Tate sat down with Forrest Rockets Head Coach Justin Palmer to break down the team's 54–26 road win over Mount Pleasant, which pushed Forrest to 3–0 on the season. Despite the lopsided final score, Palmer described a physical, back-and-forth battle fought through brutal heat — a far cry from last year's chaotic, weather-delayed two-day version of the game. The offensive story of the night was running back Quincy Mitchell, who put up a jaw-dropping line of 345 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 25 carries, plus 104 receiving yards and another score through the air, as he closes in on 5,000 career rushing yards despite missing time to a broken collarbone as a freshman. Quarterback Micah Morgan added balance with 126 passing yards and a rushing touchdown, with Palmer crediting his offensive line — especially Lochlan Morris and Delmon Hall — and receivers for their downfield blocking.

Defensively, Palmer pointed to a pre-halftime interception by Grant Todd as the game's turning point, which set up a Mitchell breakaway run and flipped momentum in Forrest's favor, while linemen Oakley Pipkin and defensive backs John Hightower and Issac Crouse also drew praise for their play against Mount Pleasant standout Cale Scott. Looking ahead, Palmer previewed a tough road test against East Hickman's single-wing offense, which beat Forrest last season, and flagged the week's central challenge: getting enough physical practice reps to prepare for that unique scheme without wearing down a thin, small-classification roster.

<p dir="ltr">Tate sat down with Forrest Rockets Head Coach Justin Palmer to break down the team's 54&ndash;26 road win over Mount Pleasant, which pushed Forrest to 3&ndash;0 on the season. Despite the lopsided final score, Palmer described a physical, back-and-forth battle fought through brutal heat &mdash; a far cry from last year's chaotic, weather-delayed two-day version of the game. The offensive story of the night was running back Quincy Mitchell, who put up a jaw-dropping line of 345 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 25 carries, plus 104 receiving yards and another score through the air, as he closes in on 5,000 career rushing yards despite missing time to a broken collarbone as a freshman. Quarterback Micah Morgan added balance with 126 passing yards and a rushing touchdown, with Palmer crediting his offensive line &mdash; especially Lochlan Morris and Delmon Hall &mdash; and receivers for their downfield blocking.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Defensively, Palmer pointed to a pre-halftime interception by Grant Todd as the game's turning point, which set up a Mitchell breakaway run and flipped momentum in Forrest's favor, while linemen Oakley Pipkin and defensive backs John Hightower and Issac Crouse also drew praise for their play against Mount Pleasant standout Cale Scott. Looking ahead, Palmer previewed a tough road test against East Hickman's single-wing offense, which beat Forrest last season, and flagged the week's central challenge: getting enough physical practice reps to prepare for that unique scheme without wearing down a thin, small-classification roster.</p>

Growing up in a coaching family and now the owner of Mathews Team Sports, Tate Mathews brings a unique perspective to High School Sports Saturday.

With over fifteen years in the sporting goods industry in Middle Tennessee working with and for high school administrators and coaches, Tate’s relationships provide insight into middle Tennessee high school athletics.

High School Sports Saturday covers each sport during their respective competitive seasons.  Coaches, administrators, TSSAA officials and student-athletes are interviewed each week at 8 AM on 104-5 The Zone.