The varsity football team beat Second Baptist Eagles 44-31 at Segal Field in a thrilling comeback win last Friday.

Described as the “Battle for the Whataburger” since students from both schools go to the Whataburger on San Felipe, this game was highly anticipated. 

The game started perfectly for the Falcon offense. In the first offensive play of the game, senior and Notre Dame commit Micah Bell had a rushing touchdown for 50-plus yards. The student section dressed in U.S.-themed attire was celebrating.

Both the defense and offense struggled throughout the first half, having turnovers on offense and allowing touchdowns on defense. The Falcons desperately needed to turn things around in the second half, especially since Second Baptist had a 24-7 lead going into halftime.

The Falcons fought back. In the second half, changes were made on the offensive and defensive ends for the Falcons. Kinkaid started the third quarter with two rushing touchdowns, one from junior Miles Roeder and the other from Bell, bringing the score to 24-21. 

At this point in the game, the defense was locked in. The Falcon defense kept the Eagles offense silent for the entire second half. 

The defense was led by senior Will Anderson and junior Read Liuzzi. In the fourth quarter, the Falcons defense forced Second Baptist to punt. 

Junior Nico Gomez blocked the punt, which allowed Roeder to pick up the ball and run it into the endzone, giving Kinkaid its first lead. Students began screaming at the top of their lungs and banging on trash cans.

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were up 38-31. 

Second Baptist attempted an onside kick to try to get the ball back to tie the game. However, senior Cooper Buck recovered the onside kick and ran the ball in the endzone for a touchdown, bringing the score to 44-31 and solidifying the victory for Kinkaid.

“To come back and win was awesome,” senior and lineman Aedan Hogan said. “These are the types of games that make football so fun.”

This game brings the Falcon football team’s record to 3-2.