Nation Ford head coach Jake Bentley said he wanted his offense to adopt a “desperation mindset,” to help stop a six-game skid to start the season.
The Falcons’ offense went scoreless Friday night in a 14-2 loss to visiting Region 3-4A opponent Clover High School in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Fort Mill on Sept. 25.
With the loss, Nation Ford falls to 0-6 on the season, including an 0-2 start to the region schedule.
Nation Ford’s defense did well to stop a power run offense like Clover, according to Bentley, but the offense couldn’t convert opportunities into points during a chippy night with plenty of emotions flowing on both sides.
“Football is an emotional game,” Bentley said. “But we have to control the things we can control. … I think we’ve got to have that kind of desperate mindset offensively. Our defense stuck it to them and stuck it to them. But we’ve got to play with a desperation mindset and put the ball in the end zone.”
Starting quarterback Brooks Treble, who was 10-of-19 for 54 passing yards, threw three interceptions in a little over two quarters of action. Senior Asher Beck, was 4-of-10 for 46 passing yards and one interception, took over under center midway through the third quarter, but he had little opportunity to change the game. Leading by 12 midway through the fourth quarter, Clover drained eight minutes of valuable clock during a mammoth eight-minute drive that included five first downs.
Beck and the Nation Ford offense finally got the ball back deep in their own territory with less than a minute to play, but Beck threw a pick on the final play of the game, trying to reach a receiver close to the end zone.
“We’re going to take it day by day,” said Bentley of his quarterback options. “Brooks is going to be fine. He had a rough go at it today. I felt like we needed some energy, the mobility piece, and I felt Asher could be a spark, but we still need a way to get in the end zone.”
Clover’s offense quickly went to work from its first drive.
Following Nation Ford’s opening three-and-out, quarterback Aaron Shealey (77 passing yards, 8-of-21 passing) and running back Grady Stone (68 yards on 15 carries, 1 touchdown) controlled the tempo and the field, traversing 72 yards on 12 plays over the course of about five minutes to open the scoring. Shealey found Stone through the air or handed it off to him up the middle before Stone found paydirt from six yards out on first and goal.
Nation Ford appeared to answer with a promising drive of its own, but consecutive penalties pushed the Falcons back from Clover’s 29 to their own 47 before being forced to punt.
Less than a minute into the second quarter, Nation Ford’s defense forced a sack on Shealey, leading Clover into a fourth and long. But the snap to the Blue Eagles’ punter went awry, and the Falcons were able to block the ensuing kick back out of the end zone for a 2-point safety with 11 minutes remaining until halftime.
The Falcons got the ball back courtesy of the free kick, but went three-and-out again.
Shealey got running back Jeremiah Farmer (68 yards on 10 carries) rolling with heavy rushes up the middle. The senior nearly scored from 25 yards out when he broke a tackle, but was stopped just shy of the goal line. Shealey took a quarterback keeper in for the score on the next play, giving the Blue Eagles a 14-2 edge.
Nation Ford’s Treble took over with 5:29 left in the half and tried to find a receiver out in space, but defensive back Najeh Potts snagged the interception.
Following a turnover on downs, Treble tried again to connect with a receiver downfield, but Mason Smith fell down with the ball, snuffing out any chance of Nation Ford scoring before the break.
“I think our guys have got to understand that their detail and assignment and their job on each play is the most important thing,” Bentley said. “If 10 guys are doing it perfect and one isn’t, we’ll have issues. I told them that if you want anybody tonight to blame, blame me, because I did not get the offense ready to play.”
With the win, Clover is 3-3 on the season and 2-0 in region play.
Nation Ford next plays at Lake Wylie High on Friday, Oct. 2.
