 Trey Walters ripped up the Seminole defense to the tune of seven catches for 142 yards.
(Staff Photo by Christopher Dunn) McIntosh football has come a long way. Friday night's game against the Creekside Seminoles was another perfect example. Creekside is a big, fast, talented team and the Chiefs hung with them all night before falling 21-13.
McIntosh was in it until the very end, but came up just short, "We really wanted to nail this one down, but it just wasn't meant to be," said head coach Lee Belknap. "I'm very proud of our guys for fighting till the last second ticked off the clock."
The Chiefs started off the game hungry, earning points on their opening drive. Quarterback Andrew Johnson started things off right, running for 41 yards on the game's first play then hitting Brian White for 17 yards on the second. The drive would not reach the end zone, but they would put points on the scoreboard with Michael Licitra's 31 yard field goal.
Creekside would answer back with a long drive, capping it off with a 25 yard touchdown pass to take a 7-3 lead. The Seminoles would strike again midway through the second quarter, scoring on a 24 yard touchdown pass to push ahead 14-3.
Licitra would come up big again twice more before the half. Filling in at punter for the injured Shane Wilson, Licitra placed a punt down on the one yard line to put Creekside in awful field position. They would not get out of the shadow of the goalpost and hand it back to the Chiefs with time left to score. Licitra did the honors with a 33 yard field goal to make it 14-6 at the half.
As well as the first half had started for McIntosh, the opening of the second half would be the polar opposite and worse. Creekside received the kickoff to start the second half and took it back 92 yards for a touchdown. The big play would push the Seminoles ahead 21-6 and ultimately be the decider in the game.
The Chief defense would stand tall during the second half, keeping the Seminole offense out of the end zone. During the game, they would limit them to only 239 total yards of offense. Joe Kelly was named the team's defensive player of the week for his eight tackle performance. Reid Deloach was credited with four tackles and two pass break ups. Patrick Triana stepped in at linebacker for the injured Wilson and racked up 11 tackles.
McIntosh would not give up, fighting and fighting until they finally gained a little ground. Late in game, the Chiefs took over on their own 22 yard line and raced down the field. Andrew Johnson and Trey Walters had a flawless drive, connecting for completions of 24, 14, and 19 yards just on the one series. Walters would temporarily leave the game after a brutal hit that earned a flag for Creekside before bouncing back into the game.
"Trey Walters had a great great. He's just a great high school football player," said Belknap. "He's like a Timex watch. He takes a licking and he keeps on ticking."
Walters kept ticking to the tune of seven catches for 142 yards.
Johnson had a big game of his own, completing 20 of 33 passes for 250 yards and one interception. He added 98 yards and a score on 14 rushes.
Johnson finished off the drive himself with a one yard touchdown. Licitra's extra point pulled McIntosh within 21-13 with under two minutes left in the game.
The clock would run out on the Chiefs before they could complete their comeback, but they know they still have plenty of work left to do.
McIntosh now sits at 5-3 on the season. They travel to play the 3-5 Northgate Vikings before finishing up the regular season with their region play-in game against a to be determined team.
"We've just got to get better. We'll see if we can't get one next week," Belknap said. "Hopefully there's going to be something special for us down the road." |
