Big rally keeps Raiders alive for playoffs

JOHNS CREEK -- North Forsyth rallied from 21 points down to beat Johns Creek 38-21 Friday in a critical Region 6-AAAAAA victory for the Raiders.

North Forsyth (6-3, 3-3 Region 6-AAAAAA) will finish the regular season next week at home against South Forsyth. A victory for the Raiders would put them in a tiebreaker for the one of the final two spots. A Lambert win next week over West Forsyth would create a three-way tie for third place.

The Raiders trailed 21-0 late in the first half before using a series of timeouts to force a Johns Creek punt in the final moments of the first half. North Forsyth would then close out the first half on a high note getting a 39-yard TD pass from Cody Gottberg to Luke Slaton with just five seconds left in the half.

The Raiders would ride that momentum the entire second half. Slayton would score on a 25-yard run and Gottberg added a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to tie the game at 21.

North Forsyth would dominate the fourth quarter. Colton Turner gave the Raiders their first lead at 24-21 with a 39-yard field and then Gottberg would score his second touchdown of the game on a 20-yard run for a 31-21 lead. Zach Slaton would add a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter for the final score.

Gottberg finished the game with 19 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns. He added 58 yards passing and one score.