LEXINGTON – For most of the game, the Nation Ford Falcons put together long drives, but it was one of their shortest drives that had the biggest impact.
Nation Ford beat River Bluff 20-17 to improve to 2-1 on the season and rallied by scoring on their last drive.
The Falcons trailed by three points with 1:49 left in the game and went 62-yards in five plays as quarterback Kason Canupp hit Asher Beck for a 24-yard game winning touchdown with 43 seconds left in the game.
“This is such a special group,” said Falcons head coach Jake Bentley. “That through all the adversity of the game and the drives that didn’t result in points, they didn’t get frustrated. They kept chopping and we found a way to win. That is a really good football team we beat. They are a really talented group. I am really proud of our guys and how they have came together.”
The Falcons were opening its road schedule after two home game to kick off the season.
River Bluff didn’t waste time scoring taking the opening drive to go 55-yards in seven plays to score within the first two minutes of the game.
After a 13-play drive for Nation Ford on their first possession, the Falcons came away with no points after missing a 32-yard field goal attempt.
Nation Ford’s defense came up with a big stop as Micah Gadsden got an interception with three minutes left in the first quarter.
That allowed the Falcons to flip the field and put together another long drive spanning into the second quarter.
Penalties slowed the game in the first half, but despite that Nation Ford methodically put together a 99-yard, 17-play drive to tie the game on a one-yard touchdown run by Patience Andrews with 6:33 left in the first half.
Despite the Nation Ford defense being off the field for nearly 10-minutes, they struggled to stop the Gators in their first drive of the second quarter. River Bluff was able to break the tie scoring with 2:46 left in the second quarter.
Nation Ford was forced to punt on their next series giving the Gators the ball at about midfield.
River Bluff again took advantage of the opportunity and put together another drive putting points on the board with a 24-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 34 seconds left in the half.
Nation Ford’s Beck gave the Falcons a big boost by returning the ball to the 43-yard-line of the Gators to open the second half.
Canupp got the Falcons to the three-yard line, but got injured on the drive and had to come out of the game stalling the Falcons drive.
Canupp came back in on the next Falcons’ series and Nation Ford picked up where they left off offensively. Canupp hit Jayden Scott over the middle to get them to the five-yard line of the Gators, where Andrews would punch it in on the next play to cut the River Bluff lead to 17-14 with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
The Gators put together another lengthy drive but Nigel Johnson picked the ball off for Nation Ford in the end zone. The Falcons were able to put together another drive that got them to the red zone where they again missed a field goal attempt that would have tied the game with about eight minutes left.
River Bluff then took the ball and started eating up the clock which hurt the Falcons opportunities, but that didn’t stop them from trying.
Canupp was unofficially 26-of-39 for 326 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 37 yards on nine carries.
Scott caught 10 passes for 108 yards and Beck caught four for 57 yards and a score. Andrews rushed for two touchdowns on six carries and 27 yards.
Nation Ford returns to the Columbia area next week as they face Richland Northeast on Thursday, Sept. 11.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
