The opportunities were there for the Nation Ford Falcons football team in their season opener against the Gilbert Indians, but so was a whole lot of mistakes.
Gilbert beat the Falcons 21-14 as penalties were a constant issue for Nation Ford. Unofficially, Nation Ford had 16 penalties for 143 yards in the game.
“It is hard to beat a good football team when you are hurting yourself,” said Nation Ford head coach Jake Bentley. “We have to control what we can control and we didn’t do that enough. We had our opportunities. We didn’t do our job enough and that starts with me. We have to fix that.”
Nation Ford took the opening drive and made the most of it. Despite an early fumble that they were able to recover, Beck scored after an eight play, 76-yard drive capped off by an 8-yard run. The extra point was missed for the Falcons.
The Falcons’ defense made quick work of Gilbert on their first series with a three and out.
As good as Nation Ford looked on their first drive, they struggled to gain any yards on their second series and were forced to punt.
The Indians’ first productive drive saw them keep the ball on the ground. One thing that benefited Gilbert on the drive was the penalties against Nation Ford allowing them to keep the ball moving.
Gilbert scored with 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 1-yard run.
Nation Ford confined to struggle with penalties on their next offensive possession. A bad snap on a punt attempt gave the Indians the ball back at the Falcons’ three-yard line. Two plays later Gilbert would extend their lead to 14-6 on a short touchdown pass.
The Falcons put together a decent drive, but penalties continued to hamper its offensive chances. Another Nation Ford punt gave Gilbert the ball and more momentum. The Indians didn’t throw often, but when they did, they were able to capitalize on covering some ground.
Gilbert coughed up the ball at the 28-yard line with 52 seconds remaining in the half. However, two plays later Nation Ford gave the ball right back on an interception from Beck. On the ensuing drive, Gilbert missed a 31-yard field goal attempt right before the half.
Unofficially in the first half, Nation Ford had 10 penalties for 88 yards.
Gilbert opened the second half putting together a strong drive starting at the 29-yard line. The Indians were able to milk the clock on the drive and used Nation Ford penalties to their advantage. Despite being able to take time off the clock, Gilbert failed to score turning the ball over on downs at the seven-yard line.
The Falcons struggled with getting any momentum in its drives because of penalties. Nation Ford was able to cut into the Gilbert lead with a 43-yard rushing touchdown. He then ran in the 2-point conversion tying the game at 14 with 2:37 left in the third quarter.
Gilbert came back to regain the lead with another successful drive scoring on a 35-yard pass with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Falcons started with a strong drive opening the fourth quarter. They crossed midfield, but Beck was picked off two plays later killing the eight-play drive.
Gilbert was unable to score off the turnover giving the ball back to the Falcons in Nation Ford territory. Beck was able to put together a good drive but a 15-yard penalty by the Falcons when they were at the Gilbert 12 hurt their momentum.
Nation Ford was able to get back to the 14-yard line, but the drive stalled on a fourth and 12 as the Falcons turned the ball over on downs as their last chance to score faded.
Beck led the Falcons offensively as he was 14-of-24 with three interceptions through the air and 149 yards, but it was his feet that did the most damage rushing for 152 yards on 20 carries.
Graham Lee caught three passes for 64 yards to lead the Nation Ford receivers.
Nation Ford will have to improve next week as they travel to South Pointe for their first Region 3-4A game of the year against the defending 4A state champions.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
