PHOTOS: Foundation falls 26-21 in back-and-forth loss to Cambridge Christian

When long road trips are on the schedule there tends to be added emphasis on winning at home.

Such was the case for Foundation Academy’s football team as the Lions (0-1) looked to kick off the 2019 regular season on Friday, Aug. 23, with a win over visiting Cambridge Christian (Tampa). But the result was a hard luck 26-21 loss to the Lancers.

Foundation took a 7-0 lead at the 4:30 mark of the opening quarter when quarterback Henry Austad and Danny Stutsman teamed up for a red-zone touchdown pass. Mykal Chan added the extra point, but Cambridge Christian (1-0) knotted the score with 10 seconds left in the period as Chris Stephenson tossed a 10-yard TD pass to Snider out of a Wildcat formation. James Porter kicked the point after.

Cambridge Christian quarterback Titan Williamson tossed a 55-yard bomb to Gavin Martinez for a touchdown early in the second quarter, as Cambridge Christian pulled ahead 14-7. The Lions answered with an impressive scoring drive – capped by Charles Vickers’ 5-yard run at the 4:35 mark – and the two teams went to halftime tied at 14-all.

After the half, Martinez hauled in a 48-yard touchdown reception (after breaking a couple tackles along the Cambridge Christian sideline) to give the Lancers a 20-14 lead with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

Foundation responded with a 70-yard touchdown drive fueled by Austad’s 20-yard completion to Stutsman and three Cambridge Christian penalties. Austad scrambled out of the pocket and dived into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown and Chan’s subsequent extra point gave the Lions a 21-20 advantage with 10:59 remaining.

The Lancers would respond with a 3-yard touchdown run by Williamson with 7:06 remaining and it proved to be the difference against Foundation. The score capped a 55-yard drive – which featured a 41-yard completion to Preston Snider as well as Ronald White’s fourth-and-1 conversion at the 4-yard line – but a second consecutive missed extra point by the Lancers kept the score 26-21.

After making a fourth-down stop with under two minutes left, Foundation reached the Cambridge Christian 26-yard line on its final drive. Austad tried to find wide receiver Seth Daniels on a fourth-and-10 play, but Noah Froelich intercepted the pass at the 5-yard line with six seconds to go.

Now Foundation will face a tough stretch on the road, as the Lions travel to St. Petersburg (Week 2 vs. St. Pete Catholic on Aug. 30) before heading to Bradenton (Week 3 vs. Bradenton Christian on Sept. 6).