Indian Creek capitalizes on Brooke miscues
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WELLSBURG -- The timing and location of turnovers can be a game-changer. They were Friday for Indian Creek.
The Redskins recovered two fumbles inside the 1-yard-line and picked off a couple more passes -- all-in-all forcing five Brooke turnovers -- and rushed for nearly 400 yards, en route to a 35-21 victory at Brooke Memorial Stadium.
"We haven't been causing turnovers, so I was very happy to see that," Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said. "We had a couple of picks, caused some fumbles, and that makes things a lot easier for you when you make the other team turn the ball over. It's something we've been working hard on, and the kids got a lot better at tonight."
The win -- which concludes Indian Creek's pre-playoff portion of the COVID-adapted season - moves the Redskins to 2-4.
"This was good for us," Connor said. "We came out and played hard and executed on both sides of the ball. We got a lot of kids in the game. They're big games for us.
"Brooke is getting better, you can see that. This was a good football game between these two schools."
On the flip side, the costly turnovers were an all-too-familiar sight for Brooke head coach Mac McLean and Co., as the Bruins dropped their fourth straight after winning their opener.
"It's been the story of the last three games," McLean said. "I think in the last three games we've turned the ball over more than 20 times. You can draw whatever you want up in the dirt or on the chalk board, but if you can't secure the ball, you're not going to win football games.
"I don't really know what the answer is. It's not one person turning the ball over. We have to figure it out."
The two-headed monster of Jeremy Brown and Matt Schaefer wreaked havoc on the Bruins' defense. Brown compiled 127 yards and three scores on 15 carries, while Schaefer added 135 and a score on 16 totes.
"Both guys ran the ball hard, and our offensive line gave them some big holes," Connor said. "We were a lot more consistent on both sides of the ball."
Perhaps Brown's most important touchdown was his final one with 3:59 to go in the third quarter, a score that made it 28-7 Redskins.
That drive came after Brooke took the opening kick of the second half and marched 13 plays to the Indian Creek 1-yard line just to lose the ball on a bad exchange between the center and quarterback.
"That's what you hope for," Connor said. "You always tell the kids to keep playing defense, bend but don't break, and our kids did really well with that. That's an important part of football being able to cause turnovers in key situations."
What was mere inches from being a one-score game became a three-score game.
Brooke battled back to within two scores with a Drake Hukill 5-yard scoring run to make it 28-14, before a 1-yard Cam Franke plunge put Creek back on top by 21.
Brooke again had a long drive end inside the Creek 1-yard line with another fumble, which all but ended any hopes of a comeback bid.
"We turned the ball over twice on the 6-inch line," McLean said. "You can what-if yourself to death. If those are both scores, this is a good football game. But, our margin of error is small. We're not the most talented football team, and we can't overcome situations like that. We just can't.
"Indian Creek is a well-coached football team. I've coached against Andrew for 19 years, and they always are. He's building a young team, and they are going to be hell-on-wheels in the next couple of years. You can guarantee that."
The Bruins did add a late score on a 14-yard underclassman connection between Hunter Mozingo and Xzander Eltringhom.
The first Brooke points came on a 33-yard Michael Perrone scoop and score after a backward screen pass ended up on the turf in the second quarter.
The Redskins jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a Schaefer 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a Brown 14-yard run in the second after the Redskins had an early turnover of their own.
"It was a fantastic effort and a team win," Connor said.
UP NEXT:
Indian Creek: Begins the modified OHSAA playoffs with a trip to Indian Valley next Saturday.
Brooke: Travels to Oak Glen on Friday.
Indian Creek 35, Brooke 21
Indian Creek 7 14 7 7 - 35
Brooke 0 6 0 15 - 21
IC -- Schaefer 8 run (Herald kick)
IC -- Brown 14 run (Herald kick)
B -- Perrone 33 fumble return (Kick failed)
IC -- Brown 1 run (Herald kick)
IC -- Brown 7 run (Herald kick)
B -- Hukill 5 run (Hukill run)
IC -- Franke 1 run (Herald kick)
B -- Eltringhom 14 pass from Mozingo (Serevicz kick)
RUSHING: Indian Creek 50-398-5tds (Brown 15-127-3tds; Schaefer 16-135-td; Guisto 1-3; Franke 5-32-td; Powell 1-4; Irizarry 6-86; Paterra 2-4; Ferroni 3-8; Byard 1(-1); Brooke 27-174-td (Hukill 6-41-td; Shorts 7-16; Gaschler 7-5; Campinelli 5-31; Scipio 1-7; Leonard 1-0).
PASSING: Indian Creek 3-10-24-2ints (all by Ferroni); Brooke 10-36-144-td-2ints (Shorts 9-22-130-int; Gaschler 0-3-int; Mozingo 1-1-14-td)
RECEIVING: Indian Creek 3-24 (Guisto 2-16; Coleman 1-8); Brooke 10-144-td (Scipio 2-30; Sperringer 3-45; Gilbert 2-40; Eltringhom 1-14-td; Others 2-15).
FIRST DOWNS: Indian Creek 19; Brooke 18.
FUMBLES-LOST: Indian Creek 2-2; Brooke 7-3.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Indian Creek 15-126; Brooke 8-92.
PUNTS: Indian Creek 1-25; Brooke 2-27.5.