Second quarter surge sends South Pointe past Nation Ford Falcons

The South Pointe Stallions used a surge in the second quarter on both offense and defense and scored 30 unanswered points to beat the Nation Ford Falcons 30-7 in their 2015-2016 football season opener.

The Stallions scored 16 points in the second quarter to get the advantage and never looked back.

“You got to love it and you got to want it,” South Pointe head coach Strait Herron told his team after the game. “We are going to work, and we are going to get better.”

Nation Ford’s defense struggled in the second quarter after playing a stellar first quarter. The Falcons’ defense was able to stop the Stallions’ receivers in the secondary as their quarterback Greg Ruff struggled early on the longer throws and screen passes in the first quarter.

Both teams came out running the ball, but that was short lived in the first quarter.

When South Pointe started to throw the ball, their offense moved smoother and once they scored, they were able to keep the momentum fully on their side of the ball.

Defensively, the Stallions made several key fourth down stops stalling Nation Ford’s offense.

Turning point

From a defensive standpoint, South Pointe stopped Nation Ford on their second drive of the second quarter as they faced a fourth and three giving the ball back to the Stallions with about three minutes left in the first half. That turned out to be plenty of time for South Pointe to score in just two plays giving them the lead 13-7.

Critical

South Pointe came out in the third quarter and took the opening series marching down the field even overcoming some penalties. Ruff led the drive with back-to-back passes of 26 and 28 yards for two consecutive first downs. The drive was topped off with a 29-yard touchdown run from Voshon St. Hill to extend the Stallions’ lead.

Star contributions

Josh Shade was key as a third target for Falcons quarterback Cole Martin as he hit Shade six times for 99 yards. Ruff was just as effective for the Stallions’ offense as he went 17-29 passing for 222 yards and also rushed for 110 yards.

Overheard

Nation Ford coach Michael Allen said his team needs to put the game behind them.

“We tried to take what they gave us,” he said. “We did run the ball well. We just made to many mistakes. I am pleased with the defensive effort. It ain’t going down like this anymore. It’s easy to say, but you got to live it.”

On deck

South Pointe will play Rock Hill at home in a cross-town rivalry game, while Nation Ford will host Boiling Springs at home.

South Pointe 30, Nation Ford 7

SCORING SUMMARY

Second quarter

NF-Cole Martin 32-yard pass to Josh Shade (Skyler Delong kick), 11:53

SP-Greg Ruff 31-yard pass to Tony Cherry (B.T. Potter kick), 6:00

SP-Voshon St. Hill 31-yard run (kick missed), 2:45

SP-Potter 44-yard field goal, 2.0

Third quarter

SP-St.Hill 29-yard run (Potter kick), 9:00

Fourth quarter

SP-Ruff 61-yard run (Potter kick), 7:46

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING Nation Ford: Cole Martin 12-23, Rayquwan Taylor 18-46, Hank Tuipulotu 1-3. South Pointe: Greg Ruff 7-110, Voshon St. Hill 9-84, Geomni Mayfield 5-6, DaNeil Adams 5-26.

PASSING Nation Ford: Martin 18-28-0 201 yards. South Pointe: Ruff 17-29-0 222 yards, Zaylin Burris 0-1-0 0 yards.

RECEIVING Nation Ford: Tuipulotu 4-42, Taylor 1-3, Jordan Helms 3-20, Alex Stennett 4-37, Josh Shade 6-99. South Pointe: St. Hill 3-55, Nick McCloud 2-16, Josh Wilkes 3-30, Chris Smith 2-12, Lorenzo Wells 1-8, Tony Cherry 2-32, Quay Brown 4-69.

RECORDS South Pointe 1-0; Nation Ford 0-1.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Second quarter surge sends South Pointe past Nation Ford Falcons."