Martinez lifts Tigers over Huntsville

Diego Martinez helped the Green Forest Tigers do something last Friday night that they hadn’t done in 21 years.

Martinez returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to break a tie and lift the Tigers to a 14-6 victory over Huntsville on the Eagles’ home field. It was Green Forest’s first victory over Huntsville since 2002.

“Our defense played outstanding,” Green Forest coach Greg Tibbitt said. “It was sloppy weather, just misting rain. The field was in bad shape. It was a defensive game, and our defense played really, really well.”

The score was tied at 6 when Martinez grabbed a tipped ball off an overthrown pass at the Green Forest 49 and raced down the left sideline and into the end zone. Junior Ridge Gordon- Swofford ran for the twopoint conversion and an eightpoint lead for the Tigers, who then held Huntsville at bay on the Eagles’ final possession to clinch the victory.

“We shanked the kickoff,” Tibbitt said. “That scared me to death. We were trying to get it deep and shanked it. But we came up big again defensively.”

Gordon-Swofford rushed for 87 yards on 21 carries. Junior quarterback Mason Meador ran for a 2-yard touchdown to tie the score at 6 in the first quarter after Huntsville struck first with a 67-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring.

Meador finished with 28 yards rushing and completed three passes for 73 yards, including a third-down completion to classmate Brityn Gilliam for a 38-yard gain. Sophomore Jonathon Rivera had 35 yards rushing for Green Forest.

Defensively, Martinez and sophomore Jaden Kaler had interceptions, while classmate Chance McKee was in on 11 tackles.

Green Forest will close out the season on Friday, hosting Berryville in the annual Carroll County Super Bowl at Tiger Stadium.