NCA 29, BEN’S FORD 22
Newton County Academy football coach Stevie Nelson will be the first to admit that he wasn’t looking forward to Friday's long bus ride to Bogalusa, La.
But the ride back to Decatur was a lot better for Nelson and the Generals.
NCA overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit and scored late to take a 29-22 win over the Eagles.
NCA improves to 3-2 on the season and will host Kemper County on Friday night for homecoming.
Nelson said he was proud of the way his team competed on Friday night in some adverse conditions.
“That ride back is a lot easier when you win,” Nelson said. “I think we grew up a lot on Friday night. They competed and faced some adversity. We were down at halftime, came back to take the lead and then lost it with about five and a half minutes in the game. We put together a very nice drive and scored. Then we held them and held on for the win. I couldn’t be more proud of our kids. Hopefully we can build on this and get some wins down the road.”
Ben’s Ford got on the board first as the Eagles scored on a 25-yard run late in the first quarter. The try for two failed and the Eagles led 6-0.
The Generals answered as they went 64 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 4-yard run by Ty Thrash. Cohen Rule kicked the PAT and the Generals held a 7-6 lead.
The Eagles answered right back as they hit a 55-yard touchdown pass and converted the two-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead, a score that lasted into halftime.
“They were 3-0 coming in and had been winning,” Nelson said. “We were coming off a tough division loss and I didn’t really know where our mind was. But I thought we had a good plan and our kids performed well. You want to see kids who play hard and compete and that’s what we got on Friday night. Ben’s Ford is a good football team and will probably win their division.”
The Generals got the ball to start the second half and promptly went 55 yards in plays and scored on a 6-yard run by Thrash on fourth down. Cooper Savell ran in the two-point conversion and the Generals led 15-14.
The Generals then forced a punt and got back to work on offense, marching 71 yards in seven plays as Thrash hit Savell on a 40-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. The PAT failed and the Generals led 21-14.
The Eagles answered with a scoring drive of their own as they went 49 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 30-yard pass play midway through the fourth quarter. The try for two was good and Ben’s Ford took a 22-21 lead.
The Generals then went 58 yards in six plays. Savell had runs of 12 and 17 yards on the drive and Thrash hit Logan Usry on a 30-yard pass on the drive. Savell then scored on a 1-yard run and converted the two-point conversion as NCA led 29-22.
Ben’s Ford then turned the ball over on downs and NCA finished out the game to take the win.
The Generals had 197 yards rushing and 101 passing for 298 yards of total offense. Savell had a big night with 131 yards rushing on 21 carries while Thrash had 60 yards on 21 carries.
Thrash was 3-of-6 passing for 101 yards with one TD while Savell had two catches for 71 yards. Logan Usry had one catch for 30 yards.
On defense, Usry led the Generals with 8.5 tackles while Harrison Wall had 6.5 tackles and a sack. Taylor Burt and Amos Castillo had six tackles while Thrash and Savell had four tackles. Josh Fletcher and Steven Duke had three tackles apiece while Noah Agent had 2.5 tackles.
