WINTERSVILLE — The Indian Creek football team took the words of Rocky Balboa to heart.

Johnston landed some big blows as the Johnnies led by 23 points less than a minute into the second quarter, however, the Redskins kept moving forward and countered with some big shots of their own.

Facing a big deficit, Indian Creek got up off the mat and responded with multiple big plays of their own as the Redskins rallied and led by seven points a little more than a minute into the fourth.

Unfortunately, the hosts were unable to keep Johnstown at bay as the 11th-seeded Johnnies scored the final 21 points of the game to rally their way past the sixth-seeded Redskins en route to a 51-37 victory in an Ohio Division IV, Region 15 first round game Friday night out at Kettlewell Stadium.

“Our kids showed a lot of resiliency,” Indian Creek (9-2) head coach Andrew Connor said. “When we got down, it would have been easy to say tonight is not our night, but our kids battled. I am proud of their effort. I am proud of the season we had. We just made too many mistakes. You are not going to win a playoff game when you make mistakes like that.”

With the win, Johnstown (8-3) will take on No. 3 seed Jonathan Alder (9-1) in a regional quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Friday night on the road.

The first big blow of the night came on the opening kickoff as the visitors recovered an onside kick. The Johnnies then drove 46 yards for the first score of the night as Landon Myers, who ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, capped off the drive with a 2-yard run.

Cyrus Bennett came on and kicked the extra point to give the visitors a 7-0 lead with 6:34 left in the first quarter.

The next big shot came on the ensuing kickoff as the Redskins failed to recover the kick before it was ultimately fielded inside the 5, and the returner was tackled in the end zone for a safety to make the score 9-0 six seconds later.

Indian Creek’s free kick was a short one, and Johnstown took over at the home team’s 33. The Johnnies drove 33 yards in three plays as the drive was capped by a 28-yard run by Ryan Sager, who recorded 204 yards and five touchdowns on 21 carries on the night, and Bennett split the uprights on the PAT to increase Johnstown’s advantage out to 16-0 with 5:13 remaining in the quarter.

Indian Creek ran its first offensive play of the game with 5:11 left in the quarter, however, it did not go well as the Redskins fumbled the snap, and the Johnnies recovered the ball at the Creek 41.

The hosts had their backs against the wall, but they rose to the occasion as the defense forced Johnstown to punt for the first time. The Redskins were unable to score on their next possession, and they punted the ball back to the Johnnies.

This time, the victors marched 52 yards for their third touchdown of the night. With the ball in the red zone, Sager broke loose for a 19-yard score, and Bennett’s booted the PAT to increase the Johnnies advantage to 23-0 with 11:20 remaining to be played before halftime.

The Redskins received a standing 8 count, but the locals responded with their first big shot of the game.

Indian Creek took over at its 40, and two players later, quarterback Ian Starkey broke through the Johnstown defense on his way to a 58-yard score, and Gavin Pownall hauled in the 2-point conversion pass from Starkey to cut the Redskins’ deficit down to 23-8 with 10:28 left in the second.

The locals kept the momentum on their side as they forced the boys from Licking County for the second time.

The Redskins took over at their own 25, and they drove 75 yards for their second touchdown of the night. This time, Starkey hooked up with Pownall, who tallied six receptions for 99 yards on the night, for a 44-yard catch-and-run resulting in a touchdown. However, the conversion pass fell incomplete, keeping the score at 23-15 with 5:30 remaining in the half.

Indian Creek delivered another big shot on Johnstown’s next drive as the Luke McMillion blocked a punt for the Redskins, and after the recovery of the ball, the Redskins took over at the Johnnies’ 16. Pownall capped off the drive with a 1-yard score, and Franco Barcalow kicked the extra point to pull Indian Creek to within 23-21 with just 4.1 seconds still showing on the scoreboard clock.

Johnstown got the ball to start the second half, and the Indian Creek defense forced another punt.

The Redskins took over at their own 18, and Indian Creek drove 82 yards for the go-ahead score as Bruce Mazar plowed his way into the end zone on fourth down from the 9, and the running back hauled in Starkey’s 2-point pass to give Indian Creek a 29-23 advantage with 6:08 left in the third.

“The kids battled,” Connor said. “The kids played hard. We came back and even took the lead.”

Indian Creek then forced another Johnstown punt, however, the Redskins fumbled the ball on the second play of the ensuing possession to give the Johnnies the ball at the IC 21. Three plays later, Sager scored from 6-yards out, and Bennett’s conversion kick regained the lead for the Johnnies at 30-29 with 3:18 remaining to be played in the quarter.

Following the kickoff return, Indian Creek took over at its own 36, and the Redskins marched 74 yards to retake the lead. The drive was capped off by an 8-yard run by Mazar, and he also hauled in the 2-point pass from Starkey to give his team a 37-30 lead with 10:50 left to play in the game.

Unfortunately, the rest of the night belonged to Johnstown.

First, Johnstown drove 79 yards to knot the score at 37. Sager scored on a 10-yard run, and Bennett’s extra point tied the score with 8:45 left to play.

Disaster struck on Indian Creek’s next drive as the Redskins fumbled the ball and the Johnnies took possession of the ball.

Sagar then scored his team’s sixth touchdown of the night on a 26-yard run, and Bennett’s extra point gave the Johnnies a 44-37 lead with 7:56 remaining in the game.

Indian Creek punted on their next possession, and Johnstown took full advantage. This time, Myers scored on a 35-yard run, and Bennett’s extra point made the score, 51-37, with 5:40 left to go.

Trailing by two scores, the Redskins did not throw in the towel and go quietly into the Halloween night.

Indian Creek responded with a drive of its own as the Redskins moved the ball down to the Johnstown 12, however, Chase Potter intercepted a pass, and the Johnnies were able to run out the clock on their ensuing drive.

“It was a special season,” Connor said. “We made the playoffs. We won nine games. We won the OVAC. We got a home playoff game. This one game is not going to define our season. Our season is going to be defined by the fact that when we faced adversity, we battled. We just did not make enough plays tonight.”

Starkey threw for 183 yards in the game, and the senior quarterback rushed for 64 more. Mazar ended the night with 38 yards on the ground and 42 receiving yards on three receptions. Ethan Starr snagged four receptions for 23 yards. Pownall tallied 24 yards on the ground on 12 carries.