As the teams came off the field for halftime of Indian Creek’s 24-7 loss at Northview, it was clear that if the Braves were going to claim the Western Indiana Conference Gold Division title, someone different was going to have to step up in the second half.
Indian Creek hadn’t been able to ride Connor Fruits in the first half against the Knights’ stingy defense, but that didn’t matter because the Braves’ defense had been just as effective against Northview stars Korbin Allen and Ilias Gordon. If the defense could hold on, all Indian Creek needed was one big play to take control of the game.
But the big play never came for the Braves. Instead, the man who stepped up was Northview linebacker Braxton Sampson, who intercepted two Aidan Neathery passes in the second half. Both times, the Knights started inside the Braves’ 30 and cashed in for a touchdown, creating a hole that Indian Creek could not escape. The Braves’ offense never responded, as the host Knights shut them out in the final three quarters and claimed the division championship on Friday night.
“We can’t turn the ball over and put them in those positions,” Indian Creek coach Steve Spinks said. “That’s too good of a football team, and we can’t miss assignments and drop wide open passes.
“However, the number one thing that went wrong was me calling plays at the wrong times. I’ve got to do a better job calling plays to put us in better positions to win. We can’t score seven points and act like we should have a chance to win against a team like that. Ultimately, that’s on me.”
The start of the game actually couldn’t have gone much better for Indian Creek (6-3, 3-1), which got a short field and promptly went 58 yards, gaining a quick 7-0 lead on a Fruits touchdown to seize the early momentum. But from then on, the Knights (7-2, 4-0) stiffened up their defense, and Fruits found little to no room to maneuver for the rest of the night.
“That was pretty much the extent of our (offensive) success all night,” Spinks said. “We dropped three passes that were wide open, and we just can’t do that kind of stuff.”
The missed passes led to other mistakes, including three second-half turnovers that the Knights turned into 17 points. In fact, none of Northview’s four scoring drives started on their own side of the field, as the Braves set the Knights up with a short punt in the first half and allowed Sampson and company to punish their mistakes in the second half.
Yet there was a positive for the Braves: the chance to learn from the mistakes and bounce back in the playoffs. A year ago, Indian Creek entered Class 3A sectional play riding high on a seven-game win streak and promptly saw its season end in a mistake-filled loss to West Vigo. This time, Spinks is hoping the Braves have the mistakes out of their system and are ready to go at Tri-West.
“We’ve talked about answering the bell, and we got knocked down here in round nine,” Spinks said. “In round 10, if you get knocked down, you’re knocked out. We’ve got to get up and fight.”
