By: David Wells
Against other teams, the Patriots would have lost.
Those were the words of Page head coach Brandon Hitt after what he considered to be a lackluster effort on both sides of the ball against visiting Forrest High School.
“Just playing with the energy,” he said. “That’s all I want. I just want them to have energy. Have energy, play emotional, play with heart, and get after somebody.”
After going up 20-10, Page (2-3) needed a 69-yard drive and a fourth-quarter defensive stop to hold off the Rockets (3-3) for a 27-24 victory Friday night.
At the end of the day, it was a win for Page; the Patriots were desperate for a victory after going winless since Aug. 30. Unsurprisingly, it came through the legs and the throwing arm of quarterback Zak Mizell.
Mizell threw the 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Matt Fornero on 4th-and-goal that put Page ahead with 2:51 left in the game, his lass completion on a night where he went 21-for-41 for 201 yards and carried the ball 12 times for 54 yards.
Page also put together the rushing game for the first time this season. Before Friday’s game, the Patriots rushed for 228 yards on the season; they rushed for 159 yards against Forrest.
“We worked on our run game in the first half, and I don’t think they were expecting it,” Mizell said. “We put in a run game this week, trying to establish one, and I’m sure they just weren’t prepared for it.”
Page took the early advantage after Tyler Thieman returned a Rockets punt 32 yards to set up Michael Roberts’ 28-yard touchdown on the next play.
The Patriots recovered Zach McClendon’s fumble on the first play following the kickoff and drove to the 1-yard line. Mizell fumbled on 3rd-and-goal, and on the next play, Brandon Anderson’s fumble put the ball right back into Page’s hands. Hunter Amason kicked a 32-yard field goal to widen the gap to 10.
Forrest’s Tyler McClendon scored midway through the second quarter to make it a 10-7 game, but Mizell ran it in from 40 yards out on the next series and kept the margin at 10.
The Rockets took over at their own 18 and held on to the ball for the next five minutes until Page’s defense forced 4th-and-goal at the 14. Chris Haggard completed the 31-yard field goal attempt with 1:16 left to play.
But Mizell wasn’t done yet; working with a short field, he led Page to the 18-yard line before Mason Folwy’s 35-yard field goal made it 20-10.
Forrest’s offense came out strong in the second half, scoring on its first series with a 19-yard flea flicker pass from running back Jacob Daughrity to Nolan Ferris in the third quarter. After Page turned the ball over on downs on its next series, Forrest drove 73 yards over the next 7:10 and scored Tyler McClendon’s 5-yard run to take its only lead of the game, 24-20.
Page’s next game will be against Giles County at home. The game kicks off at 7 p.m.
