By Kelsey Prose
The North Sand Mountain Bison have had a rough start to their season, opening with a 51-0 shutout against Dade County and taking a hard region seven loss to Ider. But when Coach Kirby moved star wide receiver Derek Bearden to the quarterback position on Friday night against Section, the Bison had a different outcome.
North Sand Mountain defeated Section 42-34 after a rally attempt from the Lions fell short. NSM got on the board first when they set up a 75-yard scoring drive that Alex Luna capped for a 21-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bison a six-point lead. The Bison defense held strong on the next series and took over to earn another six points when Bearden punched it in. The Lions battled back before halftime and knotted the game 12-12. Cameron Summerford rushed in for a 50-yard touchdown after he recovered a fumble from his own team.
NSM scored first in the second half as Bearden added another touchdown run from 15-yards out, then Mason Smith added the two-point conversion to put NSM ahead 20-12 in the third quarter. Section didn’t quit and answered with a big sideline run from McCutchen for a 36-yard touchdown run. Dominik Blair’s two-point conversion kept the Lions in the game and tied the score again at 20-20. The Bison scored their final touchdown when their defense sacked Lion quarterback Jacob Cooper and caused a fumble that Tanner Boatfield recovered at Section’s 25. Smith scored the touchdown on a 30-yard run plus the extra two to push the lead to 42-26 with four minutes left in the game. The game continued to go back-and-forth until Section attempted an onside kick, but NSM recovered and ran out the clock for the win.
NSM earned 398 total yards on 60 plays with 295 rushing yards. Luna led the Bison with 127 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown. Bearden had 117 rushing yards on 17 carries with four touchdowns and threw for 68 more yards with seven completions. Section finished with more yardage at 435 total yards (231 rushing), with McCutchen in the lead with 153 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown plus 49 yards from the air and a touchdown reception. Cooper finished 6-for-12 passing for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Blair caught three passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
NSM (1-2, 1-1) hosts the Tanner Rattlers (2-2, 2-0) for a region seven matchup on Friday night at Lloyds Dobbins Field. The Rattlers are coming off a big win at Ider last week 20-17 after a last-minute rally earned the victory. Section (2-2, 0-2) prepares for the Ider Hornets (2-2, 1-1), who are looking to add another victory in the region.
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