Paige, three interceptions help West Forsyth throttle Reagan; Davie County visits Friday night

Published 12:53 pm Monday, October 14, 2024

PFAFFTOWN – The rivalry between West Forsyth and Reagan has always been one of the better ones within Forsyth County. But West Forsyth remembered last year’s loss in Clemmons.

Seeking redemption, the Titans did just that Friday night with the help of two touchdown runs by Darell Paige and three interceptions by the defense, for a runaway 27-0 victory in the Central Piedmont 4-A.

Not only did West Forsyth lose to Reagan 35-26 last year at home, it had lost the previous three games to Reagan. The last time West Forsyth had defeated Reagan before Friday night was when it won 28-25 during the spring season of 2021 because of COVID-19.

“I thought we played a really physical game,” said Coach Kevin Wallace of West Forsyth (5-2, 3-1). “That’s what we challenged them with. It was a great win for the seniors. You know, we told them all about how that hadn’t beaten Reagan in three years. This is the first time in three years, first time in four games, we finally got a W.

“And our challenge to them all week was, ‘What’s your legacy? What’s your legacy as a senior with this program? What’s the standing moving forward? What’s the legacy?’ It was a great, physical win. We executed on special teams. We got some big stops defensively.”

The Titans took over right from the opening kickoff after Kosta Dupuy kicked a short kick that turned into an onside kick. The Titans recovered at the Raiders’s (4-3, 2-2) 37-yard line just 3 seconds into the game.

“That’s just our kick,” Wallace said. “I mean we didn’t want to kick to 1 (Jerry Summers). We knew 1 was a heck of a player. We wanted to stay away from him. And that was our kick, and they just didn’t recover. So, we’re alright, ‘We’ve got a free steal off of it. We’ll take it.’”

The Titans took advantage of the recovery and scored three plays later on a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Riley Horton with 11:38 left in the first quarter. Jailyn Moore scooted in for a two-point conversion run to extend the lead to 8-0.

“It started with the opening kickoff,” Coach Josh McGee of Reagan said. “I think that set the tone. When they steal a possession, go down and score in three plays.”

West Forsyth added to the lead with 1:57 left in the first quarter after a 35-yard field goal by Kosta Dupuy to make it 11-0.

With 10:45 left in the second quarter, the Raiders took possession at their own 36. Running back Aaron Gutierrez picked up the Raiders’ first down with 10:32 left in the second quarter on a 15-yard run. However, quarterback Brenner Pridgen, who has been playing for the injured Jacob Smith, a junior who has committed to play at N.C. State, and was hurt early in the season after tearing his ACL,was intercepted six plays later bey Keith Taylor.

 “You know, right now we’re a work in progress at the quarterback position being with our situation.,” McGee said. “And we have to run the ball to be successful. And I felt like tonight, we couldn’t run the ball and that’s a testament to their front. And defensively, I thought we played pretty solid.”

West Forsyth took over at its own 40 after the interception and scored 10 plays later on a 25-yard field goal by Dupuy with 3:11 left in the second quarter to extend the lead to 14-0.

“We’ve got to do better in the red zone,” Wallace said. “Offensively, we’ve got to do better in the red zone.”

The Titans took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored on a 13-play, 7:10 drive after quarterback Riley Horton scored on a 1-yard run with 4:28 left to help extend the lead to 20-0. However, Dupuy’s extra-point kick was blocked.

After rotating quarterbacks between Horton and Jerrell Crawford in last week’s win at Glenn, Horton played the entire game in the win against Reagan.

Horton finished with 40 yards rushing on 10 carries, and he was also 14-of-18 passing for 102 yards.

“(We) just thought it gave us the better shot (Friday night),” Wallace said. “Just some things, we thought. He was better for this game.”

Pridgen was intercepted by DaViare Eldridge and he ran it back to the Raiders’ 43 with 2:24 left in the third quarter.

“In the second half, you’re only down 14-0 at halftime,” McGee said. “And the second half, I think they opened up with a 7-minute drive. And at that point I think they just laid on us and put the weight on us, and that’s what it was.”

The Titans took advantage and scored six plays later on an 18-yard scamper by Paige with 11:33 left in the third quarter to help push the lead to 27-0.

Paige finished with 67 yards on eight carries, and CJ Blevins led the Titans with 96 yards rushing on 16 carries.

“(Paige) has done some good things, especially in the backfield,” Wallace said. “I mean, he’s explosive. When he touches it, he can go. He’s shifty. He runs hard. He’s done a great for us recently.

“And him and CJ combined have done a great job. And then we’ve got Riley. It’s really three running.”

Next week, West Forsyth will play host to Davie County (2-5, 1-3). It’s been a struggle for Davie County this season, losing the last three games – 55-0 at East Forsyth, 31-14 at home against Reagan, and 52-7 at home Friday against Mount Tabor – since defeating Reynolds 32-17 at home on Sept. 20.

“(It’s a) rivalry game,” Wallace said. “I mean, our kids – it’s homecoming. It’s going to be everything, so we’ve got everything going on next week. We’ve got to understand what our goal is and what our mission is and accomplish that.”

No matter what each team’s record is in the West Forsyth versus Davie County rivalry the game is almost always close. West Forsyth won last year’s game 50-42.

“I think our kids, nowadays, (Reagan) means more,” Wallace said. “The alumni and everybody that is a little bit older, next week (Davie) matters the most just because of the history.

“These guys (West Forsyth and Reagan players) play together, grow up together, so there’s a lot of competition.”

NOTE: Seniors Jalen Morris, an offensive lineman, and Justin Ferguson, a defensive back, were selected last week to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Dec. 21 at Spartantburg (S.C.) High School

W. Forsyth;11;3;6;7;–;27

Reagan;0;0;0;0;–;0

WF – Horton 3 run (Jailyn Moore run)

WF – Kosta Dupuy 35 FG

WF – Dupuy 25 FG

WF – Paige 1 run (kick blocked)

WF – Paige 18 run (Dupuy kick)

Records – West Forsyth 5-2 (3-1), Reagan 4-3 (2-2)