A dynamic duo will face a high-pressure defense when Nation Ford plays Rock Hill
Nation Ford offensive coordinator David Johnson walked up to his quarterback Kaden Barnett and wide receiver Josh Ameo. He grabbed them by the face mask and told them: “The game ends here.”
The Falcons had just scored a Hail Mary touchdown with no time left in the fourth quarter against Indian Land. Instead of kicking the extra point and going to overtime, they went for the win.
“The play call was ‘hot devils’ and the backside had a whip,” Ameo recalled. “As soon as (Indian Land) stacked the other side with three men and put me one-on-one with the corner, I knew I would catch the ball to win the game.”
After being bumped back a few yards by a penalty, Ameo ran a great route and found himself open in the corner of the end zone. As the pass from Barnett came his way, he leaned near the front pylon and hauled in the game-winning catch.
Indian Land was left stunned. The Falcons’ bench stormed the field and mobbed Ameo in the 29-28 win back on Aug. 18.
“I saw him beat his man, and I was like, ‘Yep, there it is,’” Barnett said. “I can usually feel it out of the hand, like oh yeah, that feels good. And it happened to go our way.”
Now with three games to go in the regular season, the connection between Barnett and Ameo is as strong as ever. And Thurdsay night Rock Hill, 4-3, will take on Nation Ford, 3-4.
“They were in sync. If we can get that to carry over for the next few weeks and into the playoffs, I mean, all you can ask for is a chance,” Johnson said.
Building Chemistry
Ameo was never surprised by how strong his connection has been with Barnett.
“Last year, he didn’t play (on varsity) because we had our quarterback, Carson Black. And this year, I knew Kaden was going to have a big season,” Ameo said. “Our whole offense is in the same grade. And we were like this on JV too. So I knew this was me and Kaden’s year to shine.”
There’s a level of trust that goes into becoming so dynamic together.
“I can pretty much throw it up anytime I want to if I see a one-on-one with him,” Barnett said. “Leaving him one-on-one is a mistake, I think, because he’s going to go up there and get it anytime I need him to.”
But building trust takes time. And it goes far beyond the football field.
“We hang out all the time, we go watch film. I’ve taken all the wide receivers out to TopGolf to hang out. We’re good buddies off the field,” Barnett said. “As you get to hang out with him, you build that trust. And whenever you’re on the field, you trust him to make plays for you whenever you need him to. That’s huge.”
Over their last three games, the two have connected for four touchdowns.
“We’ve played together now for two and a half, three years, and I think (Barnett) has finally woken up to the occasion and knows we can be something special if we work hard together,” Ameo said.
Rock Hill defense no easy task
Rock Hill head coach David Pittman didn’t have to watch much film to gauge how well Barnett and Ameo worked together.
“That’s the biggest thing that I have noticed is their playability between the quarterback and (Ameo), the receiver,” he said. “We’re going to have to play our A-game.”
After racking up a handful of sacks and two interceptions against Fort Mill last week, Pittman knows his defense can get to Barnett. But it’s Ameo who could be a challenge.
Ameo has been a strong pass-catcher and he’s also proven to be valuable in the run game. He’s played some wildcat quarterback when Nation Ford wanted to really use his speed. Back on Sept. 22, Ameo rushed for 38 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-38 loss to Richland Northeast.
“He’s explosive, he’s got a lot of speed and has good hands. He’s a tough kid,” Pittman said. “I think he’s going to be hard for us to stop. Blythewood had to go a little head coverage on him and put two on him.”
Pittman wouldn’t reveal his entire game plan before Thursday’s matchup, but he didn’t rule out double-covering Ameo.
“You just have to dedicate more hats, put more eyes and stay on him,” he said. “When they’re multi-faceted like that, it’s definitely much more of a challenge for our defense to prepare for that. We know they’re just going to run straight down the field — that’s easier to defend.”
But while the Bearcats have been able to bring a lot of pressure and make plays, they also have struggled at times. They gave up 50 points in consecutive weeks against York and Northwestern, two of the better teams in the state.
Tonight’s game
Nation Ford (3-4, 1-1 Region 3-5A) travels to District 3 Stadium to face Rock Hill (4-3, 2-0) Thursday night. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 8:32 AM.