The South Fork Cubs rallied from a second-half two-touchdown deficit to beat Branson 40-28 in Miranda on Friday night.

And they did it with their most complete team performance of the season.

Trailing 28-14 in the third quarter and with one on their team captains forced from the game after picking up an injury, the South Fork players dug deep to score four unanswered TDs and pull out their second victory of the season.

“Ultimately, we became a complete team tonight,” South Fork head coach Brandon Coborn said. “It was a big team win. We were able to come together to win as a team.”

When senior team captain Travis Way went down injured, his teammates stepped up, with several players impressing, including fellow captains John Stafslien, Shawn Schmidt and Martin Navarrete.

So too did shut-down corner Toby Tennessee, a junior who had one of his best games for the team, as well as freshman Koda Walls, who has begun his high school career in impressive fashion and looks like a player who could dominate for the next four years.

“Our one heartbeat showed up tonight,” Coborn said. “We’ve been telling the players, you play for the guy next to you, and tonight they did that.”

Schmidt took over at quarterback and had a big night, while the entire defense helped seal the win by holding the visitors at bay down the stretch.

“Our defense throughout the second half really found its mojo,” the coach added. “It was really great to see.”

The addition of former longtime head coach Karl Terrell to the staff also helped the Cubs’ cause.

After stepping down as head coach this past offseason, Terrell returned to the sidelines this week to help the new coach and the program and that helped spark the offense in Friday’s win.

With the victory, the Cubs improved to 2-1 as they get set for next week’s league opener at Round Valley.