Timber Creek holds off Cherokee
A team best known for its superstar quarterback, Devin Leary, Timber Creek won the game thanks largely to its run game and defensive heroics.
It wasn't so much that he felt pressure or nerves — not at all really.
In the final quarter, Jerome Gibson said, he felt he had something to prove.
"They were keying on the deep ball all game … so I felt like they couldn't play with us in the run game. I didn't think they could play with me at all," said Gibson, a senior running back who rushed for 71 of his 157 yards (on 22 carries) in the fourth quarter of Timber Creek's 35-28 win over Cherokee, a nail-biter at home on Friday night that improved his team to 3-0 in the young season.
In a game that was back and forth throughout, Gibson opened his team's final go-ahead drive with a 29-yard run. Three plays later Devin Leary connected with Jordan Nash for an 8-yard dart to the center of the end zone.
"That's how it's supposed to work," Gibson said. "The run sets up the passing game."
A team best known for its superstar quarterback, Leary, won the game thanks largely to its run game and defensive heroics.
Timber Creek forced five turnovers — four interceptions and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Jihad Stephenson in the second quarter.
"This win means everything to us because we fought the entire game and we made plays for each other," said Stephenson, who also had two interceptions.
A week after notching a massive upset of Shawnee in overtime last week, Cherokee (1-1) again entered this game as the underdog and again surprised a packed stadium with its refusal to go away in spite of its offensive missteps.
The Chiefs managed several long drives, including capping a 13-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jack Walters to take a 21-20 lead with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter.
Later, Walters, making a name for himself for his gritty, big plays, hit his wide-open brother, Andrew Walters, for a 44-yard touchdown pass that tied the score at 28-28 with 10:06 left in the game.
"You can't turn the ball over and win football games," said Cherokee coach PJ Mehigan. "But we never think we're out of it."
Still, Timber Creek answered every big play with a big play of its own on both sides of the ball.
"This is why we condition, for the end of these games," Stephenson said. "Turnovers change the game. We knew we were ready for this."
Cherokee 0 14 7 7 28<
Timber Creek 6 7 7 15 35
TC: Jerome Gibson 5 run (kick blocked)
C: Jamar Dimanche (Ethan McCarren kick)
C: Tymere Bennett 25 pass from Jack Walters (McCarren kick)
TC: Jihad Stephenson 19 fumble return (Zach Coluccio kick)
TC: Kyle Dobbins 27 run (Coluccio kick)
C: Walters 8 run (McCarren kick)
TC: Tarheeb Still 76 pass from Devin Leary (Giomanni Perez pass from Leary)
C: Andrew Walters 44 pass from Walters (McCarren kick)
TC: Jordan Nash 8 pass from Leary (Coluccio kick)