SAN JOSE--Felix Harper scored on a 4-yard run with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Panthers held on for a 53-50 win over the San Diego Strike Force to remain undefeated. 

After Nate Davis connected with Elijah Lilly on a 7-yard scoring pass with 4:51 to give San Diego its first lead at 50-47, the Panthers started their final possession from their own 11-yard line.  One of the key plays of the drive was Harper finding Joshua Tomas on 4th and 7 from the 14 to keep hope alive at the Bay Area 22.  It was the first career catch for the former Georgetown star who caught three passes on the drive. His 29-yard reception took the ball to the San  Diego 6-yard line with 24 seconds to go.,  On 1st and goal, JT Stokes ran for two yards to set up Harper's game-winner.

The kickoff pinned the Strike Force at their own 5-yard line.  A desperation 55-yard field goal try from former Panthers' kicker Stevie Artigue was short to preserve the win as time expired.

"I want to celebrate the victory and that it's great to be 4-0.  But we have to get better," said Bay Area Head Coach Rob Keefe.  "San Diego gave us all we could handle and we have a lot of things to fix.  I'm proud that our players know that they can play better for us to take it to the next level."

The Panthers (4-0) scored two defensive touchdowns in the first quarter:  Antwon Kincade recovered a fumble in the end zone on San Diego's first play from scrimmage and Joe Foucha returned a Rudy Johnson interception 10 yards for a touchdown.  The scores offset a pair of Harper interceptions on the first two series.  

"I think mental toughness is a learned trait and he learned how to dig deep," said Keefe of Harper.  "The culture is set and the expectations are very high.  That's especially true when you're the defending champions and are going to get every team's best effort." 

Johnson's 1-yard run pulled the Strike Force within 19-14 in the second quarter.  Harper responded with 2-yard TD run and a 6-yard scoring pass to Jazeric Peterson for the largest lead of the night at 31-15 with 3:13 left in the half.  

Bay Area maintained the lead with rookie running back Statford Anderson scoring his first two IFL touchdowns on 2-yard runs.  His second score gave the Panthers a 44-30 lead with nine minutes left in the third. 

The Strike Force responded with a 20-3 run to take their first lead--capped by the Davis to Lilly connection, setting up the clutch game-winning drive for Bay Area. 

Antwon Kincade had one of the most dominant defensive efforts in franchise history.  The second-year DB from Western Kentucky recorded 10 tackles, including 6 solo efforts.  He recovered one fumble for a score and added another recovery in the second period set up Harper's touchdown throw to Peterson.  Tyrone Cromwell III added eight tackles including three solo. 

In his IFL debut, Statford Anderson had 20 carries for 71 yards and his first two pro touchdowns.

For San Diego (3-1), Davis came off the bench to complete 13 of 17 passes for 141 yards and four scores--three to former Panthers' receiver Arthur Jackson III.  

Both teams could point to lack of precision.  The Strike Force entered the game with a +4 turnover margin but gave up the ball three times in the loss.  The Panthers were able to win despite the two Harper interceptions in the first quarter. 

"The defense came out hot but cooled off.  The thing I'm most proud of is  that we were able to finish after all that adversity.  Our coaches did a great job of conveying positive body language and that makes a difference.  Even though we're winning, sometimes it can be irritating to not be winning in the way we want to," said Keefe.

The teams will play again next Sunday in San Diego in the second of four meetings between the teams.