Lions victim of fierce comeback

Grace Baptist scores 21 unanswered points in Friday night win over Lions From staff reports news@theheraldnewspapers.com Despite a gallant effort by Luke Stair, The King’s Academy Lions allowed Grace Baptist to rally for a 21-point second half and pull out a 28-21 victory. The home loss dropped head coach Larry Watson’s Lions to 2-3 on the season, while Grace Baptist continues to make a name for itself as a team to reckon with, improving to 5-1 with the win. Stair turned in one of the better defensive performances in recent memory for the Lions in the loss. He was in the Grace Baptist backfield all night, finishing the game with a game-high 14 tackles and a career-high three sacks. In spite of his defensive prowess, the visitors overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit by scoring three unanswered touchdowns against the Lions. Lane Beam put the Lions on the board first with a 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Senior quarterback Brett Weaver then completed a 31-yard scoring pass to Andy Deatherage with 4:39 remaining before halftime. After a Lions’ defensive stand, Weaver dashed in on a quarterback keeper to make it 21-7 after the Gareth Rowlands kick. Although the final rushing statistics (136-yards for the Lions, and 137-yards for the visitors) couldn’t be much closer, the Grace Baptist squad used its rushing attack to take control of the game during the second half, and ultimately hold on for the win. Josh Blake’s 25-yard touchdown run halfway through the third quarter pulled Grace Baptist to within a touchdown at 21-13, even though the extra-point attempt was off the mark. Next it was Grace’s Jon Harvey that reached pay-dirt from seven-yards out to cap a drive on the visitor’s next offensive series. Blake plowed in on a two-point conversion attempt to even things up at 21-21. Blake’s 20-yard touchdown run later in the third stanza would up being the winning score after a successful extra-point kick. The statistics from the contest were as even as one could imagine except for the fact that the Lions lost five fumbles compared to just one fumble lost by Grace Baptist.