Knights' comeback falls short against N. Forsyth

OAKWOOD -- The old adage "it's not how you start but how you finish" did not quite hold true Friday night at Billy Ellis Memorial Stadium.

Johnson's offense finally came alive over the final two quarters, but late mistakes spoiled their comeback against North Forsyth, who won 17-14 for its first win of the year.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first half, Johnson (0-2) missed two field goals, had a bad quarterback pitch and a huge penalty cost it late in the game.

The Raiders took the lead early in the second quarter, capping off a 46-yard drive with a 6-yard run from Jory Walsh.

North Forsyth took a two-touchdown lead on its next possession in the second quarter. The Raiders took advantage of a fumble by Johnson quarterback Anthony Prophet near midfield.

Quarterback Eli Chester wound up scampering in from 15 yards out to end the drive and give the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

Chester finished with 32 yards on the ground and 23 passing yards to go along with the touchdown.

The Knights' Mick Shannon took the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to the end zone to cut the lead to 14-7 just before halftime.

North Forsyth started the second half with its third score in four drives. This time, it was kicker Corey Reins kicking a 32-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 17-7 lead. Considering the Knights had just 56 total yards in the first half, it seemed to be enough.

But again the Knights answered.

North Forsyth's next drive ended with a fumble at its own 27-yard line by Walsh. Johnson linebacker Joey Brooks recovered, and the offense did the rest.

Prophet ended the short drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone to cut the lead to 17-14.

The fourth quarter consisted of several squandered opportunities by the Knights to either tie the game or win it.

Johnson used 14n plays on its next drive, and seemed to score the go-ahead touchdown. On 4th-and-6, Prophet sprung loose, broke two tackles and galloped 52-two yards to the end zone. But an illegal block in the back negated the score.

The Knights still had a chance to score on the drive, but after a recovered fumble from a Prophet pitch to Shannon moved the offense outside the 10-yard line, kicker Chris Henry faced a 30-yard field goal attempt. The kick sailed wide to the left.

However, the Knights' would get one more chance. After forcing North Forsyth to punt, Prophet and the Knights' offense drove the ball back into the Raiders' red zone in less than a minute. But Henry's second straight try from 30-yards out also missed wide-left with just three seconds to go preserving the win for North Forsyth (1-1).

The Raiders were led by the hard running of Tyler Slaton, who finished the game with 151 rushing yards -- all but one of those coming after the first quarter.

Prophet also had another good game for Johnson. He finished with 86 yards on nine carries and 96 yards in the air. Many of those yards came late in the game.