BEREA — The Madison Southern Eagles looked like they were headed toward another thumping at home. The second half saw the Eagles gain new life and threaten a 20-point comeback.

The effort fell short, as the Patriots limped out of Berea with a 33-20 win, but Southern coach David Brumley liked what he saw in the second half.

“We said at halftime, ‘We need to go out and be real physical in the second half and not let them get a huge lead on us and let the game get away from us,’” he said. “And we did that. I’m proud of my guys for that.”

The Eagles outscored the Patriots 13-6 in the second half and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown since a one-yard rush with nine minutes left in the first half.

“We tried to make some adjustments,” Brumley said. “They were hurting us on some crack blocks in the first half; we adjusted there and told our offense to be efficient and hopefully we’ll stick one in.”

The offense didn’t strike first, though. It was the defense that got the Eagles on the board. Coty Russell recovered a Patriot fumble and scramble 48 yards for the score. The successful point after attempt cut the Lincoln lead in half at 14-7.

The Patriots (1-1) build the lead to 21-7, and got their fourth touchdown of the first half when they blocked a Southern (0-2) punt and returned it 20 yards for a 27-7 halftime lead.

The second half was a different story, but it didn’t appear so at first. The Patriots recovered an onside kick and moved the ball to the Southern 35 yard line. Lincoln fumbled a second time, with Bubby Parsons coming away with the recovery.

Quarterback Chris Roberts found Ethan Lake for a 23-yard strike, but the drive stalled and the Eagles surrendered on downs. The teams traded three-and-outs until Southern took over with 3:32 in the third quarter.

The Eagles preceded to conduct the most efficient drive of the game. Roberts found Lake again — this time for 11 yards. Devon Johnson rattled off a 33-yard rush, then caught a pass for 11 yards.

When the dust settled the Eagles had picked up three straight first downs. They weren’t pressured by a third down in the drive. Wes Proctor ran for 12 yards to set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Adam Simpson on a reverse.

“(We were) just giving our quarterback time; letting him go through his reads,” Brumley said. “He’s been playing quarterback for us for a while now and that experience has paid off. When we can protect him, he can deliver for us.”

Lincoln answered the score with a field goal. The Eagles nearly had a second score in as many offensive plays, but a 60-yard strike from Roberts to Simpson was called back for clipping.

One possession later, the Eagles did strike again. This time on a 63-yard touchdown run from Johnson that made the score 30-20.

“It’s good to have Devon back,” Brumley said. “He showed a little glimpse of the things he can do when he touches the ball.”

The two-point conversion was no good.

Southern recovered an onside kick, but couldn’t complete a pass and edge closer to the comeback. After turning the ball over on downs, Lincoln depleted the clock with a drive that culminated with a field goal with just 5.4 seconds left on the clock.

The 13-point loss, though, was a far cry from the 56-0 pasting the Eagles got at home two week ago against West Jessamine.

“After two weeks ago and the outcome there, we wanted a better effort and I thought we were in a little better shape tonight as the game wore on,” Brumley said. “There we certain things we emphasized during the week that we wanted to see tonight, and we did. Hopefully, that’s a building block for us.”

The Eagles hit the road next week when they take on Montgomery County (1-1).