Indian Creek’s defense turned in one of its best performances of the season in its Class 3A sectional semifinal at North Harrison on Friday night.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they weren’t able to come up with enough points to reward that effort, suffering a season-ending 14-8 loss.
Creek finishes the year with a 5-6 record.
“I’m proud of the way our kids fought,” Indian Creek coach Max Goodin said. “It just got hard at a certain point.”
The Cougars ate up most of the first quarter with their opening drive and needed every available snap, getting on the board with Bryce Fessel’s 2-yard quarterback keeper on fourth and goal with 1:33 to go in the period. That 7-0 lead held up through a quick first half that saw each team get just two possessions.
Fessel doubled the North Harrison cushion by capping another drive with a 6-yard run with 5:04 left in the third quarter, and those points proved necessary when the Braves quickly countered with a touchdown of their own. Malachi Mink hit paydirt from 5 yards out, and Creek quarterback Evan Clark added a two-point conversion to make it 14-8 with 2:57 remaining in the period.
There were no more points to be had in the fourth quarter, though, and the Braves fell short.
Goodin noted that he had 10 different sophomores see quality reps this season in addition to a freshman quarterback in Clark, and he’s optimistic about the future.
“We lose some really talented seniors in certain spots,” the coach said, “but we’re going to have a lot of guys coming back next year too, and that’s always a good thing, to be able to develop that youth.”
