A week after a back-and-forth slugfest with visiting Great Bridge High School, the Nansemond River High School football team’s second home game was not nearly as competitive.

The Warriors were down by more than 30 points in the second half at one point against Indian River High School and ended up losing 43-21.

NR coach David Coccoli took responsibility for the team’s shortcomings.

“I didn’t do a good enough job getting the kids ready to play,” he said.

The Warriors showed potential early on when junior linebacker Chris Henderson snagged an interception in the first quarter, setting up an 18-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback DeShon Saunders that came on the first play of the drive. This knotted the score, 7-7.

The Braves were forced to punt on their next possession. Nansemond River started on its own 40-yard line and was suddenly on the Indian River 5-yard line when Saunders connected with junior wide receiver Kiere Landry on a 53-yard pass.

But the Warriors were prevented from scoring, turning the ball over on downs at the one-yard line.

Nansemond River trailed 22-7 at halftime and 43-7 at one point in the second half before junior running back Jonas Jones ran for two touchdowns to close the gap slightly.

The Warriors (2-2) will try to regroup in preparation for a big cross-city matchup next week on the road against Lakeland High School (1-3).