BLYTHEWOOD – The Nation Ford Falcons picked up their first Region 3-5A win of the year on a rare Thursday night football game edging the Blythewood Bengals 34-28 on a Kaleb White 18-yard run with 42 seconds left in the game.
The run capped off a 12 play, 85-yard drive for the Falcons as
Nation Ford improved to 3-4 on the season and 1-1 in region play, while the Bengals dropped to 1-1 in region play as well.
Nation Ford also held off a last-ditch effort by the Bengals as they scored to tie the game with no time left on the clock, but an ineligible receiver downfield negated the touchdown.
Nation Ford head coach Michael Allen said his team put it all together Thursday.
“We found a way to execute finally and play smart football,” he said. “We played together and executed really well on both sides of the ball. I think we played together for a full 48 minutes.”
Nation Ford was forced to punt on their first series of the game but recovered a fumble on the punt.
Kaden Barnett then hit Josh Ameo on a 36-yard strike to put the Falcons on the board early less than two minutes into the game.
Blythewood was able to come back and score to tie the game on its first series. However, Nation Ford went back to the Barnett-Ameo connection on their next series as Ameo scored on a 30-yard catch to again put the Falcons on top.
Barnett was 18-for-30 passing for 211 yards and three touchdowns, while Ameo caught eight passes for 135 yards and three touchdown.
Offensively, the Bengals were able to move the ball well, but were hurt by penalties on both sides of the ball.
Neither team was able to score anymore in the first quarter as they traded punts for the next several series.
Blythewood opened the second quarter starting at the Falcons 29-yard line after a bad Nation Ford punt. The Bengals were able to work the ball down to the one-yard line and punch it in to tie the game with 9:42 left in the quarter.
On the Falcons’ first series in the second quarter, Nation Ford moved the ball as Jaydon Scott was able to get a big gain on a 24-yard catch to get them cross midfield. Three plays later Barnett hit Ameo for a 34-yard score to regain the lead with 4:30 left in the first half.
Blythewood scored just four plays into the second half with the help of a 15-yard penalty by Nation Ford that put them at the 27-yard line where they scored on the next play to pull within one after a missed extra point.
Nation Ford was able to move the ball in their first series of the second half, but two negative plays with Barnett getting sacked for the first time in the game forced a punt by the Falcons.
After a punt by Blythewood on their second series, White put in work helping to move the ball and ended the drive with a 31-yard touchdown run with 5:52 left in the quarter to make it 28-21. White rushed for two touchdowns and 166 yards on 22 carries.
As well as the offense played, Nation Ford’s defense came up with three big stops in the third quarter forcing the Bengals to punt on each occasion.
The Falcons offense slowed in the second half after White’s touchdown. Nation Ford turned the ball over on downs in their own territory on their first series in the fourth quarter allowing Blythewood to start their drive at the 43-yard line. The Bengals were able to get to the one-yard line where they once again punched it in to tie the game.
Up next for Nation Ford is a region game at District III Stadium in Rock Hill against the Bearcats Friday, Oct. 13.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
