker, who has committed to play at North Carolina, to help make it 14-0.  

However, West Forsyth took possession with 11:03 left in the second quarter and went on a 16-play, 89-drive. It finished the drive after quarterback Riley Horton scampered in for a 1=yard touchdown run to help make it 14-7 with 5:37 left.  

The Titans inched even closer after CJ Blevins scored on a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:17 left to make it 14-13, but Kosta Dupuy’s extra-point kick was blocked. 

The Eagles regained momentum after that. They scored six plays later after Baker ran in for a 7-yard touchdown with 17.4 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 20-13. However, Brayden Cresimore’s extra-point kick sailed wide right.  

“Lot of missed tackles, lot of dropped balls. Didn’t capitalize on two fumbles,” Wallace said. “We had two long drives we didn’t finish. So, those hurt us. We just didn’t play very well.” 

West Forsyth took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove to East Forsyth 21. Horton was sacked for a 5-yard loss, and with fourth-and-15 from the 26, Horton was sacked for a 7-yard loss, turning the ball over on downs with 8:25 left in the third quarter.  

“It was out of our kicker’s range,” Wallace said. “So, out of our kicker’s range and we needed touchdowns. We didn’t need field goals. So, had to go for it.” 

It was all Eagles after that.  

Baker threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jai Richburg run with 6:13 left in the third quarter to help push the lead to 27-13.  

“We told the defense, ‘We need to come out and get a stop right away,’” Willert said. “You know, just their offense is high. They can score at any time. We moved some people around – personnel was a lot different.” 

East Forsyth added to the lead with 2:53 left in the third quarter after Murry caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Baker to help make it 34-13.  

Baker finished 19-of-22 passing for 349 yards and four touchdowns. He also had a running touchdown. 

“It was just a snowball effect that just kept on going,” Wallace said. “It’s just one thing after another.” 

Murry scored again with 6:47 left on a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help make it 41-13. 

“He’s been doing it quiet all year,” Willert said of Murry. “You know, we’ve got so many stars on our team. I think people just take him for granted. I mean, he leads our team in interceptions. He’s one of the top guys scoring. He plays running back. He plays slot. He plays receiver.  

“He does it and he don’t complain. You know, he doesn’t get all the glory and all that. He just wants to win, and that’s what makes him great is because he just wants to win for the team.” 

The Titans scored their final touchdown of the game on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Horton to Jalyn Moore with 4:02 left to help slice the lead to 41-19. 

Horton finished 15-of-30 passing with one touchdown, one interception and 216 yards.  

“We had a lot of drops early,” Wallace said. “In the first half, we had a lot of dropped passes that could’ve extended plays, make big plays. And when you’re in these games you can’t do that stuff. You’ve got to execute. And we didn’t. And we had a lot of missed tackles.” 

Murry tackled on another touchdown with a 51-yard run with 2:35 left to help make it 48-19. 

Murry rushed for 68 yards on five carries.  

“I was just feeling really good,” he said. “With the gameplan this week, I was just feeling it.” 

East Forsyth scored its final touchdown after Josiah Nicholson intercepted Horton and Nicholson ran it back 55 yards to make it 56-19 after a two-point conversion. 

“You just keep plugging away and try and chop wood at it,” Wallace said. “But it didn’t end up in our favor.” 

Even with the loss, West Forsyth did make it to the second of the playoffs.  

“I’m proud of our team,” Wallace said. “I’m proud of the full season they’ve put together. You know, back-to-back 8-4 seasons these starters had, these seniors, Back-to-back second-round playoffs. So, the body of work they put in is great. We’ve just got to — we’ve just got to find a way to get over the hurdle, get over East, too. It’s been a while.”