Lindale Rallies With Two Late Touchdowns to Beat Nacogdoches, 35-31

NACOGDOCHES -- Lindale scored on both sides of the ball in 54 seconds to rally for a 35-31 win over Nacogdoches on Friday night in the District 17-5A opener for both teams.

Down 31-22 midway through the fourth quarter, Lindale got within two points after Jordan Robinson scored on a 20-yard touchdown run with 6:21 left in the game.

Just 54 seconds later, Josh Holland picked off a Jake Smith pass and returned the ball 27 yards for a score to put the Eagles up and eventually win, 35-31.

Nacogdoches was the team to rally in the third quarter, using a 58-yard touchdown run by Marcus Sweat, a 75-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Jed Morgan and a 47-yard Chris Gonzales field goal to put the Dragons up 31-22 after being down 22-14 entering the period.

Lindale extended its lead from 19-14 to 22-14 thanks to Jose Guevara's 22-yard field goal with two second left in the first half. Nacogdoches cut Lindale's lead to 16-14 with 5:41 left in the second quarter on Smith's first touchdown to Morgan, this one from 27 yards out.

The Eagles (4-2, 1-0) broke a 7-7 tie 1:11 into the second quarter on its first defensive touchdown of the game, this one a 22-yard interception return for a score by Colin McCartney.

Dillon Heinamen threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns for Lindale, with both scores going to Colton Brown, who finished with 101 yards receiving. Robinson rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Smith threw for 227 yards and the two touchdowns to Morgan, while Sweat led the Dragons (1-5, 0-1) on the ground with 13 carries for 75 yards.

Lindale returns home next week to face Ennis, a 34-10 winner over Whitehouse on Friday, while Nacogdoches plays host to Corsicana, which beat Jacksonville 34-24 on Friday night.