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| PHOTO BY TREVOR HORN/NATOMAS BUZZ |
BY TREVOR HORN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
Terence White knows a good thing when he sees it.
The speedy junior tailback ran untouched for a 34-yard touchdown to give No. 9 Inderkum (4-1) a win in a late nail biter over Terra Nova of Pacifica on homecoming night Friday, Sept. 28.
“It was the best thing ever,” White said. “It was like you just saw the girl of your dreams, like she’s right there. Everything went into play like it was supposed to.”
White faked out the entire Terra Nova defense on a reverse with 1:34 left in the game to give Inderkum a 34-28 victory to cap of homecoming celebration.
“I didn’t know I was going to be that open,” White said. “But I knew I was going to have a good lane. Once I got the ball, I knew I had to score so we could get it.”
The game did not seem like it was going to be anything but a blowout early on. Led by an explosive first half by senior running back Eric Walters (182 yards and two touchdowns before halftime), who head coach Terry Stark calls “a fighter,” the Tigers had a commanding 28-6 lead half way through the second quarter.
But Terra Nova stormed back.
An interception by Zach Foxgrover gave Terra Nova the ball back with on their own 25-yard line. And with just 40 seconds left in the half, senior quarterback K’ren Spain (174 yards passing) completed four straight passes to Jaylen Jones for a 4-play, 75 yard drive in just 22 seconds.
That gave Terra Nova life going into halftime. Instead of a brutal three-score deficit, they pulled within 13 points.
A Walters fumble at mid field after the half and a blocked punt just minutes later gave Terra Nova the ball inside the Tigers 10-yard line. Terra Nova tied the game at 28-28 on five-yard completion to the back of the end zone with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
“You have to take what they can give you,” Stark said. “And they didn’t give us a lot in the second half.”
Walter, who finished with a career-high 266 yards on a workmanlike 25 carries, like every other running back for Inderkum this season, found himself hobbling off the field in the fourth quarter.
Already down the top two running back from last season in DJ Myart (ACL surgery) and Josh Montes (torn foot tendon), Wright didn’t stay out for long.
“No matter what goes on in the game, our coach tells just don’t give up no matter what until that clock hits zero,” Walters said. “Until that happens, we are not done fighting.”
After the Tigers defense, led by Dedric Allen (one sack), held off a drive by Terra Nova late in the fourth quarter, Inderkum got the ball back with 2:01 left in regulation.
Walters ran 24 yards to the right on first down, and on the next play, White scored the winning touchdown for Inderkum.
“We were lucky we found two plays there at the end,” Stark said.
White finished with 119 yards on 12 carries and another 49-yard touchdown run in the first half. With Myart out of the season and Montes hampered all year, White knows the importance of stepping up when another player goes down.
“You just know when you have to pick it up,” White said. ”When someone gets hurt, you know you have to step up. If you don’t step up, then why are you there?”
Stark said Montes was ready to play tonight, but he held the senior out because he didn’t feel he was healthy enough just yet.
Inderkum now heads into Tri-County action next Friday against Yuba City, who also sports a 4-1 record.
“This could be a championship game,” Stark said of next week’s match-up of the two favorites to win league this season. “If we beat Yuba City, we could have a good chance at the championship. If they beat us, they have a good shot at the championship. One team is going to lose on Friday night.”
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