WINTERSVILLE — The Indian Creek football team was challenged by Union Local, however, the Redskins were able to answer the call.

Indian Creek faced a deficit for the first time this season, however, the Redskins rose to the challenge as they answered the Jets’ touchdown with 20 straight points before holding on for a 23-15 victory in Indian Creek’s home opener Friday night at Kettlewell Stadium.

“I thought we had some moments of inconsistency on offense in the second half, but our kids played hard for all four quarters,” Indian Creek (3-0) head coach Andrew Connor said. “We were able to gut it out when we had to gut it out. It was a team win for us.”

The Redskins endured multiple self-inflicted wounds allowing Union Local to stay in the game. Indian Creek had eight penalties for 89 yards, while the visitors were penalized nine times for 60 yards.

“It was not a good game for us in terms of penalties,” Connor said. “We had personal fouls, we were called for holding and we jumped offside. It was not a clean game on our part. We are going to have to clean that up.”

The boys from Jefferson County outgained the visitors from Belmont County, 340-186. The hosts ran 57 plays, while the visitors ran 46.

The Redskins were led on the field by quarterback Ian Starkey, who amassed 279 yards of total offense and one touchdown. The senior signal caller completed 13-of-25 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a team-high 91 yards on 12 carries. Defensively, Starkey intercepted a pass to thwart one Jets’ potential scoring drive, and he also punted twice, averaging 39 yards a kick.

Also for the victors, Bruce Mazar ran for 32 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and he hauled in three receptions for 74 yards, while Gavin Pwonall tallied 27 yards on the ground on eight carries while catching four passes for 34 yards and one touchdown.

The victors received a major boost from junior kicker Franco Barcalow, who set two team records in the win. First, he finished the night with 11 points, and second he made three field goals to help lead his team to victory.

“Our special teams did well,” Connor said. “We made all of our extra points and all of our kicks. We did well with our special teams.”

Union Local quarterback Colby Carpenter completed 5-of-14 passes for 27 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while also rushing for 27 yards on 12 attempts.

Brody Perzanowski led the charge for the boys in white as the junior running back rumbled for 157 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Wide receiver Ayden Graham caught a 23-yard touchdown pass to account for the Red and White’s first touchdown of the night.

The boys in red received the opening kickoff, and they drove 75 yards for the game’s first score. Keyed by a 39-yard run by Starkey, the Redskins had a 1st-and-goal from 3, however, they were unable to gain more yardage and had to settle for a 20 field goal by Barcalow to take a 3-0 lead with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

Union Local took over following the ensuing kickoff at its own 43, and the Jets marched 57 yards for the go-ahead score. The drive was aided by a costly penalty on Indian Creek.

The locals forced the visitors to punt on their opening drive, however, and Indian Creek player ran into the punter resulting in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. Later, Union Local was faced with a 4th-and-15 from the Indian Creek 23, however, Carpenter found Graham in the end zone for a touchdown, and Gavin Fowkes split the uprights on the extra point to give the Jets a 7-3 advantage with 1:50 remaining in the opening quarter.

The lead did not last long.

Indian Creek took over at its own 21 following the kickoff, and the Redskins marched 79 yards in just three plays to retake the lead. On first down, Starkey hooked up with Mazar for a 60-yard completion, and Mazar capped the march by hooking up with Pownall for a 15-yard score. Barcalow booted his first PAT of the night to give the Redskins a 10-7 lead with 12.6 seconds left in the quarter.

“It is always important to answer right back,” Connor said. “We drove down the field on our first drive, and we weren’t able to punch it in. That drive showed what we can do with our offense. Our offensive line did a good job. We were able to move the ball. We had four possessions in the first half, and we scored four times.”

Following a punt, Indian Creek took over at its own 20, and the Redskins drove down the field for their second touchdown of the night. This time, Mazar plowed his way into the end zone from the 1, and Barcalow’s extra point was good to increase Indian Creek’s advantage to 17-7 with 2:06 left to play before halftime.

Luke McMillion intercepted a Carpenter pass on the next UL drive, and Barcalow capped the scoring in the half with a 34-yard field goal with 5.7 seconds still showing on the scoreboard clock.

The Redskins’ defense stood tall to open the second half as Indian Creek forced a turnover on downs at the Union Local 27. Barcalow then kicked his third field goal of the night – this one covering 29 yards – to extend the Redskins advantage to 23-7 with 8:41 left in the third.

A scary momentum occurred on the ensuing kickoff as a Union Local player was injured on the return. He stayed down on the field for a couple of minutes before a stretcher was called for. The player was carted off the field minutes later, and the game continued following a 2-minute warm up period.

“It’s very hard to keep playing after something like that,” Connor said. “You don’t want to see any kid get hurt. Hopefully, everything turns out OK for him.”

The two teams traded punts, however, the Redskins were called for a personal foul on theirs moving the ball up from the 16 to the 31. On the next play, Perzanowski broke through the Indian Creek defense for a 69-yard score, and Carpenter ran it for the 2-point conversion to pull Union Local to within 23-15 with 4:34 left to play in the quarter.

The Jet defense rose to the occasion on the next drive, and a miscue on the punt resulted in a 6-yard kick, and the return set Union Local up at the IC 25. Union Local ended up facing a fourth down at the 39, and Starkey intercepted Carpenter’s heave to end the threat.

After cutting their deficit to eight points, the Jets had three opportunities to try and tie the score, however, the Indian Creek defense rose to the challenge and kept them off the scoreboard.

“They had chances, but our defense stood the test of time,” Connor said. “They played well.”

After forcing Union Local to turn the ball on downs on its last possession, Starkey dove over the top to give Indian Creek a game-sealing first down.

“It was big for us to win our home opener,” Connor said. “We had a good crowd tonight. I’m happy with the win.”

Indian Creek is scheduled to play Weir on the road Friday night at Jimmy Carey Stadium. The Redskins defeated the Red Riders, 52-7, last season at home.

“We have to get ready for Weir,” Connor said. “We’re going to get ready for Weir starting tonight.”

Union Local is slated to play Harrison Central on the road out at Wagner Field. The Jets defeated the Huskies, 49-13, last season at home.

Indian Creek 23, Union Local 15

Union Local 7 0 8 0 – 15

Indian Creek 10 10 3 0 – 23

Scoring

First Quarter

INDIAN CREEK: Barcalow 20 field goal, 8:04

UNION LOCAL: Graham 23 pass from Carpenter (Fowkes kick), 1:50

INDIAN CREEK: Pownall 15 pass from Starkey (Barcalow kick), :12.6

Second Quarter

INDIAN CREEK: Mazar 1 run (Barcalow kick), 2:06

INDIAN CREEK: Barcalow 34 field goal, 5.7

Third Quarter

INDIAN CREEK: Barcalow 29 field goal, 8:41

UNION LOCAL: Perzanowski 69 run (Carpenter run), 4:34

Fourth Quarter

None

Statistics

RUSHING: Union Local 32-186 TD (Carpenter 12-27, Perzanowski 18-157 TD, Gaines 2-2); Indian Creek 32-152 TD (Starkey 12-91, Mazar 11-32 TD, Pownall 8-27, Pitts 1-2)

PASSING: Union Local 5-14-27-1-2 (All by Carpenter); Indian Creek 13-25-188-1-0 (All by Starkey)

RECEIVING: Union Local 5-27 TD (Perzanowski 1-(-2), Graham 1-23 TD, Blackman 1-5, Duncan 1-5, Rogers 1-(-4)); Indian Creek 13-188 TD (Christian 3-16, Mazar 3-74, Pownall 4-34 TD, Starr 3-53)

FIRST DOWNS: Union Local 11; Indian Creek 16

PENALTIES-YARDS: Union Local 9-60; Indian Creek 8-89

FUMBLES-LOST: Union Local 0-0; Indian Creek 1-0

PUNTS-AVERAGE: Union Local 2-33.5; Indian Creek 4-31.25