KENNESAW — John Towne had 271 total yards offense, added a 100-yard kickoff return and scored three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as North Cobb Christian fell 34-25 to St. Francis.

The Eagles (3-6) erased a 21-7 halftime deficit to come back and take a 25-21 lead, but St. Francis scored 13 points in the final minute of the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

It wasted Towne’s big night. He finished the game with 117 yards rushing and caught three passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

“He is strong as an ox,” North Cobb Christian coach Harry Miles said. “He played very physical on both sides of the ball tonight and had three or four really huge catches. He’s a good specimen.”

The Eagles started slowly in the first half. On their only possession of the first quarter, senior quarterback Alex Ho-on threw an interception.

Meanwhile, the Knights found the end zone on a 3-yard run by Jonah Huff, a 5-yard run by Joey Roche and a 60-yard punt return by James Kelly for a 21-7 lead at halftime. Huff finished with 153 yards of St. Francis’ 272 rushing yards on the night.

“The one thing St. Francis did a good job of was running the football and keeping our offense off the field the first half,” Miles said.

North Cobb Christian began its second half comeback on the arm of Kendall Crute, who found Towne for an 86-yard touchdown pass. Crute finished the night with 99 yards passing.

The Eagles other quarterback, Ho-on, finished 7-of-19 for 160 yards and two touchdowns — a 4-yarder to Towne and a 15-yarder to Elijah Weems. Both touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, with the latter giving the Eagles their first lead of the game 25-21.

While North Cobb Christian didn’t get the win, Miles said he was proud of how his team adjusted in the second half and came back to give the Knights a fight.

“Our defense started to adjust well,” he said. “Our young kids played very well up front. I just hope that we are able to learn from it.”