The Cherokee Indians played their hearts out last Friday night at Gustine, but came up short on the scoreboard for the 3rd straight game. The quickness of the Tiger running backs gave the Indians trouble all night. The Indians lost 2 fumbles that stopped potential scoring drives.

Gustine scored first midway through the 1st quarter on a 1 yard run. The PAT was good. The Indians answered on their first run from scrimmage as Tucker Corsi broke loose for a 57 yard TD run. The PAT failed. The Indians trailed 6-8. The Tigers scored next on a 9 yard run. The PAT failed but the Tigers led 6-14.

The 2nd quarter was full of action. Gustine padded their lead on a 22 yard run and kicked the PAT to go up 6-22. The Indians came back on a 21 yard pass from Corsi to Nieves Solis. Cham Fox kicked the PAT to make the score 14-22. The Tigers answered with an 11 yard run and PAT to go up 14-30. With 2:40 remaining in the half, Stephen Austermann connected with Solis for a 24 yard TD pass play. Fox kicked the PAT. The Indians trailed 22-30. With 0:15 on the clock, the Tigers scored on a 1 yard pass play. The PAT failed. The half ended with the Indians being down 22-36.

The 3rd quarter was an exchange of touchdowns. Early in the quarter, Josh Brown scored for the Indians on a 2 yard run. The PAT failed, closing the gap to 28-36. One minute later, the Tigers scored on a 57 yard run. They missed the PAT. The quarter ended with the Indians trailing 28-42.

The 4th quarter was a repeat of the 3rd. With 7:26 on the clock, Corsi gave the Indians a chance with a 28 yard TD run. Fox added the PAT to make the score 36-42. The Tigers drew last blood on an 8 yard pass play with 2:49 left in the game. The PAT failed but their 36-48 lead would stand the remainder of the game.

The Indians will travel to Lometa Friday. Kickoff is 7:30. Come support the Indians.