A strong first half wasn’t enough to carry over into the second half for the Nation Ford Falcons.
The Falcons trailed 27-20 at the half, and was outscored 26-0 in the second half to fall 53-20 to the Clover Blue Eagles. The loss drops the Falcons to 1-8 overall and 0-5 on Region 3-5A.
The main catalyst in the loss was the weight room said interim head coach Jason McManus.
“They wore us down,” McManus said. “They physically whipped us in the second half. There is no other way to put it. We didn’t finish in the first half the way we wanted to.”
Nation Ford picked up 16 first downs in the first half and only three in the second half. Quarterback Carson Sanford had 133 yards passing in the first half but just four in the second half. Sanford finished with 137 yards on 15-of-26 passing with two interceptions and two touchdowns.
Lucas Barz led the Falcons receivers with three catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Johnson led the ground attack for Nation Ford with 43 yards on six carries.
Nation Ford got the opening kickoff and put together a good opening drive. The Falcons put together a methodical 17-play drive taking 6:21 off the clock before Sanford found Barz for a 17-yard touchdown pass to give Nation Ford an early lead.
On the Falcons first defensive series, they stopped Clover at the 4-yard line. However, their second offensive series wasn’t as successful as they had to punt.
Clover was able to put together a scoring drive that went into the second quarter where they would score with 10:44 left in the second quarter. Nation Ford blocked the extra point.
Nation Ford came right back after the Clover score with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ameo from Sanford to put them up 13-6 after the failed extra point.
The Blue Eagles continued to hang with the Falcons as they tied the game at 13 with 6:13 left in the first half.
On the first play of the ensuing series, Sanford threw to Jayden Scott who in turn hit Barz for a 77-yard touchdown reception to push the Falcons back on top on a double-pass play.
Clover took a little longer on their next scoring drive, but still managed to keep pace with the high-powered Falcons offense with a 34-yard touchdown with 3:31 left.
The first turnover of the game came a minute later as Sanford was intercepted at the Clover 20. Two plays later, Grady Stone scored on a 37-yard run to put Clover up 27-20.
Nation Ford had one final series in the first half, but Sanford was picked off at the 5-yard line. Clover would go into the half leading by a touchdown.
The Blue Eagles received the kick to start the second half. Clover went to work and extended their lead on a 7-yard run from Landon Stone. Clover missed their second extra point of the game.
Nation Ford was forced to punt on their first possession of the third quarter and Clover took advantage again by pounding the ball in the ground. Nation Ford’s defense held strong, allowing just a 32-yard field goal by the Blue Eagles putting them ahead 36-20.
Clover scored for a third time in the third quarter as they scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass on their next possession.
The Blue Eagles led 43-20 entering the fourth quarter and kept soaring higher scoring on their first possession of the period. They ended their scoring with a 33-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining in the game to make it 53-20.
Nation Ford host Fort Mill next week in the regular season final with the winner of the game possibly making the playoffs.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
