What started as a defensive battle with only one first-half touchdown quickly turned into a game where the last team to hold the football in the fourth quarter would likely win last Friday, Oct. 21.

With 2:41 left to play, the Fountain Hills High School football team was still in position to pull out a comeback win over their rival, Payson. Senior quarterback Spencer Nelson drove the offense down the field and set up a field goal attempt from the 25 yard line with 27 seconds left. Instead of tying the game 17-17, Payson blocked the kick and returned it for a touchdown to win 24-14.

“We were very disappointed for not being able to close that game out,” head coach Sean Moran said. “We have to move on, and we have to not treat that game like it was the last game of the year.”

The Falcons were facing an uphill battle from the opening kickoff. The weather in Payson was colder than any weather they’d played in so far this season, and they had thrown one interception and only had 26 total yards on offense in the first quarter.

Payson scored late in the first quarter after a 15-yard touchdown run. They were set up after a pass interference call, but otherwise, the Falcons forced four different three and outs. After Payson’s only first down not from penalty in the first half, the Falcons got two back-to-back sacks, the first from junior Cannon Lipps and the second from senior Diesel Giger.

After the sacks, Fountain Hills got the ball back with 6:07 left in the second quarter. Nelson got the first first down on his legs, and Payson hit him on the sidelines after the play was over. The Falcons got an additional 15 yards from the flag, and Nelson hit junior Gannon Young with a nine-yard reception on the following play.

The Falcons tried running three times to get the first down. First with Lipps and then with Nelson under center twice. The referees did not give Fountain Hills the yard they needed for the first down, which prompted one of the Falcons’ offensive linemen to say, “that’s the worst spot I’ve ever seen,” from the sideline.

Payson committed two false starts and had to punt the ball back. The Falcons took over on the 11 yard line with 1:11 left in the half, and they went to work. Nelson completed a 35-yard pass to senior Tory Johnson, a 10-yard pass to Lipps and added more with his legs.

Nelson completed a 26-yard pass to Giger for a touchdown with 0.9 left on the clock, but the referees took it back with a holding call. It was Fountain Hills’ third penalty in the half, and Nelson threw his third interception on the ensuing Hail Mary. The Falcons had zero turnovers in the second half and allowed zero points off of their turnovers.

“That’s kind of what we’ve been doing with defense, just make sure they don’t score and get the ball back to Spencer,” senior defensive end Jaron Rosario said. “We were only down by seven, so that’s still a really close game. [Moran] was telling us it’s 0-0 and that we could still win it. Just go out there and play our game.”

Payson started the second half with the ball and took six minutes off the clock on their way to a field goal. Fountain Hills started driving in response, but they were stalled by penalties.

Nelson was sacked on a second and short play, and Payson was penalized for roughing the passer after the play. Unfortunately for Nelson, there was an offsetting holding call on the Falcons, and the sack stood. The Falcons couldn’t move the chains, and they punted the ball away with less than two minutes in the third quarter and down 10-0.

Payson would make a few big plays, but the Falcon defense got the stops they needed. Senior Ryan Dyhrkopp got a tackle for loss on third down and forced a punt with 10:30 left to play.

The Falcons’ top running back, senior Gavin Furi, missed the entire second half with an injury, and two of his backups, junior Gabe Haynes and Lipps, dealt with minor injuries. The next man had to step up, but sophomore Sam Barnard hadn’t taken a snap at running back all year.

Barnard got 41 total yards of scrimmage on the drive and helped set up the Falcons’ first touchdown. Nelson found Giger for a short one-yard touchdown pass and the Falcons made it a one-score game with 8:11 to play.

“We were down quite a bit of guys at running back, so we went to Sammy, and Sammy was ready to go,” Moran said. “That’s a testament to him and what he's learning. Sammy hasn’t taken a running back handoff all year in practice, so that was a football player being a football player and doing what he needed to do, and I thought he did a really good job there.”

The Falcons were missing freshman Riley Murdock and senior Ty Cosman on kickoff duties, and Payson seemed to take advantage. They returned the kick for a touchdown until a block in the back penalty took them back to the 50 yard line. The Falcons would hold them and force another punt.

Nelson found Giger twice for catches of nine yards and 49. The big play set them up, and then Nelson ran in a touchdown from five yards away to lead 14-10 with 4:44 left.

Payson rallied, and their offense that had been stagnant since the beginning of the half came to life. They got two plays of 20 yards or more, and they were closing in on another score. The Falcons held them to a third down and goal and thought they stopped the Longhorn running back short of a touchdown on third down. The Falcons even forced a fumble from Payson, but the referees ruled forward progress got him past the goal line for a touchdown.

Starting at their 25 with less than three minutes, the Falcons weren’t worried. Nelson got off all four of his passes, and Payson was flagged for unnecessary roughness, a horse collar tackle and unsportsmanlike conduct on the drive. The horse collar penalty was offset by a Falcon holding call, but the Falcons made it to field goal range.

Senior Nico Cini has made kicks from the 25 yard line or closer before this season, but this was the first blocked field goal on the season.

“The energy was there, we were all in it,” Gannon Young said. “It was probably the most hectic game I’ve ever been in. Everyone was doing all cylinders. Spencer was throwing good balls, the defense looked good, and we were locked in in the fourth quarter ready to bring it home, but we came short.”

Payson was flagged for 24 penalties verses nine committed by the Falcons. Moran said his team was frustrated with how the game was going, but he was proud of their effort in trying to overcome everything.

Despite the region loss, the No. 18 Falcons (5-4) still have a shot at playoffs. They face another region opponent in the season finale, No. 7 Valley Christian (7-2). The Falcons will celebrate Senior Night and hope to upset the Trojans on a special night this Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.

“We’re ready to go, we want our last game to be our best game,” Young said. “Finish out the season strong and make the playoffs. This is going to be a huge game. I think we’re all ready to put our heads down and work at practice to be the best we can be this week. Then come out on Thursday and be the best we can. It’s a shorter week so we have to be even better than we are on a normal week.”