A 14-7 loss to Montgomery Central Friday night felt like more than just a game to many Creek Wood faithful.
There were certainly reasons for the loss and many positives to take from it, but if you needed any indication of how much this game meant you did not have to look far.
After everyone else had left the field and the stadium, 3 of Creek Woods 4 seniors sat distraught at the 10-yard line.
Andrew Bruce, Michael Harris, and Jacob Stephens seemed lost after a game that saw so many chances for the Red Hawks.
After giving up a 93-yard run to start the game, the Red Hawks buckled down and played near-perfect football defensively the rest of the way.
They forced four fumbles recovering all four and giving their offense all the chances in the world to tie this game or even take the lead.
In the first half the offense looked poised to do just that, after a few drives that stalled out, Harris found himself flying up the right sideline for a game-tying score.
Again, in the end, the Indians would only score one more time, but that would prove to be enough.
A Creek Wood team who had already struggled through the air offensively the last several weeks, but had promising moments in the first half, got devasting news at halftime.
Jacob Stephens has suffered an injury to his throwing hand on the final play of the first half and would be unavailable the remainder of the game.
Eathon Donaldson, brother of former three-year starter at Creek Wood Elijah Donaldson, would replace Stephens and while Donaldson is a baller and an athlete like his brother, he is not the passer his brother developed into or Stephens is naturally.
Eathon threw a costly interception at the ten-yard line and otherwise was unable to connect on several passes with his wide receivers.
Without the threat of a passing game, the Indians sold out to stop the run and succeeded.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Creek Wood as they now know Montgomery Central is in the driver’s seat for the 4th playoff seed behind favorites Tullahoma, Pearl-Cohn, and Marshall County.
The Red Hawks now boast a five-game losing streak for the first time in school history and have to let that stew for two weeks as they enter an open date.
Creek Wood next steps on the field on Oct. 8th on the road facing Greenbrier.
You can hear that game beginning at 7 pm on the RFC Sports Network.
