Inderkum Upsets Pleasant Grove With Special Team Plays

BY TREVOR HORN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Inderkum football players were not shy about making one thing certain, this was a big one.

“I would to say this is the biggest win for the program,” senior running back Brandon Powell said.

Capitalizing on four straight fumbled kickoff returns by visiting top-ranked team Pleasant Grove, Powell and the rest of the Tigers offense scored five times in the first half, en route to an upset victory, 42-28, on Friday night at Inderkum.

Head coach Terry Stark was quick to recount other playoff games in years past as some of the biggest, but understood the importance of the Division III Tigers to handle a Division I program like Pleasant Grove.

“This was huge for the program,” Stark said as he looked over at a packed stands after the win. “We’ve been playing great football for a lot of years and we’ve had great support and a great administration that supports us.”

Both teams traded punts early before senior running back Eric Wright returned a midfield punt 22 yards, setting up the first of two touchdowns for junior Terence White.

On the ensuing kickoff, and, the three following, the Tigers recovered the ball after the squib kicks all bounced off the ground and fell into the hands of the Tigers.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and obviously never been anywhere close to that,” Cattolico said. “You certainly aren’t going to win very many games like that against really good football teams like Inderkum.”

Pleasant Grove, despite trailing 34-6 at halftime, brought the game within two scores late in the third quarter.

But the Tigers, with the ball to start the fourth quarter, used a strong run game and a key fourth-and-two pass completion from CJ Spencer to Tyler Demps with 8:15 left in the game to seal the victory.

“That was big. We knew we were playing a really good team and we just had to come out with some enthusiasm and some pop and had to bring it,” Powell said.