Senior fullback Tyler Carter (32) bowls his way into the end zone from a yard out to give Cascade their second touchdown against Forrest. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Cascade carried a 14-point lead in the final quarter but wound up having to survive a furious comeback from Forrest to hold onto a 24-23 win at The Stable on Friday night in one of the best battles in a long history between the two schools.

"At times we played well," said Champion coach Kenny Parker, whose team improved to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in Region 5-A. "At times we just didn't play as well. I was proud of the outcome.

"I feel like that's the best Chapel Hill team they've had in an awful long time."

Josh Molder's 32-yard field goal with 2:13 left in the third quarter put Cascade ahead 17-3.

The capacity crowd seemed content with how things were going and were about ready to fold up their blankets and head on out.

The Rockets (4-2, 3-2) made things interesting in a hurry once the fourth quarter hit.

Quarterback Colin Henson found receiver Taylor Abrigo open for the first Forrest touchdown on the initial play of the quarter. The very next play from scrimmage Henson scooped up a Cascade fumble and returned it 32 yards to the house to tie the game at 17-all.

In a span of 18 seconds, the Champs went from cruise control to DEFCON One.

"They had all the momentum and we're sitting over here wondering what's happening," Parker said. "Up to that point, we felt like we were in pretty good control all night."

If you're looking for a Trivial Pursuit partner and don't mind a crowd, you may want to consider the Cascade football team because they've had all the answers thus far this season.

Champion quarterback Jacob Carkuff climbed under center knowing his team's hopes of a region title were on the line. The senior calmly ran the ball twice for 15 yards and was a perfect 3-for-3 passing for 49 yards, including a 4-yard dart to Ricky Hord for a TD to cap an eight-play, 67-yard drive. Molder finished off a perfect night by booting his third extra point to put his team up 24-17 with 8:00 showing.

"We work special teams 25-30 minutes everyday because it's important," Parker said. "Think about it if we miss an extra point. Miss one extra point in this game right here and see what happens. That's why you've really got to focus on those things."

The Chapel Hill boys hardly went quietly in the night, responding to the challenge with a workmanlike 11-play drive of their own where every one of their 64 yards were earned on the ground. Henson finished it off by sneaking into the end zone from a yard out.

"We kind of got a beat on what they were doing defensively and then got the adjustments made in the second half," Rocket coach Kyle Stacey said. "According to how they were lining up, that's what they were giving us. They were giving us more out of the pro set than they were the twin set where they were moving all the people over to the side where Abrigo was. They were obviously keying on him. We just put him over to the side to get (Gerald Johnson) out of the way."

Things got even more interesting when Forrest called time out to set up a two-point conversion attempt instead of opting for a kick down 24-23 with 3:04 to play. Henson rolled to his right but flung an incomplete pass under duress from the Champion rush.

"We kind of put it in their hands, and they wanted to go for it," Stacey said. "So we went for it and came up short. That's a tough decision. I'll second guess myself for a long time with that one. But, I told them yesterday in the dressing room we play to win. We felt like we had the momentum going our way at the time and just thought we could get it in."

As expected, the visitors came back with an onside kick. They huddled around the ball and attacked the Cascade front following a kick without the ball even touching the tee. The pigskin hug to the turf and new life breathed into the Rockets when officials ruled it rolled 10 yards untouched, much to the chagrin of the home side.

Matt Henderson (1) led Cascade in rushing with 58 yards on 14 carries. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"You've just got to play through those things. I was proud of the way our kids responded. They just kept battling," Parker said.

A 16-yard screen pass to Levell Quezaire and a 6-yard Henson run moved Forrest down to the Champ 26-yard line. Quezaire had to leave with cramps, backup tailback Tevin Murry took his second handoff of the game and coughed the ball up. Cascade's Jordan Lacey recovered at the 25 with 1:33 left.

A pair of rushes forced the Rockets to use their final two time outs. Instead of playing it safe and chewing more clock, the Champs decided to roll the dice and put the ball in the air.

"I was a little surprised there," Stacey said. "I was really shocked at that point to put the ball up like that. You've got to be ready for everything, the unexpected."

Carkuff's pass was batted to the ground, setting up a fourth-and-three with 1:11 to go.

"We had what we wanted," Parker said. "We just threw it late. We knew when we got in what we call our jumbo package they were going to crowd the line. We snuck our tight end out, and he was 10 yards deep. Their safety Henson saw it and just reacted. We floated it a little bit. Had we thrown that pass a little earlier we may have scored.

"You've got to gamble in those situations. They're good up front. Yeah, it's third-and-three, but we felt like that was the play to make."

Caleb Chavis blasted a quick kick 47 yards to back up the Rockets to their own 21. A 19-yard loss following a fumble on their first play killed Forrest's hopes of a game-winning drive.

Carkuff finished 6-for-10 passing for 82 yards. Matt Henderson led the victors in rushing with 58 yards on 14 carries. Tyler Carter gave them their first two touchdowns on a pair of goal line plunges (2,1).

Michael Martin paced the Orange and Black with 12 tackles. Marcus McBee had seven.

The Rockets outgained their hosts on the ground, picking up 166 yards on 44 rushes. Cascade ran for 123 yards on 34 attempts. Henson completed 6-of-9 passes for 113 yards.

The Champs carry their undefeated record into Eagleville next week where they'll look to keep up pace with co-region leader Jo Byrns, who rallied from a tie game at the half to beat the Eagles 17-8 on Friday.