Green Forest holds off West Fork, 14-13

GREEN FOREST 14, WEST FORK 13

WEST FORK — Green Forest finally wore down West Fork’s defense to take its first lead of the game with less than 3 minutes left, but the defense made the play of the night to secure the victory.

The Tigers mauled West Fork’s Brenan Cash to stop a possible game-winning twopoint conversion with 6 seconds left to help Green Forest earn the 14-13 nonconference win.

Green Forest quarterback Reiley Gordon scored on a 1-yard plunge with 2:53 left for a 12-7 lead, then hooked up with Trevor Stark for the two-point conversion to push the lead to seven.

GREEN FOREST 14, WEST FORK 13

Green West Fork Forest .......... ...... 0 7 6 0 0 0 8 6 — — 14 13 First Quarter

West-Cash 19 pass from Harderson (Harderson kick), 1:31.

Second Quarter

Green-Gordon 1 run (kick failed), 0:47. Fourth Quarter

Green-Gordon 1 run (Gordon to Stark), 2:53. West-Cash 5 pass from Harderson (Run failed), :06.

But West Fork (0-3) wasn’t finished. The Tigers went 66 yards on 15 plays, scoring on fourth-and-goal from the 5. Quarterback Trent Harderson rolled out and found Cash in the middle of the end zone with six seconds left. Instead of kicking the extra point for the tie, West Fork coach Justin Smith then opted to go for the win.

And Green Forest’s defense was ready, swarming the ball-carrier at the line of scrimmage to secure the win after trailing for most of the game.

Green Forest coach Bobby Bishop was pleased with the way his team hung tough, despite being in West Fork territory quite a bit in the second half without scoring until late.

“We did have some opportunities and shot ourselves in the foot a few times,” Bishop said. “Those self-inflicted wounds hurt. I expected them to go for the tie and they lined up to go for the win. Our kids upfront, our linebacker stepped up and made a play.”

Bishop was pleased with his team’s play overall, but he said Gordon came up with big plays with his feet that were supposed to be pass plays.

“Reiley Gordon’s a great competitor,” said Bishop, whose team improved to 2-1. “He showed some grit tonight. I’m really proud of his effort on a couple of runs that were called passes. He’s starting to develop as a complete football player. Tonight might have built some confidence for him and I know it did our football team.”

West Fork coach Justin Smith said he has supreme confidence in his team, and he showed it by going for the win rather than the tie. He was especially pleased with the defense, which stopped Green Forest multiple times on downs in West Fork territory.

“We ain’t leaving nothing on the field,” Smith said. “They got after it. We’ve got to shore up some tackling, but other than that we kept them behind the chains most of the night and that’s all we can ask.”

Gordon rushed for 111 yards on just 14 carries and accounted for all 14 of Green Forest’s points. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw for the two-point conversion.

Cash picked up 97 tough rushing yards for West Fork, mostly inside the tackles, on 20 carries. But he also added two touchdown receptions.

FOUR DOWNS

• Green Forest turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter inside West Fork territory and two other times earlier in the game.

• Green Forest defeated West Fork 31-30 last year for its lone win of the season.

• Senior Madi Vankleeck was honored as the West Fork homecoming queen.

• West Fork opens 3A-1 Conference play at Mansfield next week, while Green Forest plays host to Prairie Grove in 4A-1 Conference action.