WINTERSVILLE - If ever there was a game that
exemplified the notion that football can be a tale of two
halves, it occurred Friday night at Kettlewell Stadium, as
Union Local came back from a huge first half deficit to take
a 33-21 victory over Indian Creek.
The Redskins came storming out of the gates, scoring on each
of its first three possession of the game and holding the
high-octane Union Local offense at bay.
After Michael Wayt returned the opening
kickoff 46 yards to the Union Local 41-yard line, it took
Indian Creek 11 plays to find the end zone. Matt Stone
capped off the drive with a 1-yard plunge, giving the
Redskins a 7-0 lead four minutes into the game.
After the Jets' first drive of the game
stalled, Indian Creek regained possession at its own 35-yard
line. Gavin Smith had the big play of the possession,
scrambling for a 37-yard gain on third-and-7, putting the
ball inside Union Local's 30-yard line.
Four plays later, Hunter Green found
paydirt after a 5 yard run around the right side.
Indian Creek (2-2) was not done. After
holding Union Local on fourth-and-9 inside Redskin
territory, the home team brought the crowd to its feet,
pounding the ball through the middle of the Union Local
defense. Thomas had a 10-yard touchdown run with 9:45 to
play in the half, pushing the Indian Creek lead to 21-0.
"Indian Creek came out ready to play and
we just were not ready to play tonight," Union Local head
coach Mark Cisar said. "I can't give Indian Creek enough
credit the way that they came out and physically dominated
the football game from the start."
As the first half neared its end, there
was a subtle shift in momentum. With under six minutes left,
Union Local made its move.
Taking over at the 50-yard line after an
Indian Creek punt, Union Local standout quarterback Jordan
Barbina orchestrated a three-play scoring drive with under
five minutes to play in the half. Barbina hooked up with
Brandon Nicholes for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
The Indian Creek crowd stood and cheered
as the Redskins entered the locker room after an almost
perfect first half. No one could have known what was around
the corner.
The Jets (3-0) served notice early in the
third quarter that they were not going anywhere. After
receiving the second half kickoff, it took Union Local just
seven plays and under two minutes to put the ball into the
end zone.
Barbina found Joby Barr for a 14-yard
scoring strike.
Disaster struck on Indian Creek's next
possession. On second-and-3 at their own 20-yard line, the
Redskins fumbled an attempted handoff and Union Local's
David Fisher recovered.
Three plays later, the Jets crossed the
goal line. This time, Barbina did it with his feet, trucking
through the line from 1-yard away, cutting the Indian Creek
lead to 21-18.
"When you play a game of this magnitude,
mistakes come back to haunt you," Indian Creek head coach
Andrew Connor said. "Turning the ball over is one of the
critical things that you can't do in a game and we turned it
over. That is just part of football, but it is hard to make
up for it against a good team."
On the ensuing kickoff, trickery by Cisar
paid off, as Union Local recovered an onside kick at the
Indian Creek 45-yard line.
Barbina, now in perfect rhythm, led his
squad down the field, culminating in a 5-yard touchdown pass
to Kyle Blackman and giving Union Local its first lead of
the game with 7:34 to play in the third quarter.
"We made some adjustments at halftime,"
Cisar said. "Our line did a nice job. They were blitzing
from the outside, so we made some adjustments with that.
"Our receivers started running their
routes hard. I just felt like, in the first half, we dogged
it a little bit. In the second half, we executed extremely
well and it showed."
Connor knew that his team could not afford
the kind of mistakes that were being committed.
"When you give them a short field, they
know what to do with the football and they did," Connor
explained. "I feel bad that we put our defense in that spot
where we gave them those short fields. They were able to
take advantage of our mistakes."
Indian Creek slowly seized the momentum
back as the end of the third quarter neared. After forcing a
Union Local punt, the Redskins went on the move starting at
their own 1-yard line.
Doren Thomas broke a 13-yard run on
second-and-6 to get Indian Creek out of the shadow of its
own goal posts. After successive runs by Thomas, Stone, and
Green, Indian Creek crossed its side of the 50-yard line
into Union Local territory.
With 7:14 to play, it seemed as though the
Redskins may be on their way to a game-winning score. The
crowd rose to its feet for a pivotal 3rd-and-1 at the Union
Local 48-yard line.
Again, the turnover bug bit Indian Creek.
A fumbled snap was recovered by the Jets and it seemed as
though the air was sucked out of the home side at Kettlewell
Stadium.
Union Local took advantage of the
situation, immediately going to work on a tired Redskin
defense. Nine plays and six minutes later, Barbina ended any
hope of an Indian Creek comeback with a 4-yard touchdown
run, putting the Jets in front 33-21 with 1:45 to play.
"It was an unbelievable performance by our
kids," Cisar said. "We got absolutely dominated for the
first 17 minutes of the game."
"They were dominating us on the line and
just jamming the ball down our throat.
"But, I have to give our kids a lot of
credit, because we're in shape. We wore them out and forced
some big turnovers in the second half that allowed us to
come back."
Barbina finished the game 22-for-43
through the air for 239 yards and three scores. He also led
the Jets in rushing, chipping in 38 yards on 20 carries and
two scores.
His favorite target was Joby Barr, who
finished with eight catches for 138 yards and a score.
On the other side of the coin, Connor
could only ponder what could have been.
"It is hard to address your football team
when you feel that they deserve a better fate than the one
that they got. I can't be any prouder of how hard they
played," Connor said. "I just think that they deserved a
better fate.
"The test of our character is going to be
whether we are able to bounce back or not."
Leading the way for the Redskins on the
ground was Hunter Green with 89 yards and a touchdown on 14
carries. Doren Thomas chipped in with 81 yards and a score
on 21 carries.
"Again, I thought we hung in there and
played hard until the end," Connor said. "We just needed
that one more little break in the second half.
"I just can't say enough about how hard
our kids play and how much they mean to me. I'm disappointed
that we couldn't get the win, but I couldn't be prouder of
their effort."
Indian Creek will attempt to rebound as it
travels to Buckeye Local for a 7:30 kickoff on Friday.
Union Local, meanwhile, tries to stay
unbeaten, traveling to Martins Ferry for a 7:30 start on
Saturday.
