Raiders rally, then hold on to beat Centennial

COAL MOUNTAIN -- Zach Slaton scored on a 3-yard run with 2:24 left to cap a furious fourth quarter rally and lift North Forsyth to a 28-24 win over Centennial Friday night in Region 6-AAAAAA action.

The Raiders (5-3, 2-3 Region 6-AAAAAA) snapped a three-game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive with the win.

North Forsyth trailed the entire game until Slaton's run, which capped a 74-yard drive after a crucial fumble by Centennial (1-7, 1-4) at the Raiders 26. Quarterback Cody Gottberg would connect with Jacob Hubbard on 53-yard pass on the next play and then five consecutive running plays by Slaton gave the Raiders their first lead of the game.

Centennial would mount one final rally driving inside the North Forsyth 20 in the final seconds. But junior Logan Cross would intercept a knights pass at the Raiders 2 with 9 seconds left to preserve the win.

Slaton finished with 124 yards rushing on 25 carries for north Forsyth. Gottberg was 5-for-5 passing for 110 yards and one touchdown and added 46 yards rushing and one touchdown on the ground.

Luke Slaton caught a 10-yard TD pass in the third quarter for North Forsyth.

The Raiders looked down-and-out with 9:46 left when Centennial stopped them on downs at the Knights 2 and then two plays they scored on a 92-yard pass to push their lead to 24-14.

North Forsyth answered with an 11-play drive, capped by a 5-yard TD run from Gottberg to make it 24-21.

The win puts the Raiders just one game behind Lambert for fourth place in the region standings. Lambert holds the tiebreaker over North Forsyth but still must play Chattahoochee and West Forsyth in the final two weeks.

North Forsyth needs to win out, including beating South Forsyth, and hope that South Forsyth losses it final two games.