Late score lifts Nation Ford past Forestview

Dijuan Ussery caught a 38-yard pass from Cameron Wells with 1:34 left in the fourth quarter to thwart a furious Forestview comeback and lead Nation Ford to a 34-27 win over the pesky Jaguars Friday night at Joe Alala Stadium.

After falling behind 3-0, the Falcons scored on their first play from scrimmage, pushed the lead to 13-3 on Ussery’s first of four touchdowns on the evening and actually led 27-6 with 5:34 left in the third quarter. But the Jaguars roared back with three straight touchdowns.

Octavious Wallace, who finished the night with 209 yards on 22 carries, cut the lead to 27-13 with a 66-yard dash with 5:21 left in the third quarter. Forestview was back in business on its next series after a bad punt snap gave the Jaguars a first down at the Nation Ford eight.

Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Logan Bradley found Dominique Adams in the end zone on a three-yard scoring pass. After the Jaguar defense held for a three and out, Wallace scored from 63 yards out on another sensational run to tie the score at 27-27.

Both teams had opportunities to go ahead, but it was the Falcons who found the strength to put the game away after blocking a Forestview punt late in the final stanza and holding on at the end as the Jaguars final pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the loss, but I couldn’t be more proud of the way this team fought back,” Forestview coach Chris Medlin said. “We had a lot of little mistakes that were magnified and we’ve got to fix that.”

Medlin was especially proud of Wallace, on both sides of the ball.

“He’s a football player,” Medlin said of the 5-9, 160-pound senior. “He ran well and he made some great plays defensively.”

Despite the loss, Medlin says he learned a lot about his team.

“I think we’ve got a lot of potential,” Medlin said. “This team showed that it will not give up. We did some things right, but we’ve got to keep working.”

Nation Ford- 13  6   8  7 – 34

Forestview-    3  3  14  7 – 27

First quarter

F- Cody Bridges 26 FG, 8:07

NF- Daniel Jackson 61 run (Corey Condron kick), 7:48

NF- Dijuan Ussery 54 pass from Cameron Wells (kick failed) 2:14

Second quarter  

F- Bridges 30 FG, 1:30

NF- Ussery 29 pass from Wells (kick failed) 24.6

Third quarter

NF- Ussery 31 punt return (Wells pass to Ussery), 5:34

F- Octavious Wallace 66 run (Bridges kick), 5:21

F- Dominique Adams 3 pass from Logan Bradley (Bridges kick), 20.1

Fourth quarter  

F- Wallace 63 run (Bridges kick), 10:15

NF- Ussery 38 pass from Wells (Condron kick), 1:34