The Indian Land Warriors survived a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Nation Ford Falcons to secure a 34-26 home conference victory Friday night.
Indian Land built a seemingly comfortable 28-13 lead by the end of the third quarter, but Nation Ford answered with 13 points in the final period to make the game a one-score contest until the final whistle.
The Warriors established dominance early, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a rushing touchdown. They extended their advantage in the second, briefly pushing the margin to 14 points. However, the Falcons fought back hard before halftime. After an early second-quarter Indian Land score, Nation Ford’s Malachi Drayton punched in a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Following another Warriors score, Falcons quarterback Kason Canupp scored on a 6-yard run to narrow the halftime deficit to 21-13.
Indian Land delivered a crucial blow in the third quarter, scoring the period’s only touchdown via the ground game to extend their lead to 28-13 heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Falcons’ fightback. Nation Ford’s Patience Andrews opened the quarter with a 3-yard rushing touchdown (the two-point conversion failed), cutting the lead to 28-19. Indian Land answered quickly, with Jamol Horton finding the end zone for a crucial rushing touchdown to push the lead back to 34-19. Nation Ford refused to quit, however, as Canupp connected with Jayden Scott for a 50-yard passing touchdown late in the game, but the subsequent point-after, making it 34-26, was not enough as the clock ran out on the comeback attempt.
