Reagan outlasts West Forsyth in a shooutout, 42-39

PFAFFTOWN, NORTH CAROLINA – In a high scoring, action packed game, Friday, the Reagan Raiders defeated their Central Piedmont Conference rival, the West Forsyth Titans, 42-39, in a thriller in Pfafftown, North Carolina.

Reagan sealed the deal late in the fourth quarter with a big interception by Kamari Carter and a fourth down conversion by Makhi Purvis to win the back and forth battle.

The action started early as the Raiders blocked a 48 yard field goal attempt by the Titans after their first drive came up short. On the Raiders following drive, Raiders' freshman quarterback Jacob Smith connected with Cassidy Harvin on a 10-yard touchdown pass to put them up 7-0. The Titans would respond immediately with an 80-yard rushing touchdown by Caman Chaplin. The Titans would not convert on the two-point conversion but trimmed the Raiders lead 7-6.

Right before the first quarter whistle, Smith found Nazeir Blackman for a 16-yard touchdown as the Raiders would stretch the lead to 14-6.

The Raiders had their most explosive play of the game, early in the second quarter, when running back Jaylen Moore took it 92 yards to the house to give his team its biggest lead at 21-6.

Titans quarterback Bert Rice countered when he found receiver Jordan Stephens for a 59-yard touchdown and cut the Raiders' lead to 21-13. West Forsyth attempted to draw even closer when they executed a success onside kick on the following kickoff, which was recovered in Raiders territory. The Titans drive would end quickly, however, as Raiders' defensive lineman Ray Matthees would recover a fumble.

On their next possession, the Titans did capitalize as Rice and Stephens connected again, this time for a 26-yard TD pass, which cut Reagan's lead to 21-9. The West Forsyth defense then came up with a turnover as Ziggy Malave recovered a fumble.

This led to another 2-yard touchdown run by Chaplin, which gave the Titans their first lead of the night, 25-21. The four point lead was maintained into halftime when the Titans blocked a Reagan field goal attempt.

The Raiders opened the second half with a long drive that ended deep in Titans territory after an interception by linebacker Caleb David in the end zone, but on their next possession Smith found Tsion Saunders for a 13-yard touchdown right before the third quarter buzzer to retake the lead 28-25.

The lead swung back to the Titans when they started the fourth quarter with a long drive which ended with Chaplin running it in for a 2-yard score for his third touchdown. The Raiders came up with the big interception by Carter and then capitalized with a 6-yard touchdown run by Moore to extend their lead 42-32, with 4:22 remaining.

On the very next kickoff, the West Forsyth would get a much needed touchdown by Stephens, as he took it 97-yards to the end zone to cut his team's deficit to 42-39 with just over four minutes remaining.

To ice the game, Purvis converted a clutch fourth-and-one play and ran out the clock on the hard fought win.

Smith, who was playing in his first varsity home start, explained that the energy from the crowd helped them with the win.

“The atmosphere was crazy. It’s always a great atmosphere here at Reagan and I couldn't have asked for a better start,” Smith said. “The workouts over the summer and what we work on in practice, never getting fazed and we stayed even keel the whole game and I think that’s what helped us the most."

Reagan head coach Josh McGee was pleased with the win but also said there were still holes to fill.

“Down 25-21 at the half we told our guys it was no panic, we’ve been in these tough situations," McGee said. "We understood that we gave them a lot of momentum, we lost our composure but the guys just didn't quit. We can be as good as we want to be. When we do really good things, it’s because we do what we're supposed to do.”

McGee was also impressed with his freshman quarterback after his first varsity home start.

“He’s smooth. The moment’s never too big and he’s just a stud,” McGee said after Smith’s four touchdown passing performance.

The Raiders will look to win their fourth game in a row next week at home against the Parkland Mustangs and the Titans look to bounce back at home against the Davie County War Eagles.