Creek Wildcats Win Shootout at Home against the Dickinson Gators
Before the game the Gator mascot was flopping his big jaws around the stadium and I saw the Creek Wildcat mascot jumping around with dancing feet. I somehow knew if those two mascots tangled that the Wildcat would take the Gator down, and that was just what the Clear Creek Wildcats did, winning 44 to 41.
The game started with a dominating Gator running attack that drove down the field inside the five yard line about to score when the ball popped loose and Creek’s defensive back Tad Peirce scooped up the bouncing ball on one hop and shot straight down the sideline 94 yards the other way scoring the first touchdown of a wild game, giving Creek the lead 7-0, after Mario Gurgel kicked the extra point, with 7:27 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Dickinson fumbled after a short drive and the Wildcats struck the end zone again within a minute at 6:33 with a 28 yard touchdown pass from Jarryd Garza to C.J. McElroy. Creek led 14-0 and then later fumbled on the one yard line at the end of the first quarter.
After a 59 yard run by Dickinson quarterback Clay Honeycutt, the Gator QB threw a touchdown pass to Tovonte Collins of 32 yards and now Creek led 14-7 with 10:59 left in the 2nd quarter.
Less than a minute later Creek was in the end zone again. This time a 34 yard pass from Garza to Chris Collins and with 9:53 in the 2nd quarter Creek pulled away, 21-7. Dickinson couldn’t put together a drive and throughout the night accumulated 14 penalties for 100 yards, 11 of those were offensive line illegal procedure penalties. The Wildcats were not through yet and scored again quickly with 6:49 remaining with Marcus Mata running in a touchdown from 9 yards out, stretching the lead to 28-7.
Two minutes later Dickinson, in spite of numerous penalties struck back with a 51 yard scamper into the end zone by Corey Thomas reducing the Wildcat lead to 28-14. That didn’t last long as both teams seemed to now score at will. Garza threw another touchdown pass, this time to Tevin Jones for 35 yards. Creek led with 4:06 left in the first half, after missing the extra point, 34-14.
The Gators responded quickly and scored on a 47 yard run only to see yellow flags adorning the field again. The touchdown was called back, but Dickinson did not give up and with only 18 seconds left in the half, Clay Honeycutt ran in a touchdown from 8 yards out, closing the gap to Creek 34, Dickinson 21.
The Dickinson Band shined and their flag girls wore white Roman togas with white rifles and purple flags. They performed well but the white plumed massive Clear Creek band shone like a sparkling diamond and the Cavaliers danced like lightning bugs on a summer night as they entertained until the teams ran back on the field.
The Gators Corey Thomas broke free at 9:26 in the 3rd quarter on a 46 yard touchdown run and now Creek only led, 34-28. Creek made a costly mistake in the 3rd quarter calling a fake punt. The pass was on target but the receiver dropped the ball deep in their own territory. The Gators took over and with 7:58 in the 3rd, Corey Thomas scored his third touchdown, this time on a 6 yard touchdown run and were about to take the lead when the extra point was missed, tying the game at 34-34.
The Wildcats responded and barely a minute later, Garza fired another touchdown pass to C.J. McElroy and Creek had the lead once again in this gunslinger’s battle, 41-34. That’s how the 3rd quarter ended. The Gators drove down the field in the 4th with a touchdown culminating their drive at 9:45 left in the game, tying the score, 41-41.
With the pressure on Creek, their team put together another drive, but this time the Gators kept them out of the end zone and Creek’s Mario Gurgel hit a 24 yard field goal to put the Wildcats back on top, 44-41. The Gators had plenty of time and with 3:22 on the clock began a steady drive chewing up field position and the clock. Inside the ten yard line, well within field goal range, Dickinson called time out.
Both teams had played such a wild and exciting scoring fest of a game. It seemed like all Dickinson had to do was kick the field goal with the strong wind at their backs to tie the game. There was plenty of time left to try and score a touchdown with 52 seconds on the clock.
The Gators dropped back to pass and the Creek defense got the break they had been waiting for when quarterback Clay Honeycutt was blindsided and fumbled the ball. After a mad scramble Clear Creek recovered the fumble and in “victory” formation took three kneel-downs and ran out the clock on the desperate Gators, taking the District win 44-41.
The Wildcats rushed for 65 yards and passed for 310 yards, while the Gators passed for 130 yards and gashed the Wildcats for 392 rushing. One of the most exciting games of the season and with other important matchups still to come in District 24-5A play, Veteran’s Memorial Stadium is the place to see High School Football at its most exciting.