By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

Evangel Christian School edged Fountain Inn Christian School 38-36 in the National Association of Christian Athletes football playoffs Nov. 9.

The Lightning scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a 12-point deficit at the end of the third quarter.

Evangel Christian will face Franklin Classical School of Franklin, Tenn., at 3 p.m. Nov. 11 in the NACA Division I championship game.

Hayden Brown rushed for 148 yards on 19 carries in the win, which . Nate Scott added 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Scott also completed 5-of-8 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Aaron Walker finished with two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown. Josh Flanders finished with 10 tackles in the win.

Evangel Christian got on the scoreboard first with Scott’s 7-yard touchdown run. Scott completed a pass to Walker for the 2-point conversion, which gave the Lightning an 8-0 lead with 4:19 remaining in the opening quarter.

Following a Fountain Inn rushing touchdown, Scott completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Walker with 9:01 left in the opening half. Brown rushed in for the  2-point conversion, which gave Evangel Christian a 16-6 lead.

Scott also scored on a 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which preceded a pass from Brown to Grant Webster for the 2-point conversion. However, Fountain Inn added three touchdowns in the second quarter to carry a 30-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Fountain Inn added to its lead with a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, which gave the Falcons a 36-24 lead with 1:43 left in the quarter.

The Lightning cut the lead to six points, 36-30, following a 6-yard touchdown run by Josh Flanders with 9:58 remaining in the game. Flanders scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 3:11 left in the game to tie the game at 36-36, before clinching the Evangel Christian win with a successful run for the 2-point conversion.