Keller Timber Creek narrowly defeats Keller in intense rivalry game, secures playoff spot

On Keller Timber Creek’s senior night, senior wide receiver Chukwudozie “Dozie” Ezukanma caught the go-ahead receiving touchdown and the game-sealing interception in the end zone.

Timber Creek secured a 35-31 victory Friday night at keller ISD Stadium.

“It felt great,” said Ezukanma. “The touchdown felt amazing and just getting the opportunity to succeed was a blessing.”

Head coach Marshall Williams emphasized the performance of Ezukanma.

“He’s a special talent,” he said. “He’s very intelligent and hard-working and tonight was a testament to his commitment to being a good teammate.”

Marshall also talked about the importance of winning tonight, other than beating a district rival.

“In a district of eight teams, it’s a race to four wins,” he said.

That four-win mark signals the clinching of a playoff spot. The Falcons were helped out by some other teams in the district to secure their spot. Haltom beating Northwest Eaton broke a tie-breaker that could have kept them out later in the season.

Williams, who took over Timber Creek’s program after leaving Southlake Carroll, said he isn’t concerned about the rest of the league right now.

“Our showing this year against Southlake was not good, I’m just concerned about the next game,” he said. “We have to be the best version of ourselves and today was a step in the right direction.”

The win started with the Falcon offense coming out hot. The defense forced Keller to punt after just six plays on the opening drive.

The Falcons took over and, 12 plays later, found the end zone via a 1-yard rushing touchdown from running back AJ Parks. The point-after was good from John Sebastian Lutin to make it 7-0 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.

The Falcons took a 14-0 lead after running back Adarion Nettles ran in a 13-yard touchdown and took off about four minutes off of the game clock with 12 plays.

Keller finally responded, hitting the scoreboard on a three-play, 52-second drive made up of three passing plays. Quarterback Beckham Robinson threw to wide receiver Brock Meek for seven yards before going to wide receiver Tre Griffiths on back-to-back plays, totaling 63 yards and a touchdown.

Timber Creek’s offense wound down the game clock with another 15-drive play. This time, the Keller defense prevailed. The Falcons were third-and-27 after 15 yards in penalties took them out of the red zone.

Under pressure, quarterback Carson Porter took a shot toward the end zone, which was intercepted on the 2-yard line by Keller’s Baron Brown. He returned it 40 yards down the field, setting the Indians offense up to tie the game before the half.

Sure enough, Keller worked rapidly, putting pressure on the Falcon defense. In the end, Robinson found wide receiver Will Adams for a 31-yard receiving touchdown. After the extra point, the teams were tied with 37 seconds left in the half.

Keller got its first lead of the game after Timber Creek’s punt attempt was ruined by a high snap. The ball rolled to the 21-yard line, setting the Indians up just outside the red zone. However, the Falcon defense came up clutch, only allowing their opponents to gain 10 yards and forcing them to settle for a field goal.

The Falcons made sure they didn’t have that lead for long.

On first-and-15 on his own 27-yard line, Porter connected with Ezukanma deep, who caught the ball in front of one defender. He caught the ball backwards, pushed off the one defender and backpedaled, giving himself space to turn around and enter the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown.

Keller went three-and-out, punted it back to the Falcons and then gave up a 44-yard rushing touchdown to Nettles on the first play of the drive, his second of the game.

Now up 28-17, the Falcons just needed to hold the Indians.

The last touchdown proved important, as, after another interception in the end zone, Keller scored via a 58-yard pass from Robinson to Griffiths. The same duo would score their third touchdown to give the Indians a 31-28 lead with three minutes left in the game.

Timber Creek utilized their own dynamic duo in what seemed like their final drive of the game. Porter connected with Ezukanma for a total of 59 yards that included the 13-yard go-ahead score.

Williams said they sent out wide receiver Cameron Hunter with Ezukanma on that touchdown pass because they were both making explosive plays. He knew Keller would have to defend both of them, leaving Ezukanma more open.

“He came into the huddle and told me ‘I can win it on this play,’” said Williams when he was deciding what play to use.

Ezukanma capped his MVP performance with an interception in the end zone, sealing the game with two seconds left in the fourth quarter on a throw that would have won the game for Keller.

The Falcons will face Keller Central on Friday in their final game of district play. Keller will face Haltom on Thursday, and both teams are still trying to secure their spot in the playoffs.

This story was originally published October 28, 2023 at 12:18 AM.