LUDLOW — Amherst Regional’s chance at a comeback seemed to come with five seconds left in the third quarter when it recovered a fumble at the 5-yard line, stopping what would have otherwise been a lead-extending touchdown by Ludlow.

But the Hurricanes stalled on their next drive and the Lions walked away with a 25-16 win, Friday.

Amherst trailed 12-8 when Ludlow fumble and the Hurricanes recovered the ball. Amherst pick up one first down before quarterback JD Mills was sacked on fourth-and-10, forcing a turnover on downs.

Ludlow running back Jeremy Garcia extended Ludlow’s lead with a 13-yard touchdown run. Then, after forcing another turnover on downs, Garcia ran in another touchdown from 4 yards out. After kicking the extra point, Ludlow led 25-8.

“We started to have to do a makeshift defense because we were losing a few guys,” Amherst coach Chris Ehorn Jr. said.

Ehorn identified both Dan and JJ Block as key losses on defense, as well as middle-linebacker and running back Josh Vecchio, who was injured prior to the game.

Dan Block (116 yards on 11 carries) left the game early in the third quarter..

“Dan Block is an excellent player and I think we do have a good stable of running backs, but with him down and Josh (Vecchio) down, it’s hard to replace two really good running backs,” Ehorn said.

The Hurricanes switched to a pass-focused offensive plan on the last drive of the game. Mills targeted sophomore wide receiver C.J. Woodfine-Holmes eight times on the drive and connected with him on four of those targets. The drive resulted in an Amherst touchdown as the time expired.

“We showed some fight late in the game,” Mills said. “I think once we get everyone back we’re going to be great, but this was a learning experience to get some new guys in there, get them experience at the varsity level.”

Both teams scored on their first possession. Ludlow (2-1) scored on a 3-yard run by quarterback Chris Fogg three minutes into the game, but it couldn’t complete the 2-point conversion. Amherst came back with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mills to Woodfine-Holmes late in the first quarter to give Amherst its only lead of the game.

Amherst’s lead did not last long as Ludlow moved quickly down the field on its next drive, led by Garcia and running back Jamonte Beckett. The Lions scored their second touchdown just after the start of the second quarter when Fogg found Garcia on a screen pass. Garcia took it 26 yards for a touchdown.

Amherst (1-2) will at Drury on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.

Ludlow 25, Amherst 16

Amherst

8

0

0

8

—16

Ludlow

6

6

0

13

—25

First quarter

L-Chris Fogg 3-yard run (conversion failed), 8:00

A-C.J. Woodfine-Holmes 15 from J.D. Mills (Dan Block run), 3:33

Second quarter

L-Jeremy Garcia 26 from Fogg (conversion failed), 10:45

Fourth quarter

L-Garcia 13 run (conversion failed) 8:07

L-Garcia 4 run (Nolan Ayers kick) 4:54

A-Steven Steele 5 from Mills (Mills run) 0:00

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Ludlow: Garcia 23-108, Fogg 6-39, Nguyen 4-30, Beckett 3-18, Amherst: Dan Block 11-116, Tony Grovan 7-13, JJ Block 4-6

PASSING—Ludlow: Fogg 3-9-39 Amherst: Mills 10-19-92

RECEIVING—Ludlow: Garcia 1-26, Ferris 1-25, Gregory 1-6, Kowalski 1-7

Amherst: Woodfine-Holmes 6-58, Govan 2-17, Moyston 1-10, Steele 1-7