By T.A. Golden
For the Daily Journal
When Indian Creek football coach Max Goodin spoke to his players on the field after a come-from-behind 21-14 win over Sullivan, he told his Braves that he didn’t think this was a game his team could have won a month ago.
A quick check of the Indian Creek then versus now would suggest that Goodin is right. The Braves were 1-2 at the time and had lost two close games along the way. That set the tone for a 1-5 start in which Indian Creek lost three games by a touchdown or less.
So when Sullivan led 14-7 at halftime, it seemed that the Braves might revert to early-season form after two encouraging wins in a row.
But that didn’t happen. Indian Creek controlled the second half and gave itself something to play for in the regular-season finale. The Braves share the lead of the Western Indiana Conference Gold Division with Northview going into a showdown at the Knights’ place in Week 9.
Goodin was asked what’s changed about his Braves that’s made them able to win games like the one they found themselves in on Friday.
“They’ve stuck with it,” he said. “We had to do a lot of reflecting after Greencastle (a 17-14 overtime loss on Sept. 20). That one was particularly a tough one, a game very similar to today.
“We knew we were a good team, but we had to maintain our focus and energy and continue to show up every day and act like a good team and swing that momentum. We had great attitude and great leadership. I’m proud of our team and our chemistry.”
Indian Creek’s offense wasn’t on song for the whole game, but the Braves were able to use big plays to keep pace with Sullivan, and then Indian Creek’s running game kicked into gear in the second half.
Goodin was pleased the Braves got their vertical passing game in gear. Freshman quarterback Evan Clark completed 12 of 18 passes for 183 yards and three touchdown passes. Wide receiver Jaxon Ramey had six catches for 78 yards and two TDs. Fellow wideout Bobby Emberton had three catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Indian Creek (4-4, 3-0) had to overcome a very unusual first half. Sullivan transformed the contest into less an example of high school football and more so a game of keep-away.
The Golden Arrows (3-5, 2-2) had a Homeric 24-play, 83-yard drive on their first series. The epic possession included five first downs, two third- and fourth-down conversions, and it took 10 minutes, 37 seconds off the clock. Sullivan running back Laytin Huff — who rushed for 104 yards overall — capped the mammoth scoring series with a 6-yard touchdown run to put the Arrows in front.
Indian Creek had an immediate response. Clark waited patiently for Emberton to beat his man and lofted a perfect pass up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown connection to tie the game at 7-7.
In the second quarter, Sullivan embarked on another clock-eating drive. Starting from their own 1-yard line, the Arrows slowly drove the entire field, using 17 plays and nearly all of the remaining clock in the half. Sullivan quarterback Paul Ridgway capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown scamper with six seconds left to halftime to stake Sullivan to a 14-7 lead.
In all, the Arrows had the ball for 19:29 of the 24 first-half minutes and ran 45 plays to Indian Creek’s 13.
The Braves remained undaunted and got a key psychological boost when they forced a three-and-out after Sullivan got the ball to start the second half.
“They know that they were redirected at halftime and they weren’t playing to the level they were capable of,” said Goodin on his defense. “I wanted them to play the way they were capable of. Do I feel like that first drive of the second half was huge? I did, but I knew if we played the way we were capable of, we’d be fine.”
The effect was immediate. Clark once again was able to beat Sullivan’s secondary. On a slant pattern, Ramey scored on a 44-yard touchdown pass to tie the game early in the third quarter.
Sullivan’s offense, so methodical in the first half, had no traction after halftime, gaining just three first downs.
Indian Creek took the lead with 10:55 left in the game when Ramey caught a 2-yard shovel pass from Clark.
That last score came after Indian Creek running back Malachi Mink got untracked. One week after he set the school’s single-game rushing record with 341 yards against Arsenal Tech, Mink rushed for 19 yards on the go-ahead scoring series and gained 55 of his 70 total rushing yards in Indian Creek’s last two meaningful series.
