LINDALE - The Lindale Eagles forced three turnovers, one of them returned for a touchdown, to hand former defensive coordinator and now head coach Chris Cochran his first victory 30-17 over Forney on Friday at Eagle Stadium.
Kollin McCartney recovered two fumbles, one of which he ran in for a touchdown. Chase Crumpton intercepted a pass in the second half, which also led to a Lindale score.
The Eagles (1-1) responded from a 17-14 late second-half deficit with 16 unanswered to deal Forney (1-1) its first loss of the season.
Lindale tailback Jordan Robinson finished with 20 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns with quarterback Dillon Heinaman passing for 180 yards and a score.
Forney quarterback Devon Rideaux was under siege from the Eagles defense, which forced several sacks, and still finished with 105 yards rushing and 135 passing, one of those a touchdown.
The game turned for Lindale in the closing seconds of the first half. Trailing 14-7 with under a minute to play, Eagles punter Cody Pike unleashed a 54-yarder that pinned Forney down at its own 1. On first down, a bad snap got away from Rideaux and McCartney graciously scooped it up and rumbled in for a 1-yard touchdown.
Instead of trailing at the half, the PAT by Lindale’s Jose Guevara meant the teams were tied 14-14 at the break.
Forney went back in front in the third quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Matt Edwards.
The Eagles had been unable to continue their momentum on offense in the third quarter, so the defense did the heavy lifting to spark everyone.
An interception by Chase Crumpton set Lindale up at the Forney 42. On third-and-7, Heinaman tossed a ball to Colton Brown, who out-leapt a Forney defender to make the catch and then turned and ran down the sideline for 51-yard gain. It worked so well, Heinaman went right back to Brown on the next play for a 16-yard touchdown. Brown finished with six catches for 103 yards and that score.
Forney tried to respond, but a big hit jarred the ball loose and Lindale’s McCartney recovered. This time Lindale was at its own 39, but the Eagles took it down and scored with Robinson capping the drive with a 17-yard run to make it 26-17.
Lindale’s defense continued to stop Forney with the Eagles tacking on a Guevara 32-yard field goal for the final score.
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Lindale 30, Forney 17
At Eagle Stadium, Lindale
Forney 7 7 3 0 - 17
Lindale 7 7 6 10 - 30
First Quarter
LIN-Jordan Robinson 26 run (Jose Guevara kick), 7:53
FOR-Austin Ream 9 run (Matt Huffman kick), 4:41
Second Quarter
FOR-Peyton Johnson 35 pass from Devon Rideaux (Huffman kick), 3:06
LIN-Kollin McCartney 1 yard fumble return (Guevara kick), :28
Third Quarter
FOR-FG Huffman 35, 6:51
LIN-Colton Brown 16 pass from Dillon Heinaman (kick failed), 2:15
Fourth Quarter
LIN-Robinson 17 run (Guevara kick), 9:58
LIN-FG Guevara 32, 3:10
FOR LIN
First Downs 19 15
Rushes-Yards 33-146 38-185
Passing Yards 151 180
Comp.-Att.-Int. 17-33-1 12-15-0
Punts-Avg. 2-32 4-43
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-1
Penalties-Yards 4-16 5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Forney, Devon Rideaux 21-105, Aaron Rideaux 8-32, Austin Ream 2-14, Campbell Anderson 1-(minus 1), KJ Hayes 1-(minus 4). Lindale, Jordan Robinson 20-157, Dillon Heinaman 14-32, Grant Sims 2-2, Ethan Gilley 1-(minus 2), Colton Brown 1-3.
PASSING-Forney, Devon Rideaux 15-30-1 135, Anderson 2-3-0 11. Lindale, Heinaman 12-15-0 180.
RECEIVING-Forney, Peyton Johnson 5-58, Sean Stephens 4-40, Austin Ream 3-12, Aaron Rideaux 3-22, Hayes 1-5, Carter Moon 1-9. Lindale, Brown 6-103, Robinson 3-58, Cooper Azbell 2-16, Gilley 1-3.