By Jack Veltri
Correspondent
Much like last week, the opportunity for Nation Ford football to strike was there. But unlike last week, it couldn’t capitalize.
After beating Indian Land on the final play in week 0, the Falcons were brought back down to earth in a 30-14 loss to York on Friday night.
In the early going, they seemed to pick right up where they left off a week earlier. After a Zay Neely interception in the first quarter, the Falcons drove down the field and scored on an 8-yard Michell Ladamus touchdown catch.
But on the next drive, the Cougars answered right back. Running back Javarus Guthrie found a lane down the right sideline and went to the house from 49 yards out.
In what was an overall sloppy first half of play from Nation Ford, quarterback Kaden Barnette had two interceptions. In total, the Falcons turned the ball over four times in the first 24 minutes.
Despite that, the defense managed to keep the Cougars’ offense in check, holding them to just a field goal after the touchdown run. Eventually, though, the defense gave out.
York quarterback Triston Barnett made multiple plays with his legs, including an 11-yard touchdown to run on the first drive of the second half. It capped off a 17-0 run after trailing to start the night.
Just like last Friday, the Falcons were trailing by double-digits in the second half and needed to make another comeback. And they did, at first. As they approached the red zone, Barnette dumped a pass off to Josh Ameo. But as he approached the goal line, the ball came loose, rolling around. Fortunately, Lucas Barz fell on the ball in the endzone for the score.
Combined with 11 penalties, York’s lead was slowly slipping away. It nearly reached a breaking point when kicker Zane Beardsly missed a chip shot field goal to give the Falcons a chance to regain the lead. But on the ensuing drive, they went three and out.
From there, the game slowly began to fall apart for Nation Ford. A 44-yard touchdown run from Barnett, followed by another long scoring run by Ziggy Byers sealed the game’s fate.
The loss puts the Falcons at 1-1 through two games heading into September. They will get Catawba Ridge, also 1-1, at home next Friday, Sept. 1.
