To give you an opportunity to see what's new, and what has changed, we have taken the paywall down temporarily.
Currently, there is no need to log into the site.
We will provide instructions for creating new account and resetting passwords when the paywall is turned back on.
The Green Forest Tigers picked up one of their most exciting victories in recent memory, scoring four touchdowns over the final seven minutes to erase and 18-point deficit and beat the Greenland Pirates 56-52 on Friday, Aug. 1, at Tiger Stadium.
Green Forest (1-1) trailed 46-28 early in the fourth quarter before roaring back to pull out their first victory in almost a year.
The Tigers had lost eight consecutive games since beating Cedarville in Week 3 of the 2022 season.
Junior running back Ridge Gordon-Swofford had a huge game for Green Forest. Gordon-Swofford ran for 171 yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries and also caught a touchdown pass from classmate Mason Meador.
Meador completed 11 of 15 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD. Sophomore receiver Jadon Ochoa caught three passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Greenland scored 34 points in the second quarter for a 40-22 halftime lead and went up 46-28 with 8:39 remaining.
Gordon-Swofford scored on a 1-yard run to cut the deficit to 46-34 with 6:59 remaining. Ochoa then recovered an onside kick at the Greenland 49. Three plays later, Meador found Ochoa for a 24-yard catch and run to the Greenland 25 on a fourth-and-10 play. A penalty moved the ball to the Greenland 12 and from there Meador hit Gordon-Swofford on a short pass that Gordon- Swofford carried into the end zone for a touchdown that pulled the Tigers within 46-40 with 5:56 remaining.
An onside kick attempt by Green Forest was recovered by Greenland at the Pirates’ 49, but senior defensive lineman Fernando Gonzalez recovered a fumble to give Green Forest the ball with 4:10 left.
The Tigers cashed in the opportunity with a touchdown and two-point conversion to take a 4846 lead.
Greenland’s next possession ended in an interception and Green Forest added another touchdown and two-point conversion for a 56-46 advantage.
Greenland responded with a kickoff return for a touchdown that cut Green Forest’s lead to 56-52.
The Pirates tried an onside kick but Green Forest recovered and ran out the clock to finish off its victory.
Green Forest ran 73 offensive plays for 410 yards of total offense. Greenland had 499 yards of offense, giving the two teams a combined total of 909 yards.
“We didn’t punt the whole night,” Green Forest coach Greg Tibbitt said. “We had three turnovers was the only thing that stopped us. We ran the ball really well. Mason came in and through for 195 yards, so we had some offensive numbers.”
Tibbitt said Green Forest’s plan was to have Meador play every third series at quarterback to spell junior starter Brityn Gilliam, who was pressed into duty at safety after sophomore Kasen Robinson was injured a week earlier against West Fork.
“Mason came in and Brityn was the first one to come to me and say: ‘He’s got it rolling. Leave him in.’ And he did.”
Green Forest will have an open date this week before hosting Cedarville on Sept. 15.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here