As a journalist made his way to the press box before Creekside took the field against visiting Stephenson, a Seminole fan shouted, “Where’s the write up on Bricen Terry? He’s the best back in the state.”
The fan might be right.
The 5-9, 210-pound senior slashed and rumbled his way to 208 yards on 29 carries, including a 3-yard touchdown run late, to lead the Seminoles (4-1, 1-0 in Region 6-AAAAA), ranked No. 4, to a 28-14 win over No. 3 Stephenson (2-2, 0-1).
Terry got a major assist from his offensive line, led by bookend tackles Deandre Ford and Marquel Harrell. They, along with Venzell Boulware, Jacquon Nicholson and Aaron Dowdell, dominated the Stephenson front seven – led by defensive end Chauncey Rivers and linebacker Nigel Grant – in the decisive second half, when Creekside outscored the Jaguars 21-0 in the fourth quarter. In fact, 151 of Terry’s yards came after halftime.
The game turned late in the third quarter when Creekside’s defense stoned Stephenson’s power offense on four downs inside the Seminole 1-yard line. Defensive end Aquanya Gates shut the door on fourth down when he tackled Jaguar quarterback Dewann Ford Jr. for a loss on a naked bootleg.
Creekside took the ensuing drive 98 yards, mostly on runs by Terry. The Seminoles tied the game at 14-14 on the first play of the fourth quarter when quarterback Felix Harper hit Myles Clark on a 19-yard slant off play action, and just before he was drilled by Rivers.
Stephenson looked primed to retake the lead when Isaiah Zuber returned the ensuing kickoff 63 yards to the Creekside 32-yard line. But the Jaguars fumbled on the first play from scrimmage.
The Seminoles recovered but couldn’t do anything on offense. But Stephenson gave the ball right back when Khalil Ladler muffed the punt and Creekside recovered on the Jaguar 3-yard line. Three plays later, Harper snuck in from the 1-yard line to give the Seminoles a 21-14 lead they would never relinquish.
Both teams flexed their offensive muscles on their initial drives of the game.
First, Stephenson took possession on its 8-yard line and proceeded to march 92 yards, with Ivonte Patterson capping the drive with an 11-yard run off left tackle. Patterson added the 2-point conversion run to give the Jaguars an 8-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
But Creekside answered with a long scoring march of its own. Most of the damage on the 71-yard march was done by Terry, who used this vision, cutting ability and power to grind up yards on zone stretch running plays.
The drive appeared to have stalled at the Stephenson 32-yard line when Julian Gibbs dropped what would have been a first down reception on a crossing pattern on third-and-eight. But Harper came right back to him on fourth down. After pump faking a tunnel screen in the flat, Harper raised up, stood tall in the pocket and hit Gibbs, who had snuck behind the Jaguar secondary, down the middle on a post pattern for a 32-yard touchdown. Chizco Alejandre’s point after kick cut the Stephenson lead to 8-7 midway through the first quarter.
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