Indian Creek Finds The Big Plays In Road Victory
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WELLSBURG -- Coming into Friday's showdown between Brooke and Indian Creek, both teams had shown the ability to score a lot of points, while perhaps their defenses had flown under the radar.
Not any more.
The Redskins and Bruins clashed in a good, old-fashioned defensive battle on Friday night and ultimately it was Indian Creek's that came up with the needed big plays to emerge with a hard-fought, 15-6 victory at Brooke Memorial Stadium.
Creek's defenders forced four Bruins turnovers and kept the hosts off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter.
"It was a hard-fought game," Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said. "They say what is a rivalry, if you watch that game, that is a rivalry. Both teams played hard, both teams played physical. Our defense just played stellar tonight. I am so proud of the defense, they kept us in the game when we had a hard time moving the ball, and they made some really big plays. Our defense was just unbelievable tonight.
"I'm proud of the kids. Our defense turned them away a couple times, turned them over a bunch and just played lights out. Our kids played really hard and I'm really happy with the effort. We played a really good football game."
Bruce Mazar, Ay'Vien D'Ambra and Nizair Vick each picked off a pass, while Jorden Hines recovered a fumble, had a tackle for loss and broke up a pass. While Brooke ran the ball for 190 yards, Creek's secondary held the Bruins to just 45 yards passing.
The Bruins (2-1) were also plagued by 12 penalties for 112 yards -- eight of which came in the first half. Their first drive ended in a turnover, their second was halted by a personal foul, and their third drive another turnover. In their, a couple other big plays were brought back by flags.
"We had a lot of self-inflicted issues, we put ourselves in a hole with the penalties in the first half," Brooke head coach Frank Sisinni said. "This was an opportunity for us to take a step forward and we did not do that, and that falls on me. We will get into the film tomorrow and get back after it.
"I want to commend Indian Creek for how they defended us, Andrew had a nice plan together with his staff and they executed. Kudos to them.
"For us, it's something to learn from. Our defense played well, they played hard. We put them in some tough spots and had some miscues.
"Good teams make plays and Indian Creek made more plays tonight."
While Brooke's defense held strong for most of the first half to keep the game scoreless it was a third Brooke turnover of the opening half late in the second quarter that sparked the game's first points. D'Ambra stepped in front of a Kamden Sperringer pass and returned it all the way to the Brooke 8 yard line, then on the next snap, Creek QB Ethan Starr connected with tight end Adam Gaschler for a 6-0 lead 36 seconds before the break. A penalty moved the try back and the extra point missed.
After Avery Rado was crowned the Bruins' homecoming queen at halftime, Creek put together a nice first drive of the second half and extended the lead when Mazar, who for most of the night had been kept in check, scored on a 7-yard run to double the lead to 12-0. A a two-point try failed.
In the fourth quarter, the Bruins finally got something going when Kayden Thoma (124 yards on 11 carries) broke the longest play of the night by either team, a 64-yard run deep into the Creek end of the field. A couple of plays later, Sperringer rolled out and hit fullback Rylan Figgs for a 5-yard score to cut the deficit in half. A two-point try after a penalty on the celebration moved the ball back outside the 15 failed.
After getting the ball in good field position looking to put a drive together to seal the deal, Creek marched into the Bruins end, but the drive stalled inside the 10 with under four minutes to play.
Kicker Franco Barcalow came on for a 25-yard field attempt, and got some redemption for the earlier miss by putting it through the uprights to make it a two-score game.
Mazar's interception on the ensuing Brooke drive sealed the deal and put the Redskins, now winners of back-to-back games, in victory formation.
Mazar finished with 61 yards on 18 carries and also had three catches for another 21 yards. Starr finished 7 of 10 for 76 yards with a score and a pick, also rushing for 42 yards.
For the Bruins, Thomas' 124 yards accounted for the majority of their 235 yards of offense. Defensively, Cole Bolen had a sack, forced fumble and a tackle for loss, Crosby Morris had a tumble recovery, Jack Garvey had two tackles for loss and Michael Gibson intercepted a pass.
UP NEXT
Indian Creek: Visits Bellaire next Friday night.
Brooke: Will look to bounce back with a trip to Beaver Local next Friday.