Ethan Jones' head-over-heels run gives Hamilton Heights 28-27 victory

TRAFALGAR -- Mitch Street left it up to his seniors.

Jesse Kerfoot's 1-yard touchdown run pulled Hamilton Heights within a point of Indian Creek with 69 seconds left in Friday night's Class 3A Sectional 30 showdown.

Street, the Hamilton Heights coach, called timeout. Go for the win? Or play for the tie and take it to overtime?

"Let's go for it," Hamilton Heights senior Grant Weatherford said. "Why else are we here to play?"

Street called for a quarterback rollout, giving Ethan Jones the option to either run or pass. Jones saw an opening, but was hit as he dove into the end zone. He flipped head-over-heels, barely crossing the goal line.

Ballgame: Hamilton Heights 28, Indian Creek 27.

"Do whatever you have to do," Weatherford said, recalling his thoughts as Jones dove toward the end zone. "They called him in."

It appeared that Hamilton Heights might be headed toward a loss to seventh-ranked Indian Creek (9-1) for the second consecutive year. The Braves dominated the second half, rallying from a 20-7 deficit to take a 27-20 lead on Dokken Egenolf's 2-yard touchdown run — his fourth of the night — on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Indian Creek got the ball back after a fumble recovery by Dylan Walker with 9:09 left. Egenolf, who finished the game with 202 yards on 28 carries, was injured on the first play of the drive. The 5-9, 190-pound senior returned five plays later and broke into the secondary. But instead of breaking into the clear for a likely touchdown, Egenolf veered toward the sideline for a 24-yard gain, limping in obvious pain.

"That's going to eat me alive for the rest of my life," said Egenolf, who said he'd likely torn his right quad muscle.

With Egenolf back on the sideline, the Hamilton Heights defense got a much-needed stop and the Huskies took over with 4:22 left. Jones hit Jesse Brown for a 14-yard gain on third-and-7 and then Weatherford, a Purdue basketball recruit, worked his magic.

Jones threw a perfect pass over the head of a defender on the right sideline and Weatherford, somehow, hauled it in with one hand for a 22-yard gain. On the next play, Jones hit Weatherford on a short pass on the left sideline. He spun out of a tackle and raced to the Indian Creek 6 as the clock ticked inside of two minutes.

"That's what big-time players have to do," Street said.

Kerfoot carried twice, taking the second one into the end zone off the right tackle from a yard out. Street then called timeout and let his players have a say.

"I asked them, 'What do we want to do?' " Street said. "They all said they wanted to go for it. They covered it pretty well, but we had a run-pass option on it and Ethan Jones made a nice play."

Indian Creek advanced to the Hamilton Heights 36 on its final drive but was pushed back by an intentional grounding penalty. After a fourth-down incompletion, Indian Creek coach Mike Gillin was flagged twice and walked across the field to the locker room.

When it was over, Weatherford and Egenolf shared a few words at midfield.

"That kid is tough," Weatherford said. "He's a competitor. I can feel for him. He's a heck of a player."

But it's Hamilton Heights that lives to play another day.

"We're growing up a lot," Weatherford said. "At the beginning of the year, I don't think we could have done that."

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.